Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, one of the greatest feasts of our liturgical year. The Solemnity of Pentecost is more than a commemoration of an historical event, the first Christian Pentecost that St. Luke describes so vividly in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles. That was a monumental occasion. However, this feast is so much more. We are celebrating the infinite presence of God in our world now. We are celebrating the ways in which this unseen presence lives in us and works through us. We are celebrating God's gift of the Holy Spirit, a gift promised to us by Jesus, a gift that makes us "children of God," "heirs of God," and "joint heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:14-17).
The Holy Spirit is not something that comes and goes on an impulse. From the moment of our baptism, the Holy Spirit lives in each one of us. The spirit "remains with [us], and will be in [us]" (John 14:17). The Spirit is with us always (John 14:16). The Spirit inspires everything that is good in us. The Spirit enlightens us. The Spirit animates us. The Holy Spirit is God living in us and transforming us every day so that we can continue the work of building the kingdom here in St. James the Apostle Parish, in Henry County, in Georgia, in the United States and in the world.
Our Lord asked His Father to send us the Holy Spirit so we can "do the works that [He did], and ... do greater ones than these" (John 14:12). Imagine! Our Lord Jesus Christ expects us to do work greater than he did. With the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can. The Spirit enabled St. Peter and the other disciples to speak languages they did not know so they could proclaim the "mighty acts of God" to the whole world. The Spirit enabled the disciples to perform miracles. The Spirit inspired the disciples to establish our Church and lead it through difficult times. This same Spirit is here with us today. The Spirit calls us out of our comfort zones, frees us from fear, and propels us out into the world so that we too can proclaim the gospel of Christ not just with words but also by the example of our lives.
In every generation, O God of Easter glory,
you send forth your Spirit to breathe upon the world
and make it come alive!
Fulfill the promise of these Fifty Days
with the abundant harvest of your Spirit's gifts.
May we, the community of believers in Christ,
adorned with various ministries and gifts,
be continually formed into one body
by the one Spirit which has been poured out on all of us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who sends us the Spirit of truth from you,
and who lives and reigns with you,
God for ever and ever.
AMEN.
