The
Day of Pentecost
31st
May 2009 9:00am Sung Eucharist
Preacher:
The Dean
The Church of
the Holy Spirit
“I
still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the
Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
(Jn 16:12-13) The Gospel Reading today, once again, confirms that the Holy
Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, helping us to understand Truth, and to accept
and live by it. In order that the Holy Spirit could come more quickly to the
apostles, Jesus even said, “It is to your ‘advantage’ that I
go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you.”
(Jn 16:7)
Yes, the
Holy Spirit came to teach the disciples how to continue Jesus’ ministry on the
earth. It has the same mission towards us today as well.
Once upon a
time, a priest and a Rabbi went into a tailor’s shop and respectively placed
their orders for new suits. When they asked how much they would cost, the
tailor reply, ‘I hold religious men in high regard and never charge them.’ So
the priest and the Rabbi asked the tailor what they could send him to respond
to his kindness. The tailor said, ‘Father, Rabbi, I don’t expect to receive
anything from you, but if you wish to send me something, please ask the Holy
Spirit for his guidance. So the next day the priest sent the tailor a nice
crucifix and the Rabbi sent three more Rabbi asking for new suits.
Today is
Pentecost. It is the birthday of the Church, a very special feast for all
Christians. We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But how do we let the Holy
Spirit work amongst us?
According to
the Gospels, Jesus and his disciples had lived together for three years by that
time. When it was time that Jesus should leave them and return to the Father,
it was also time for the Holy Spirit to assume his task. If Jesus lingered on
with the disciples, it would be more difficult for them to reach maturity.
My father
passed away during my teenage. About a month after he died, when his gravestone
was completed, I took my 8-year-old brother to the cemetery. As evening was
approaching, we lost our way and both of us were very upset. I really wanted to
cry but I noticed my brother had started crying first. I knew I couldn't cry
and tried to calm myself. Because although I had no one to rely on, there was
someone else relying on me.
From that
day on I noticed that I need to walk a path of self-reliance in order to
protect my younger brother and sisters. I had to be independent and strong
myself, I would not have a father to depend on again. In this way the early
death of my father was a blessing from God. It helped me to understand that from
then on I must learn to be self-reliant.
While Christ
was still on earth, as soon as the disciples had questions, they would ask
Jesus and depend on his guidance. It is because in Jesus they could receive the
best and most complete answers.
But
unfortunately those were not the apostles' own answers! They found it difficult
to apply the answers to their own lives. Even less did they know how to apply
them to other practical situations, or adapt or change them to fit a diversity
of circumstances. When they had difficulties, they turned to Jesus. Jesus would
comfort, encourage and support them. But when Jesus was no longer by their
side, they probably did not know how to comfort or encourage themselves or each
other; even less how to comfort, encourage and support others in their time of
need.
When Jesus
was no longer present, the apostles had no one on whom to depend, so they had
to rely on themselves and on each other. Therefore, when a problem arose about
whether or not all Christians should be circumcised, according to the Acts of
Apostles Chapter 15, they called the first Council in the history of the
church, the Council of Jerusalem. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they would
solve the problem among themselves.
Earlier on,
Jesus had said to them, “I have said these things to you while I am
still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in
my name, will teach you everything, and ‘remind’ you of all that I have said to
you.” (Jn. 14:25-26). The Holy Spirit will teach us everything,
reveal everything to us, and ‘remind’ us of all that Jesus taught us.
It is the
fifth time in John’s Gospel that Jesus promised to send us the Spirit in
fulfillment of the Father’s plan. Without his work, people would never be able
to grow up.
Some may
think that since Jesus evangelized for only a few years, he did not have enough
time to convey to us his entire message. Thus, in order not to leave his
mission incomplete due to his untimely death, he was to send the Spirit to
teach what was still lacking.
But this is
not the meaning of Jesus’ words. In the following verses he said clearly that
the Spirit would not add anything to what he had said, nothing new will be
added to the gospel; the Spirit’s task was to enlighten the disciples and assisting
them to understand correctly what Jesus had already taught them. The reason why
Jesus did not explain everything was not due to a lack of time, but the
inability of the disciples to bear the burden of his message.
What’s the
matter? What makes the burden so ‘heavy’? It is the burden of the cross. Human
reasoning and logic would find it impossible to explain that God’s plan of
salvation must first pass through failure, defeat and the death of his Son at
the hands of the wicked; it would be impossible to comprehend that the fullness
of life is achieved only through a gratuitous self-giving. This ‘whole truth’
is indeed most burdensome, and impossible to carry without the strength
bestowed by the Spirit.
Therefore,
Jesus told the disciples that the Holy Spirit would reveal to them all things
to come. This was not referring to the end of the world but to the application
of Jesus’ message to the trials of life of all ages to come.
For example,
it is not enough for us to know that it is written in the Gospel that we must
love our brothers and sisters, we must also know how this is to be carried out
now, in the pragmatic situations of today’s world. The disciples of Jesus will
never fail to implement Christ’s teaching if they follow the guidance of the
Spirit, because the Spirit is the one to lead them ‘to the ‘complete truth’.
And who is
the Spirit talking to? Would it be only to the Archbishop, the bishops and priests
who must then inform the people of their enlightenment? No. All the disciples
of Christ are instructed and led by the Spirit. This is why whenever our congregations
gather to celebrate the Word, after having the explanation of the readings,
everybody is invited to share with their brothers and sisters the inspiration
from the Spirit, so that all may be encouraged and enriched.
When we are
in a specific situation we do not only rely on our wisdom. Inspired by the
spirit of Christ and the movement of the Spirit, we must consider, deliberate
and then make a decision, and take responsibility for the results and outcomes.
Then Jesus' teaching becomes part of our thinking and helps us solve problems. In
fact, we have claimed for ourselves some of the Jesus’ quality for ourselves!
We have become mature!
Our church
is a church with Jesus at the centre. It also is a church which is moved by the
Holy Spirit. We must find a balance between these two.
Jesus gives
us the rules and the way but only the Holy Spirit can help us learn the
necessary skills!
Jesus'
church asks us to listen, the church of the Holy Spirit asks us to think. With
both of these qualities we will have a healthy and mature church.
Dear
brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit will bring to the completion the work of
the Father and the Son. Although Jesus is not physically present with us here,
the Holy Spirit is always with us and in us. Whenever we are in doubt, he is
there as our enlightener, Whenever we are weak, he is there as our supporter,
whenever we are in sorrow, he will be there as our comforter, whenever we lose
our way, he will be there as our guide.
On
this Pentecost Sunday when we celebrate the birthday of the Church, let us not
hesitate to seek assistance from the Holy Spirit, whatever our standing in life
may be. The Holy Spirit is not the Holy Spirit of the Church because he is not
a tame force carefully bottled in ecclesiastical institutions, available to be
served out in rational doses according to the decisions of the hierarchy or the
ministry of specially illuminated saints. But we are the Church of the Holy
Spirit, we are not subject to human control and, like the wind, he blows
wherever he chooses. Let us therefore constantly pray to the Holy Spirit,
especially today, to come and fill our hearts and our Church.