In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Today, the Christian world celebrates the birthday of the Church. It is the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the Disciples and turned their fear into faith and faithfulness. The Holy Spirit gave the Disciples the courage to follow the way of Jesus in a world that often opposed it.
It’s important to remember that when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper, even His most loyal Disciples fled in fear for their own lives. When the “going got tough,” their promise to stand by Him through thick and thin quickly deteriorated into fear for their own lives. Even after the Resurrection, those same Disciples were confused and afraid. They knew God raised Jesus from the dead but the Disciples were unsure of what to do so they stayed behind locked doors out of fear for their own safety, but fifty days after Easter, fifty days after the Resurrection, everything changed.
As we heard Sona read from the Book of Acts a few moments ago, when the Day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly, there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind and it filled the entire room where they were gathered. Tongues of fire appeared among them and a tongue, it says, rested on each of them. At that moment, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign languages and have abilities they never had before.
Like courage and faith and trust, Pentecost is a very important feast day. It is the Feast of the Holy Spirit entering into the life of the Church and her people and the Holy Spirit helps us produce a “Special Harvest”—a Harvest we never had before. It’s a ‘harvest” that is produced when the Holy Spirit lives within the lives of people. It’s a “harvest” of love and joy and peace and patience, It’s a “harvest” of kindness and goodness and faithfulness.
Today is the feast of “planting and growing” our faith. It’s the day we celebrate the harvest nourished by God’s Spirit. All throughout the Bible, we hear examples of “planting and growing” and throughout its many pages, we are repeatedly reminded that just as a farmer must plant seeds if he or she hopes to reap a harvest, we, too, must plant good seeds in our lives if we want a life of meaning and happiness and faith. We must plant good seeds in the fields of our families and our marriages and we must plant good seeds in our personal lives and in our social lives.
Pentecost serves to remind us that if we want to reap happiness, we have to sow “happiness” by bringing joy to others and not tear them down. If we want to reap a place in Heaven, we must first sow “the seeds of faith” by spending time with God. If we want to reap a loving family, we should first sow the seed by loving our family.
This is a biblical law established by God for this world. What we plan is what we will harvest. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity. We invoke His name at the start of every prayer when we say: “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” So, when we begin our prayers with those words, let us do so knowing with Whom we are speaking and what power can come from that prayer.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to watch over our children, watch over our parents, watch over our families and marriages, watch over our sick and watch over us all and grace us with the fruit that the Holy Spirit places in the lives of all those who believe. The Holy Spirit enabled the Disciples to speak the languages of the world on that first Pentecost.
Today, that same Holy Spirit can enable us to speak the languages needed today—the languages of peace and patience and kindness. Today, the Holy Spirit can help us love more and argue less, accept more and disagree less and to become more engaged and less disengaged.
Today on the Feast of Pentecost, we have an opportunity to look at ourselves and ask the questions:
- How does the Holy Spirit impact my life and the life of my family?
- Am I open to His guidance?
- Do I ignore Him as if He doesn’t exist or matter?’
May Pentecost remind us that what we plant in this world is what we will harvest in our eternal lives. How does the Holy Spirit impact my life and the life of my family? Am I open to His guidance?
Something for all of us to think about.
Amen.