“The Necessity of the Holy Ghost”

Whitsunday

May 23, AD 2010

Acts II: 1-11

It’s been 10 days since the Ascension of our Lord, which was 40 days from our Lord’s rising from the dead. Those numbers add up to 50, and from the Greek word for 50, we derive the word Pentecost. “Whitsunday” comes from English and northern European traditions in which white garments were worn by those being baptized on this high feast day. In those climatic zones, the weather is more favorable for baptism than during the chillier days when Easter falls. Whichever name you choose, the importance of this day can hardly be overstated. What happened on this day in the early history of the people who were followers and disciples of Jesus Christ radically transformed that religious movement into what became a global outreach that sought, and is still seeking, to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus given at the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel [chapter 28, verses 19-20]: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

The symbolism of the coming of the Holy Ghost to the earliest believers is underscored in the Acts of the Apostles when it is recorded in Chapter 1 how the disciples determined that Mathias should take the place of Judas, bringing the core group of disciples back to full strength at 12.  Twelve, of course, is the number of the tribes of Israel, and with the replacement of Judas, a “new Israel” has been reconstituted. The day of Pentecost was a harvest festival for the Jews, also known by names such as the “the Feast of Weeks,” “the Firstfruits of the Wheat Harvest,”and “the Day of Firstfruits”. In effect, Pentecost was a harvest day of souls, galvanizing the first believers with the power of the Holy Ghost to harvest even more souls for the Lord as the Word of God was spread throughout the Gentile world during subsequent days, years, and centuries. The “tongues of fire” that sat upon each of those present recalls other theophanies in the history of the Hebrew people where the presence of God is revealed in an immediate and awe-inspiring way. The writer of the Acts of the Apostles, most likely St. Luke, is clearly drawing parallels between what happened at Pentecost and events such as the pillar of fire that led the children of Israel by night and the fire that accompanied God’s appearance to Moses on Mt. Sinai and the giving of the Law to Israelites fifty days after the paschal lamb was sacrificed. In other words, what has happened with Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Ghost to the early disciples is nothing less than a Second Covenant, a New Age in which the Kingdom of God is breaking into the world through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the subsequent writing of the Law onto the hearts of men and women who believe in Him through the working of the Holy Ghost.

Therefore, today is very much the commemoration of the birthday of the Church. But however much we like to sing Happy Birthday, let’s be careful not to trivialize this important feast day. “But how do we avoid doing that, Deacon Dave?” I’m glad you asked. We trivialize the importance of this day, and betray our God-given birthright, whenever we try to act without the presence of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives. Let’s face it. We’re pretty clear on Jesus most of the time but we don’t always have a clear grasp on the Holy Ghost. We can get caught up in the routine of “doing church” or doing good works and lose that fire in the belly that would make a bigger difference in our lives and that of others. We can proclaim our belief in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and point to His life and teachings as a model for our lives, but if we don’t also allow the Holy Ghost to work in us and guide us, then we’ve just taken a big knife and cut out one third of the Holy Trinity from our being. You know the old saying that God gave us two ears and one mouth so we’d listen twice as much as we’d talk. Well, sometimes we act like the artist Van Gogh and cut off one of our ears when we’d rather not listen to what we’re hearing. Granted, sometimes what we listen to these days is enough to make us crazy enough to do something like that, but let’s not say it’s God’s will or the Holy Spirit told me to do it. Listening to the right things won’t make you crazy, it will make you right with God, even though the world might think you’re crazy.

So how do we know we’re listening to the Holy Ghost and not just some ghost of our imagination or emotional fancy, or worst case, a spirit that comes from that old deceiver, Satan? We have some good clues on how we can do that from what happened during Pentecost as recorded in today’s Epistle lesson. “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” The followers of Jesus, who likely numbered not just the 12 but the 120 who had gathered in the upper room, “were all with one accord in one place.”  The first thing to note is that there was “accord” not “discord”. That’s something of a miracle in itself, isn’t it, getting 12 people, much less 120 people to be in harmonious relationship with one another? Perhaps the place they were in had something to do with it for it is presumed by some interpreters that they were at the temple, or very near it. They were in a place of worship, which lends itself to a focus on praising God and prayer. Nothing unifies a group of people like turning with one heart, mind, and soul to give sincere thanks and praise to our Creator, and also uniting in prayer. Some of us had the privilege of attending the Service of Songs held last evening at the Osogu’s to honor the life of the late Dr. Julius Osogu. Different cultures, languages, and races were present but all were one in praising God, singing hymns, and uniting hearts in prayer.

Worship and prayer as one body of believers gets us out of ourselves and onto a different plane of existence that is more in touch with spiritual realities. It prepares us for God’s Spirit of Grace to descend upon us, and that Spirit can be a fire that purifies our souls, not without pain sometimes, but it transforms us into something better. This action is much like the lightning that sparks a blazing forest fire that when it is over, actually clears the path for rejuvenated life to emerge. We can’t control it, we don’t even want it many times, but we are the better for it when it happens. The first disciples were together in one place, most likely worshiping, praying, and in expectation of something powerful to happen. For Jesus had told them that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit and they would receive power from the Holy Spirit and they would be witnesses of Jesus to the end of the earth. They wanted something powerful to happen in their lives, and had the expectation that it would happen. Are we willing to be that open to change, open to a life transforming experience that conforms to the commandments of Jesus and is guided by the power of the Holy Ghost? Perhaps if we are resistant to some of His promptings, that is a sign that God is trying to reach us. If after prayerful discernment and counsel with other believers, you reach a point of humble surrender to God’s Grace, you can expect powerful things to happen. The Holy Ghost came in a “rushing, mighty wind” that filled the house and with tongues of fire. This was not some gentle breeze but a force to be reckoned with. And what was the result? People from “out of every nation under heaven” were able to understand the words that the disciples were speaking about the “wonderful works of God.”  These were the “first fruits” that were harvested at Pentecost. The Tower of Babel was trumped. The Word of God working through the Holy Ghost was shown to have the power to break down barriers of language, culture, race, hatred, bigotry, prejudice, enmity born of strife – any divisions that separate people from each other and from God’s love. If we are proclaiming Christ boldly as led by the Holy Ghost, we too will bring such a harvest blessed by God. Quite simply, without the Holy Ghost working in our lives, we are severely crippled in our mission to manifest Christ to the world.

What would be a fitting celebration of Pentecost? On evidence from Acts of the Apostles, I submit that it would be acting as one, unified body of Christ, worshipping God in spirit and in truth, praying for and with one another, and being alert with expectant listening for the lively and powerful visitation of God’s Spirit in unexpected ways. We know these ways are always on the right path by their fruits, which always reflect the love of Jesus Christ, True Man and True God. Jesus began His earthly life in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary who responded in faith with a “yes” to the Holy Ghost, despite every human reason for her to say “no.”  Jesus lived, died, arose, and ascended to his Father in heaven that we might be saved from sin and united in love with a God who loves us more than we can fathom. In love, God the Father sent God the Holy Ghost in Jesus’ name to be our Comforter, our Advocate, our Counselor, and lead us into all Truth. In love, the Holy Ghost comes again and again in the Mass to sanctify the elements that we might unite with Jesus through the sacrament of the Eucharist. In love we are baptized by water and the Spirit and empowered to do Jesus’ work on this earth until He comes again in Glory. My prayer is that we will respond in love when the tongues of fire touch our heads and reach all the way into our hearts.

And now unto God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, be ascribed all might, majesty, dominion, and honor, as is most justly due this day, both now and forever, Amen.