What
a wondrous and challenging feast we celebrate at Pentecost. A feast
like this challenges us, because it puts to the lie a lazy, sleepy,
hidden, and tepid Christian life. The Lord Jesus had said to Apostles,
and still says to us: I have come to cast a fire on the earth!
(Luke 12:49). This is a feast about fire, about a transformative,
refining, and purifying fire that the Lord wants to kindle in us and in
this world.
The Readings today speak to us of the Holy Spirit in three ways: The Portraits of the Spirit, the Proclamation of the Spirit and the Propagation by the Spirit. Let’s look at all three.
I. The Portraits of the Spirit
– The Reading today speaks of the Holy Spirit using two images: rushing
wind, and tongues of fire. These two images recall Psalm 50 which says,
Our God comes, he does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, round about him a mighty tempest. (Psalm 50:3).
Rushing Wind – Notice how the text from Acts opens: When
the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place
together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong
driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.
This text brings us to the very root meaning of the word “Spirit.”
For “spirit” refers to “breath,” and we have this preserved in our word
“respiration,” which means breathing. So, the Spirit of God is the
breath of God, the Ruah Adonai (the Spirit, the breath of God).
Genesis 1:2 speaks of this saying the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And Genesis 2:7 speaks even more remarkably of something God did only for man, not the animals: then
the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Gen 2:7).
So the very Spirit of God was breathed into Adam! But, as we know, Adam lost this gift and died spiritually when he sinned.
Thus we see in this passage from Acts an amazing and wonderful resuscitation of the human person
as these first Christians (120 in all) experience the rushing wind of
God’s Spirit breathing spiritual life back into them. God does C.P.R.
and brings humanity, dead in sin, back to life! The Holy Spirit comes to
dwell in us once again as in a temple (cf 1 Cor 3:16). It has been said that Christmas is the feast of God with us, Good Friday is the Feast of God for us, but Pentecost is the Feast of God in us.
Tongues of Fire – The text from Acts says, Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
The Bible often
speaks of God as fire, or in fiery terms. Moses saw God as a burning
bush. God led the people out of Egypt through the desert as a pillar of
fire. Moses went up on to a fiery Mt. Sinai where God was. Psalm 97
says, The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many
coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are round about him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes
before him, and burns up his adversaries round about. His lightnings
lighten the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like
wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens
proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.
(Ps 97:1-6). Scriptures call God a Holy fire, a consuming fire (cf Heb
12:29) and a refining fire (cf Is. 48:10; Jer 9:7; Zec 13:9; & Mal
3:3).
And so it is that
our God, who is a Holy Fire, comes to dwell in us through his Holy
Spirit. And as a Holy Fire, He refines us by burning away our sins and
purifying us. As Job once said, But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10).
And he is also
preparing us for judgement, for if God is a Holy Fire, then who may
endure the day of his coming or of our going to Him? What can endure the
presence of Fire Himself? Only that which is already fire. Thus we must
be set afire by God’s love.
So, in the coming of
the Holy Spirit God sets us on fire to make us a kind of fire. In so
doing, he purifies and prepares us to meet him one, He who is a Holy
Fire.
II. The Proclamation of the Spirit. -
You will notice that the Spirit Came on them like “tongues” of Fire.
And the reference to tongues is no mere accident. For notice how the
Holy Spirit moves them to speak, and ultimately to witness. The text
says: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to
proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven
staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but
they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own
language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all
these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear
them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as
well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans
and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty
acts of God.”
So behold how the
Holy Spirit moves them to proclaim, not just in the safety of the upper
room, but also in holy boldness before the crowds who have gathered.
Notice the transformation!
Moments ago these were frightened men who gathered only behind locked
doors, in secrecy. They were huddled together in fear. But now they go
forth to the crowds and boldly proclaim Christ. They have gone from fear
to faith, from cowardice to courage, from terror to testimony!
And how about us?
Too many Christians are silent, dominated by fear. Perhaps they fear
being called names, or not being popular. Perhaps they are anxious about
being laughed at, or resisted, or of being asked questions they don’t
feel capable of answering. Some Christians are able to gather in the
“upper room” of the parish and be active, even be leaders. But once
outside the “upper room” they slip into undercover mode. They become
secret agent Christians.
Well, the Holy Spirit wants to change that,
and to the degree that we have really met Jesus Christ and experienced
his Holy Spirit we are less “able” to keep silent. An old Gospel song
says, I thought I wasn’t gonna testify, but I couldn’t keep it to myself, what the Lord has done for me.
The Holy Spirit, if authentically received, wants to give us zeal and
joy, and burn away our fear, so that testifying and witnessing are
natural to us.
Note also how the Spirit “translates” for the apostles,
for the crowd before them spoke different languages, but all heard
Peter and the others in their own language. The Spirit therefore assists
not only us, but also those who hear us. My testimony is not dependent
only on my eloquence, but also on the grace of the Holy Spirit who casts
out deafness and opens hearts. Every Christian should remember this.
Some of our most doubtful encounters with others can still bear great
fruit on account of the work of the Holy Spirit who “translates” for us
and overcomes many obstacles that we might think insurmountable.
III. The Propagation by the Spirit – In the great commission the Lord said, Go,
therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you
always, until the end of the age (Matt 28:19ff). He also said, as we have noted, I have come to cast a fire on the earth and How I wish the blaze were already ignited (Luke 12:49).
But how is the Lord going to do this?
Perhaps a picture will help. My parish church is dedicated to the Holy Spirit under the title: Holy Comforter. Above the high altar is the Latin inscription: Spiritus Domini, replevit orbem terrarum (The Spirit of the Lord, filled the orb of the earth). (See photo, above right, of our high altar).
And yet, we may wonder how He will do this.
But the walls of my parish Church answer the question.
The clerestory walls are painted Spanish Red, and upon this great
canvas are also painted the lives of 20 saints, surrounding us like a
great cloud of witnesses (cf Heb 12:1). (See also, video below). And over the head of every saint is a tongue of fire.
THIS is how the Spirit of the Lord fills the earth.
It is not “magic fairy dust,” it is in the fiery transformation of
every Christian, going forth into the world to bring light and warmth to
a dark and cold world. THIS is how the Lord casts fire on earth, THIS is how the Spirit of the Lord fills the orb of the earth: in the lives of saints, and, if you are prepared to accept it, in YOU.
In the end, the Great Commission (Matt 28) is “standing order No. 1.”
No matter what else, we are supposed to do this. Parishes do not
deserve to exist if they do not do this. We as individual Christians are
a disgrace, and not worthy of the name, if we fail to win souls for
Jesus Christ. The Spirit of the Lord is going to fill the orb of the
earth, but only through us. The spread of the Gospel has been placed in
your hands (scary isn’t it?).
In the Past two years, my own parish,
after a year of training, stepped out into our neighborhood, and went
door to door and into the local park. And we announced Jesus Christ, and
invited people to discover him in our parish, and in the sacraments.
And we were in the local park and the market last week doing sidewalk
evangelization.
Before we count even
a single convert, this is already success because we are obeying Jesus
Christ who said, simply, “Go!” “Go make disciples.” And, truth be told,
we ARE seeing an increase in my parish. Our Sunday attendance
has grown from about 450 to 520, a 15% increase. We are growing, and our
attendance, while average for a downtown city parish, is going in the
right direction. God never fails. God is faithful.
Spread the news: it
works if you work it, so work it because God is worth it. Go make
disciples. Ignore what the pollsters tell you about a declining Church
and let the Lord cast a fire on the earth through you! Fires have way of
spreading! Why not start one today? The Spirit of God will not
disappoint.
I know this, my parish has a future because we are obeying Jesus Christ,
we are making disciples. How about you and yours? If parishes do not
obey, they do not deserve to exist and can expect to close one day, no
matter how big they are today. I, in my short 50 years on this planet,
have seen it: parishes once big, booming, and, (frankly), arrogant, are
now declining and some are near closure. It happens to the best, if they
do not evangelize, if they do not accomplish “Job 1.” The Lord wants to
light a fire. Why not become totally fire? Let the Spirit propagate the
Church through you (I am not talking about the person next to you, I am
talking to you).
Happy feast of Pentecost. But don’t
forget that the basic image is very challenging, for it means getting
out of the “upper room,” opening the doors, and proclaiming Christ to
the world. Let the Holy Spirit light a fire in you, and then, you can’t
help but spread light and heat to a cold and dark world.
Let the evangelization of the whole world begin with you.
This video features details from the clerestory (upper window level)
of my parish of Holy Comforter here in DC. Notice the tongue of fire
above each saint. The paintings show how the Spirit of the Lord fills
the orb of the earth, (see photo above), through the lives of the lives
of the saints (this means you). It is not magic, it is grace, working in
your life, through your gifts, and your relationships, that the Lord
will reach each soul. The cloud of witnesses on the walls of my Church
say simply, You are the way he will fill the earth and set it on fire. Let the blaze be ignited in you!
