Theme: WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
We celebrate today the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. In the gospel of last two Sundays, we hear Jesus promising his disciples that he will not leave them orphans (Jn 14:18), but that he will send them another Advocate. Today, we celebrate the fulfilment of that promise which Jesus made.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Our CCC teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the Third person of the Holy Trinity. Jesus refers to him as the Advocate, who is the gift of the Father (Jn 14:26). Advocate or Paraclete means someone who stands by the side of another in order to defend the person. Hence, Holy Spirit as our Advocate is
our defender and protector. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as the Father’s good gift to those who ask him (Lk 11:13). Hence, the Holy Spirit is the highest and most ultimate gift of God the Father to those who come to him. In the gospel of John, Jesus tells Nicodemus that the Holy Spirit
is the new birth of the sons and daughters of the kingdom, without which no one can enter the kingdom(Jn 3:5).
WHY DO WE NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT?
a. Without the Holy Spirit, we are orphans (Jn 14:18)
As Jesus was about to leave his disciples, he did not want to leave them to face the battle of the world alone. So, he promised them another Advocate, the Holy Spirit. The disciples needed this Holy Spirit so much so that Jesus told them not to depart from Jerusalem until they have received the Power
from Heaven (Lk 24:49). The disciples locked themselves in the upper room, praying and expecting the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 12-14). But when the Holy Spirit finally came to them, He cast away their fears and led them out courageously into the city (Acts 2:5-36). In other words, the Holy Spirit led
the disciples from the timidity of orphans into the courageousness of sons and witnesses. As St. Paul puts it, the Holy Spirit moves us from the timidity of the world into the spirit of sons of God, those who can no longer say “show us the Father and this will be enough” (Jn 14:8) but those who can boldly
address the Father as Abba (Rom 8:15).
b. To Reveal Jesus to us (Jn 1:32-33)
John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Christ’s coming, and to show him to the people when he finally comes. But John confessed that he himself did not know the person for whom he has been sent. If John does not know Christ, how would he then be able to identify him and to show him to
the people? John did not waste time to tell us how he was able to recognize Christ. The Spirit which descended and rested on Jesus was the sign which John was given (Jn 1:33). Hence, without the coming of the Spirit on Jesus, John would not have been able to recognize him. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals Christ to us. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes in order to see Christ around us, and in our different situations. Christ promises to the disciples “behold I am with you forever until the end of time” (Matt28:20b). Hence, Christ is always with us in every situation we find ourselves. But we we need the Holy Spirit in order to always recognize him as John the Baptist did.
c. For Our Full Understanding of Christ’s Message (Jn 14:26)
Because Jesus wanted some people who would listen to him, learn from him and spread the gospel, he chose the apostles and invited the disciples to himself. But as Jesus was teaching them about the new kingdom of Christ which does not operate as the Roman kingdom or any kingdom in the world,
these disciples were not understanding him. The message of Christ seems too heavy for them to assimilate. Jesus did not lose hope. He knows that there is someone whose function is to make clear the message concerning God’s love and this person is the Third person of the Trinity. Hence, Jesus tells the
disciples that the Spirit whom the Father will send in his name will teach the disciples everything and remind them all that he has said to them (Jn 14:26). Without the Holy Spirit, Christ’s message of the Kingdom of God becomes a ‘nonsense’ to us. It is the Holy Spirit who opens our heart to the teaching of Christ and makes our heart burn with fire upon hearing the gospel message.
d. The Force for Evangelization (Acts 1:8)
The Holy Spirit makes Christ’s message understandable and worthy of dying for. And when the disciples of Christ come to know this truth, they gain the force to go out into the world. The Holy Spirit gives us power to bear witness to Christ (Acts 1:8). Being a disciple of Christ is not a human stuff, it is
not dependent on the flesh. Living life of a discipleship of Christ demands strength in order to stand once ground despite the obstacles and challenges one would encounter. And for this, the Holy Spirit comes with power, the power that will make us irresistible and unconquerable in the things of God. The Holy Spirit bears witness to Christ and makes us worthy and fearless witnesses of the Kingdom of God (Jn 15:26-27). As St. Paul says in the second reading today, only through the Holy Spirit can one profess Jesus as the Lord.
e. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Rom 8:26-27)
In addressing the Romans, St. Paul reminds them that left alone, we cannot do anything because we are weak beings. Even our acts of prayer to the Father is filled with limitations because left in our weak and finite nature, we can only produce something which is weak and finite. But the Spirit of God
which we receive in baptism upgrades us into the adopted sons of God. This same Spirit teaches us how to pray and intercedes for us with a sigh too deep for words (Rom 8:26-27). This means that the Holy Spirit is our greatest intercessor and prayer companion.
f. The Holy Spirit makes us members of Christ’s body (Jn 3:5; Rom 8:9)
John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit (Jn 1:33). In speaking to Nicodemus, Jesus said that no one can be born again unless by water and Spirit. Speaking to the Romans, Paul said that unless we have the Spirit of Christ living in us, we do not belong to him. The Holy Spirit is God’s permanent indwelling in us. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit did our
Blessed Mother Mary become the tabernacle of God’s Son (Lk 1:35). The Holy Spirit makes us the tent, the abode of the Trinitarian God.
Who Gives the Holy Spirit
Jesus makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is different from the spirit of the world because the world does not have this Spirit of the Truth. Hence, the world cannot give the Spirit of God because it cannot give what it does not have. This Spirit of God cannot also be bought with money or anything
(Acts 8:18-21). The Holy Spirit is rather God’s gift to those who earnestly desire and ask for it (Lk11:13). We therefore have to pray always for this gift of the Holy Spirit.
What then should be our Attitude?
The Holy Spirit does not just live in us, but he also produces fruits in us. Through these fruits of the Holy Spirit in us, we become different from what the world produces. The fruits which the Holy Spirit bears in us include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-
control; (Gal. 5:22-23). As those who now have the Spirit of God in them, we are called to avoid anything that contradicts the Spirit-life. Such things like immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing (Gal. 5:19-21 NAS) should not be heard of those who have the Spirit of God living in them.
Come Holy Spirit Fill the Hearts of the Faithful, and kindle in them the Fire of Your Love.
Fr. Nnamah Chukwuezugo