Acts 2:1-11; John 7:37-52;
8:12
On today’s great Feast of Pentecost, we
celebrate the fulfillment of the deepest desires of those who bear the divine image
and likeness to participate personally in the eternal life of God. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes upon on
the Apostles as they are gathered together in obedience to the command of the
risen Lord. The same divine breath which first gave us life from the dust
of the earth now comes as a mighty, rushing wind. The divine glory beheld
by Moses in the burning bush now rests upon each one personally as flames of
fire. The divided speech of the tower of Babel is now overcome by
the miracle of speaking in different languages as a sign that everyone is
invited to share in the life of the Lord. This great feast manifests the
fulfillment of God’s gracious promises for the entire world and every human
person in the Body of Christ, the Church born at Pentecost. Today we celebrate the restoration of our
true unity in God through the unifying power of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter
sent by the risen and ascended Savior Who is seated at the right hand of the
Father in heavenly glory.
The sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit
empowers the Church as a living icon of the common life of humanity in which
our petty divisions are healed. He
enables us to become persons in communion united organically as members of the
one Body of Christ instead of isolated individuals obsessively choosing sides
over against one another due to the fear of death. The Persons of the Holy Trinity share a
common life of love, unity, and holiness; by the power of the Holy Spirit manifested
at Pentecost, we participate by grace in Their eternal communion. Our journey to theosis calls us to nothing less than being united in and with God
such that we become radiant with the divine energies in every dimension of our
being, like an iron left in the fire of holy glory.
As those who bear the divine image and
likeness, we become both more truly human and more like God as we find healing
from the passions that divide and separate us, and instead embrace our life
together. That is why St. Paul wrote, “the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23) That
is why St. Silouan the Athonite taught, “One can only love one’s enemies
through the grace of the Holy Spirit.” And “He who does not love his enemies,
does not have God’s grace.”[1]
The Lord said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He
who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water.’” He uses the image of
living water to describe what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, even
as He did with St. Photini, the Samaritan woman at the well. Our risen and ascended Lord did not send mere
theological ideas, moral instructions, or spiritual practices to His followers. He did not limit His salvation to any
particular group of people. After His
Ascension, the Savior sent the Holy Spirit to quench the deep thirst, the primal
longing, of all the broken, confused, and alienated people of the world for
sharing personally in the eternal life of God, for nothing else can truly
satisfy us as those who bear the divine image and likeness.
As everyone who pays attention to the weather
knows, wind, fire, and water are powerful realities that escape our control. At
Pentecost they convey the profound mystery of what it means to participate in
the divine life in ways that transcend even the best rational definitions: As living members of the Body of Christ, we
may truly know and experience God from the depths of our hearts and in our
common life as did the Apostles.
In order to celebrate this great feast with
integrity, we must mindfully open ourselves as fully as possible to the sanctifying presence
of the Holy Spirit. In order to do
that, we must live faithfully each day through the spiritual strength that we
gain from participating in the sacramental and ascetical life of the
Church. The Holy Spirit came upon
Christ’s followers as they were gathered together in obedience to the Lord’s command,
and we must never fool ourselves into thinking that the spiritual life is an
individualistic endeavor that caters to our preferences, prejudices, or feelings,
no matter what they may be. Pentecost
calls us to get over the pride that divided the tongues of humanity in the
first place and to gain the humility to find our true personhood as members together
of the Body of Christ, where the distinctive beauty of our souls will shine
evermore brightly as we partake of the same living water as did the Apostles.
Indeed, Pentecost is a time for becoming so
receptive to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit that we overflow with His
living water, becoming channels of blessing that enable our neighbors and world
to flourish with the peace, joy, and holiness of God’s Kingdom. For that to happen, we must turn away from all
that separates us from full participation in the life of our Lord in His Body,
the Church. For that to happen, we must kneel
in prayer before God and live in humility as we forgive our enemies, share our
resources with the poor, and take up the daily struggle to purify our
hearts. That is the only way for us to overflow
with the gracious divine energies poured out abundantly for the salvation of
the world on this great Feast of Pentecost.
[1] See Jean-Claude
Larchet, “On the Love of Enemies According to Saint Silouan,” https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2020/10/on-love-of-enemies-according-to-saint.html
