The Empowering Spirit (Pentecost Sunday)

I recall an anecdote about the Holy Spirit: A Christian missionary was struggling to explain to a new-found Japanese friend the mystery of the Trinity, hoping to lead him to embrace the Christian life. After long hours of exchange, the Japanese was nodding... He declared, “The Father... makes sense!” He paused and continued to nod and finally pronounced, “The Son... makes sense!” Then he took a long while and, with a quizzical look, said, “What does not make sense...” He paused and quite tentatively continued as if whispering, “...is the dove.”

Among the persons of the Trinity, the representation of the Holy Spirit is the least clear to many of us. Of course, the nature of the third person, as Spirit, poses a great difficulty for representation. Thus, in contrast to the personal images of the Father and Jesus Christ, we are forced to represent the Holy Spirit through impersonal symbols like fire, wind, breath, water, and the “favoured” dove. This difficulty might contribute to the uncertainty, if not ignorance, among many of us Christians about recognizing the activity of the Spirit in our lives.

The Solemnity of Pentecost may be an opportunity for us to “get to know” the dove or the tongues of fire a little deeper and hence to allow his power to operate in our lives. Today’s readings, first, second and the Gospel, lend themselves to our need to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit. The readings, as I will endeavour to show, reveal the Holy Spirit as the principle of empowerment. The Spirit empowers us from deep within, enabling us to live out our Christian calling—as prophet, king, and priest.

The Holy Spirit and our Prophetic Mission. The first reading (Acts 2:1-11), where we are told of the Spirit’s descent upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire, recounts how the Holy Spirit emboldened the Apostles to speak of “the mighty acts of God” to all peoples. Hiding because of fear, the nervous apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to go out of hiding and confidently proclaim the greatness of God revealed in the person of Christ. The Spirit enabled them to be the prophets that Jesus had called them to become.

The Spirit empowers us to proclaim the truth about God’s work in our lives. There’s something about the charismatic groups that I have brushed elbows with. Their bold testimonies of the work of God in their lives amaze me. In contrast, most Catholics, I observe, are timid about their spiritual lives in general. Many are shy to proclaim what God has done in their lives; or more to the point, many are perhaps not even cognizant of the work of God.

Am I timid, shy, or fearful in proclaiming God’s mighty acts in my life? Let me ask the Holy Spirit to embolden me and turn me into a joyful and fearless herald of the Good News to my family, friends, and to the society.

The Holy Spirit and our Kingly Mission. The call to serve is essential to the concept of Christian kingship. Service or ministry is a gift of the Spirit. The second reading (1 Cor. 12: 3-7, 12-13) shows how St. Paul recognized the diversity of gifts and charisms flowing from the same Spirit. These gifts and charisms are meant to unify and strengthen the one body of Christ, the community of believers , the Church. The Holy Spirit then, with his manifold gifts, empowers us to serve in many and varied capacities.

The parish life is a beautiful illustration of this truth. When a pastor is attuned to the gifts of the Spirit in the community, his leadership brings out the best in all its members even among the poor who become dependable committed community leaders. The parish becomes a community of servant-leaders. Oftentimes I would have goose bumps listening to these small communities singing their hearts out, “Parianong lungsod, harianong lungsod... awit pasalamat tibuok nasud.” Oftentimes, the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in the community is just too palpable to miss.

What gifts and charisms am I endowed with? This is the Holy Spirit’s way of enabling me to serve the community. In what way do I fulfil my kingly mission? In short, in what way do I serve?

The Holy Spirit and our Priestly Mission. Prayer and forgiveness are at the heart of the priestly mission. Both can only be done authentically in the Spirit. The second reading reminds us: “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). Our prayers, if they are to be authentic, have to be inspired by the Spirit. How often we feel that our prayers and liturgical celebrations are mere recitations of formulas and mechanical sequence of gestures born out of habit! Transformative prayers and touching liturgies are way beyond human habits. They are the fruits of the inspiration of the Spirit. They are the expressions of a human heart whose longing is intensified by the Spirit.

Forgiveness too, they say, is a divine activity. But the Spirit empowers the human to forgive. This is crystal clear in today’s gospel (Jn. 20: 19-23): “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them...” It is from here that the Church’s ministry of reconciliation flows. It is from here that I can forgive, to my amazement, an otherwise unforgiveable offense committed against me and the community. It is because of the Spirit that a hardened heart can gradually listen, understand, and finally forgive.

So, as we celebrate Pentecost today, let us recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in us and allow him to empower us to become Christ’s true disciples. Let us allow the Spirit to turn us into bold prophets announcing with joy the greatness of the Lord, into humble kings who serve one another untiringly, into prayerful priests who are agents of peace and forgiveness in this increasingly broken world.