Sunday May 11, 2008, Pentecost Sunday: Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23

Last week, we celebrated the feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. The feast of the Ascension is 9 days before the feast of Pentecost. Jesus Christ instructed his Apostles to stay in Jerusalem until they receive the Holy Spirit. These nine days were days of intensive prayer and preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. This was the very first novena in the Christian Church. Today, the church celebrates the feast of Pentecost. This is a special feast because it is the birthday of the Church. It is a significant feast because with the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, the salvific mission of the Trinity to human kind reached its peak – The Apostles have now known the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. With this fullness of the power of the Trinity, they are to go out and be witnesses to the whole world. The Church is no longer a small group of loyal followers in Jerusalem, it is now a world church, a church that must go to the ends of the world and witness the paschal mystery. God is entering into a new covenant with his people – salvation is now open to everyone, not only to the people of Israel.
The Holy Spirit brought about transformation in the lives of the disciples. They were no longer timid and fearful, but they became firebrand Christians who were willing to give of their lives for what they believe. Peter for example did not need to think twice about the consequences for identifying himself as a follower of Jesus Christ. He came out and boldly preached about the risen Lord. These apostles who in the gospel of Mark 9: 14 could not heal a boy that is possessed of a demon are now great healers. Peter and John healed the crippled man at the gate of the temple; Phillip is able to preach and convert Simon the magician; Stephen joyfully gives of his life becoming the first martyr. Acts of the Apostles 5: 12 tells us that so many signs were done in the hands of the Apostles that many sick people were laid by the sides of the streets so that their shadow will fall on them and bring them healing.
How come the Apostles were able to do all these mighty deeds and we are not? Did the Apostles receive the same Holy Spirit that we all received at baptism and confirmation? The Spirit of God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The reason most of us cannot work mighty deeds as the Apostles did is our lack of openness to the power of the Holy Spirit. This may be caused by fear. We all know that prayer of St. Augustine before his conversion, “Lord give me chastity but not now.” We really want to be empowered by the Holy Spirit but we are afraid of letting him lead us. We are more comfortable where we are right now and we are afraid of the unknown. If we continue to live just the way we are, we are not living to our full Christian potential. The Apostles did not remain in the safety of the upper room, they went out to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. The problem is that 10, 15, 30, 40 and even 50 years after our confirmation, many of us are still cooling off in the upper room.
What are some of the signs that the Holy Spirit is not fully alive in you? You find it difficult to pray or make time for prayer; you rarely study the word of God; coming to church is an obligation for you rather than something you look forward to or enjoy doing; you do not participate in any ministry in the church; you are afraid of identifying yourself as a Christian; you have not used the sacrament of reconciliation in over a year; you do not give of your time or talent or treasure to God; you do not share of your resources with those in need, etc. God does not want you to continue to live this kind of life. He wants to call you to a new life, a life full of the Holy Spirit. He wants you to experience a second Pentecost, where empowered with the Holy Spirit, you will truly become the person he has called you to be.
What you must do now to experience the second Pentecost? Embrace a life of solitude. This does not mean cutting off the people you cared the most about. It does not also mean isolating yourself. It is creating some silence in your soul, so that God may speak to you. We live in an age of technology: computers, iPods, cell phones, internet, satellite radios, etc. There is just constant noise and we rarely find time to hear God speak to us. How many times did you say you were going to spend just five minutes checking that email and then pray and you ended up spending two hours or more on the internet? How many times were you driving to work or travelling and you said you will just listen to that song on radio or CD and then pray and you found yourself at the end of your journey without giving time to prayer? We must give God priority and create that time for him to speak to us. In 1Kings 19:9 when Elijah had the vision of God, he did not experience him in the Strong heavy wind; he wasn’t even in the mighty earthquake; God was not in the fire; he came in the tiny whispering sound. When the Holy Spirit comes in a tiny whispering sound, will you hear it? Spend at least five minutes every day to listen to God speak to you.
The disciples prayed together. Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 18:20, “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.” While it is good to have a personal prayer life, it is also good to pray with other people. The family is an excellent place to intercede for the coming of the Holy Spirit. If a family prays together, God will be in their midst. There are also many wonderful religious groups in our church community you can belong. The small basic Christian community is a place for you to cultivate an opening for the Holy Spirit to in-break in you. If there is no group you see that you like, I challenge you to begin yours, if you need ideas on how to start one up, I am more than willing to help you. The important thing is that, you must be in prayer with other Christians. The Holy Spirit did not find the Apostles all scattered around, it found them together praying. You need to have that longing for the Holy Spirit and ask God to in-break the Holy Spirit in you. Luke 11: 9-13 tells us, “Ask and you shall receive.” Ask specifically for the Holy Spirit and I will assure you that you will receive it abundantly.
The Apostles gathered around Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary was the great intercessor of the Holy Spirit. She was the first woman in the New Testament to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We must not neglect her. She is the woman I turn to every morning and ask for her help. I cannot imagine a day without her in my life. She is constantly interceding for me and she will intercede for you also that you may receive the Holy Spirit.
As we celebrate this feast of Pentecost, let us ask God to refresh us in his Holy Spirit, that we may go out and be the witnesses of his love to all of humanity.