SERMON/HOMILY OF PENTECOST SUNDAY – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: YOU TOO CAN BE A BENEFICIARY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT’S POWER
BY: Friar Tochukwu Okonkwo, OFM Cap.
There is a debate among scholars on the rightful birthday of the Church. Some who argue that it is “Easter Sunday” maintain that if Christ had not risen from the dead our faith would have been pointless (1 Cor. 15:14). The second group, being relatively a larger and more popular group, holds that Pentecost Sunday is the birthday of the Church.
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Whatever may be your school of thought, it is important to know that the argument is inconsequential to your faith since no position makes us holier or better Christians or makes us more a candidate for heaven without daily struggles.
Regardless of your position, we must not fail to identify the fact that the Holy Spirit was sent down to the disciples to continue the work of Christ in the world. You and I are also beneficiaries of this same gift of the Spirit provided that we are baptised and confirmed.
Another key thing we pick is that regardless of your position, the Church is not a human institution or of human origin. It is founded by Christ and confirmed by the Holy Spirit.
Sadly, this Holy Spirit who began his work right from the beginning of the Church, though still at work in our world today, has been terribly abused. In fact, from the indices at hand, one will not be wrong to say that he is the most bastardised “person” of the Blessed Trinity, as Fr Adesina rightly says.
The First reading (Acts 2:1-12) and the Gospel (Jn 15:26-27, 16:12-15) complement each other in their discourse about the descent of the Holy Spirit.
The Second reading (Gal. 5:16-25) shows us the consequences and signs of the Spirit’s presence in every heart, family, group, etc.
What the Holy Spirit is not:
1. Not a spirit of confusion. No, he is God – equal to the Father and the Son. He is the same Lord and God as they are living in one Trinity and undivided unity.
2. Not an enemy destroyer (hired assassin)
3. Not your errand boy that avenges your case with anyone you disagree with or hate
4. Not a spirit of vengeance either, just to mention a few
What is the Holy Spirit then?
1. Through him, we become bold to call God our Father (Rom. 8:15)
2. He helps us bear good fruits (Gal 5:22)
3. He helps us navigate through the vicissitudes of life and restores order to our lives, families, communities, etc. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will teach you all things (Jn 14:26) and not that he will destroy your enemies. Rather than sending him to your so-called enemies, why not invoke him to come take possession of your life, your situation, your family and so on?
4. He is a vivifier that enlivens and invigorates us when we are lukewarm. He also unifies us as one flesh in the one body of Christ (Eph 4:1-6)
5. He is the spirit of order and intelligibility and not a spirit of disorder and confusion. That is why St Paul says “I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct than ten thousand in tongues (1 Cor. 14:19). It shows that he is not a spirit of disorder.
How do you know if the Holy Spirit dwells actively in you?
1. You will have the spirit of forgiveness: We have a divine command to love. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Lk 6:27-36).
Rom. 12:20: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty give him drink…in doing this you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Mt. 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Rom. 13:17a: “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.”
2. Life of purity: Just as our second reading points to the kind of inner life of holiness we should live, if we are not afire with the zest to lead pure and holy lives, then it means we have stifled the Holy Spirit within us.
3. Loss of interest in the interior life: If you notice your life of prayer, sacraments and holy devotion dwindling, then it means you may have sent the Holy Spirit packing in your life or soul. He does not stay in arid fields that are not constantly watered by prayers and holy devotions.
4. The manifestation of some of the twelve fruits and seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is another sign of his activity in the soul that welcomes him.
What signs do you see in yourself and what do you think you could do to either remedy or keep it flourishing (if you see the signs of his presence) is a salient question we must ask ourselves today. It is only when we answer this question in the affirmative that we will begin to experience his power since we are all beneficiaries.
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