When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
—Acts 2:1–4
In this Pentecost homily, Father Richard Rohr encourages Christians to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit, a gift God has already given us!
It’s a shame that the Holy Spirit tends to be an afterthought for many Christians. We don’t really “have the Spirit.” We tend, I’m afraid, to simply go through the motions. We formally believe, but honestly, there isn’t much fire to it. There isn’t much conviction. There isn’t much service. We just sort of believe. That’s why in the Gospels there are two clearly distinguished baptisms. There’s the baptism with water that most of us are used to, and then there’s the baptism “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11); that’s the one that really matters.
The water baptism that many of us received as children demands little conviction or understanding. Some parents simply do it to make their parents or grandparents happy. Until this baptism by water becomes real, until we know Jesus, and we rely on Jesus, call upon Jesus, share and love Jesus, we’re just going along for the ride.
We can recognize people who have had a second baptism in the Holy Spirit. They tend to be loving. They tend to be exciting. They want to serve others, and not just be served themselves. They forgive life itself for not being everything they once hoped for. They forgive their neighbors. They forgive themselves for not being as perfect as they would like to be.
Even though we so often pray, “Come, Holy Spirit,” the gift of the Spirit is already given. The Holy Spirit has already come. We all are temples of the Holy Spirit, equally, objectively, and forever! The only difference is the degree that we know it, draw upon it, and consciously believe it. All the scriptural images of the Spirit are dynamic—flowing water, descending dove or fire, and rushing wind. If there’s never any movement, energy, excitement, deep love, service, forgiveness, or surrender, we can be pretty sure we aren’t living out of the Spirit. If our whole lives are just going through the motions, if there’s never any deep conviction, we aren’t connected to the Spirit. We would do well to fan into flame the gift that we already have.
God doesn’t give God’s Spirit to those of us who are worthy, because none of us are worthy. God gives God’s Spirit in this awakened way to those who want it. On this Feast of Pentecost, quite simply, want it! Rely upon it. Know that it has already been given.
Welcome the Holy Spirit
In an early book, Richard Rohr names the ability to love as the essential gift of the Holy Spirit:
At the end of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells his followers, “Stay in Jerusalem until you are covered by the power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The disciples remained as they were told until the Spirit descends upon the gathered community on the feast of Pentecost. Suddenly, there is a new vitality in the Church, a new source of power and love. Just as Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit, now the followers of Jesus are empowered by the same Spirit.
By living in the Spirit, Jesus’ disciples can do what God does. Or as Jesus puts it, “Be compassionate, just the way your Father is compassionate” (Luke 6:36). It is by the power of the Spirit that they follow Jesus’ alternative way:
Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you; pray for those who treat you badly. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer your other cheek. If someone takes your coat, let them take your shirt as well. Treat others the way you want them to treat you (Luke 6:27–30).
The gift of the Spirit is God’s own power to love unconditionally—and to transform the world by that power.
This gift of knowing the Spirit, of being able to love as God does, is the same gift we need today. We see the world on the brink of destruction, yet we are too often apathetic about it. We hear of wars and famines, yet we choose to ignore them. We watch the earth degrade around us, and we simply adjust our thermostats. Too many of us just want to be left alone, not bothered by someone else—not even God—making demands on us. All of this is evidence of something missing in our lives, and reveals that we do not really know the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is always a gratuitous gift. It’s always an unmerited favor. It’s always pure grace. Like wind, it cannot be seen. Like smoke, it cannot be controlled. The Spirit is elusive, blowing where it wills. Yet like fire, the Spirit can be felt. The Spirit is experienced as the warmth of God’s love. And like blood, it is experienced as an inner vitality. The Spirit is supremely intimate, yet supremely transcendent.
To enter into relationship with the risen Christ, we have to let go of ourselves, surrender control of our lives, and let the Spirit be given to us. We think that we might lose our individuality, yet surrendering to God actually increases it. For once in our lives, we’re truly free to become ourselves rather than what others want us to be. The highest form of self-possession is the capacity to give ourselves away. By giving ourselves completely to God, we come to be possessed by God and in full possession of ourselves at the same time.
| Stolen, Starved, and Choked |
 We’ve already looked at how in Jesus’ parable the same seed is cast upon different soils, which means the same potential of life in the kingdom is given to all kinds of people. The wildly different outcomes in the story are not a result of different seeds, but instead the types of soil that receive it. In each case, apart from the good soil, some external force interrupts and prevents the seed from following its natural course to bear fruit.The seed that falls on the path is stolen by birds, the seed on the rocky ground is starved by lack of soil, and the seed among thorns is choked to death. What makes the good soil “good” is the fact that it is just soil—no birds, no rocks, no thorns. There’s nothing to get in the way of the seeds’ growth. This draws our attention to the truth that God’s kingdom represents the natural way things ought to be, and that it is the addition and interference of evil that prevents its growth.Very often we assume a fruitful life with God requires the addition of devices or activities. More church programs, more Bible studies, more spiritual disciplines, or more elaborate systems of religious observance. There are times when addition is certainly necessary, just as a seed can benefit from the addition of fertilizer or water. But we mustn’t underestimate the importance of subtraction in spiritual formation either.A flourishing life with God often requires the removal of obstructions that block our vision of his goodness or entangle us in the thorns of sin. I am increasingly convinced that the greatest hindrance to my life with God is my phone. Putting this device aside regularly, removing its nagging notifications, and shutting off the comforting distraction of social media opens me to things essential to a life with God—self-awareness, connection with others, and prayer. In some ways, my phone interferes with and interrupts the growth of God’s kingdom in me and through me.What is getting in the way of your spiritual growth? What do you need less of in your life in order to experience more of God? DAILY SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 13:1-9 MATTHEW 13:18-23 HEBREWS 12:1-2 WEEKLY PRAYERC. Eric Lincoln (1924 – 2000) Lord, let me love, though love may be the losing of every earthly treasure I possess. Lord, make your love the pattern of my choosing. And let your will dictate my happiness. I have no wish to wield the sword of power, and I want no man to leap at my command; nor let my critics feel constrained to cower for fear of some reprisal at my hand. Lord, let me love the lowly and the humble, forgetting not the mighty and the strong; and give me grace to love those who may stumble, nor let me seek to judge of right or wrong. Lord, let my parish be the world unbounded, let love of race and clan be at an end. Let every hateful doctrine be confounded that interdicts the love of friend for friend. Amen. |
