Understanding the workings of the Holy Spirit-Homily for the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday MAY 2023

HOMILY FOR SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST SUNDAY, YEAR A

Acts 2:1-11; Ps.104; 1Cor.12:3b-7.12-13; John 20:19-23

“ _They were all filled with the Holy Spirit_ ” (Acts 2:4)

Understanding the workings of the Holy Spirit

The first reading of today opens with: “when the day of Pentecost had come…” Truly, this is the long awaited day we have been preparing for. Many of us, in not all, have entered this day with some huge expectations, namely, that we shall experience the presence and impact of the Holy Spirit within us and it will bring about huge manifestations in/for us. Our expectations is fueled by the nine days novena preparations we undertook before this day. For some, the novena was a moment of silent prayers and meditations; for some, it was a period of vocal and spontaneous/radical prayers. Maybe there are some too who were too busy to do a novena but are not without expectations for this day. But what do we expect the Holy Spirit to do for us and with us?

The readings of today make us understand that the Holy Spirit is no slave to any man’s expectation; it has the mandate of the Father and so, it comes to continue the mission of Christ in the lives of believers. The truth is, we may not leave this Church today with some extraordinary feeling as a sign that the Spirit has come upon us. We may not even see ourselves doing some extraordinary things that we could not do before now such as speaking in tongues, working miracles, financial prosperity, etc. If we are open, what the Spirit will surely do for us is to enlighten us to understand life meaningfully and our mission on earth. It is this understanding that will make our lives henceforth more fulfilling. Sincerely, all our extraordinary expectations may still be met if/when we are duly enlightened.

*The Spirit comes to those who are obedient to God*. We are told in the first reading that the disciples were all gathered together in one place when the Spirit came upon them. This gathering was in obedience to Jesus who earlier told them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The date and time of the Spirit’s coming was not made known; they were to wait until the Spirit comes. What would have been the fate of any disciple if he or she was not present when the Spirit came? Now, let’s face a truth about ourselves: as I was preparing for this huge day of Pentecost, how much was I obedient to God’s commandment? Did I consciously and seriously resolve to give up sinful habits? Even if I fall under the unction of the Holy Spirit now, as I get up, will I stop living in the flesh? We cannot be disobedient and at the same time be Spirit filled. The Holy Spirit is one God with the Father and the Son. He won’t gift a person who disobeys him in the Father and the Son. So, your level of holiness is your level of spirituality.

*The Spirit comes with the grace of forgiveness.* After Jesus has breathed on the disciples in the gospel reading, he charged them to forgive and instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation. One who is Spirit-filled does not go about revenging wrongs. The Spirit humbles us to realize that just as we heavily rely on the Mercy of God, so also we must graciously show mercy to those who offend us. Forgiveness entails readiness to engage issues affecting us in dialogue rather than being cynical, malicious and presumptuous. It means talking to our offenders about the offence; not talking to others about our offenders. It means seeking the conversion not the downfall of our offenders. It means not judging anyone as unworthy of the graces of God because we dislike them. It means not pretending that we have forgiven when in truth, we have not.

*The Spirit increases our consciousness of sin.* Light and darkness cannot co-exist; so, you cannot be Spirit-filled and be comfortable in sin. The attitude with which we sin and what we do after sinning tell greatly whether we have the Spirit of God or not. A married man who believes that all men are polygamous by nature and lives as such, is different from another who struggles to be faithful to the wife but fell into the sin of adultery. For the latter, adultery was mistake; for the former, it is a way of life. Even if both go for confession, the latter will be ready to renounce every engagement with the sin partner, while the former will be more concerned about not being caught. Beloved, we cannot maintain a life-style that accommodates a culture of sin and still claim to be Spirit-filled. For example, can a youth be Spirit-filled and still be in possession of contraceptives; just in case?

*The Spirit gives us gifts whose manifestations must benefit humanity without segregating*. In the first reading, as the Spirit enabled the disciples to speak in different tongues, their utterance was intelligible to those around. They were not just engaged in gymnastics but in evangelization. People could hear the Word of God in their indigenous languages. The disciples already had the message; what the Spirit did was to enable them reach out courageously to as many persons as possible. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit also ensured that no one was left out in hearing the Goodnews in his or her own language. It did not matter whether the multitudes were friends/known to the disciples or not. Beloved, if your gift is not benefiting others massively, and/or if you are sorting those to benefit from the manifestation of your gift, know that you are no longer using the manual of the gift-giver.

*Seeking the Glory of God, the Spirit teaches us to work in unity.* Notice that though the multitude could hear each of the disciples speak their language, the disciples did not begin to separately gather people of a particular tribe that could understand them; that is, the disciples did not create their private congregation out of the multitude. They operated as one with Peter as their head. That explains why Peter wrapped up the message. The temptation to seek personal glory is always there; it often times manifest as pride, shakara, unavailability, rudeness, etc. Beloved, it was not your blood that was shed on Calvary. Resist this temptation and give honour to whom it is due. If the disciples had sought for private congregation, they would not have recorded as much as three thousand converts that day. The strength of unity surpasses the gains of selfishness.

*The Spirit works beyond our expectation*. As the disciples waited upon the Spirit, they were not so sure what the Spirit will do with them. After receiving the Holy Spirit, as they were preaching, they may not have known initially that the multitudes could understand them in their different languages. Even today, when we dispose ourselves to working for the Lord, we will always be wondered by what the Lord will accomplish through us. Invariably, we cannot fathom the extent to which things will go wrong if we are unavailable. It is not up to us to know these limits; just be available for the Spirit through holiness, a loving and forgiving heart, service, humility and so on.

If today, we assimilate these understandings, we have been Spirit-filled. If we go on to put them into practice, extraordinary manifestations will be recorded. But if we “fall under the anointing” but do not have/practice these understandings, we may have only acted a script.