"The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you (John 14.15-16, 23b – 26)." Nearing the end of his public ministry, Jesus of Nazareth began to speak about another Advocate, about living water, about the Spirit of his Father. With this word, he instructs us about life with him in the here and now... right here, right now.
Last weekend, we remembered the Ascension of the Risen Lord. At this celebration, we remembered the day when the Lord Jesus left this good earth, humanity's home. Did his ministry disappear when he left his friends and the confines of this world? Did his life's work stop when he left his mother and his chosen ones? Did the word of Jesus disappear, as he disappeared from our sight?
"The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you (John 14.15-16, 23b – 26)." Nearing the end of his public ministry, Jesus of Nazareth began to speak about another Advocate, about living water, about the Spirit of his Father. With this word, he instructs us about life with him in the here and now... right here, right now.
Last weekend, we remembered the Ascension of the Risen Lord. At this celebration, we remembered the day when the Lord Jesus left this good earth, humanity's home. Did his ministry disappear when he left his friends and the confines of this world? Did his life's work stop when he left his mother and his chosen ones? Did the word of Jesus disappear, as he disappeared from our sight?
This weekend... Pentecost Sunday... we remember the gift of God's breath, God's Spirit-life within us... and we mark the beginning of the Age of the Church. It is Christ's Church, and His Presence is manifest to us in and through the Spirit active in each of us in our baptism, in our confirmation... in all the sacraments or signs of the Lord. The saving ministry of reconciliation that the Lord Jesus offered through his obedience to our Father continues through the Church. But what does this mean to you and me, in the real world, in the world of work and family, the world of joys and woes, the world of fellowship and loneliness? Why might this feast day of Pentecost be called our feast day?
After the Risen Lord left this earth at Ascension, but before the Gospels were written down (c. 70 AD), the Church was alive and the authentic teaching of the Lord Jesus was known throughout. This small community of faith celebrated the Presence of the Lord Jesus and his power after he left this earth, even before the letters of St. Paul were sent and read (c. 51AD ff.).
It is very important that each of us understands this: before the compiled gospels and letters we know as the New Testament was available to those of the faithful that could read, the one Church of Christ was already living the new Way of life and initiating members through the regenerating waters of baptism. How was the life of the Lord Jesus lived authentically, before the written records we know as sacred scripture were available? His power and authority were given to Peter and the apostles, to guide the community of the new Way of the Lord. The Apostles were instructed to lead the Church in His Name, in and through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit of God guides us in the here and now, to hear the Word that is the Lord Jesus. It is given to us and we are invited to surrender to that gift of love. We are free to accept the guidance of the Spirit. But we are also free to ignore the silent voice within... our conscience... and go our own way. We are free to ignore the Spirit's guidance of the Church of Christ. We are free to follow the path of darkness... of self-centered living, of narcissism, of sin. We have the blessing of freedom as God does, and the Spirit of God invites us... implores us... to follow the way home, the way to true happiness, the way to joy... in the here and now. We are invited to rebirth and renewal, allowing our hearts to be formed anew in the Spirit.
Pentecost is our feast day. For though we did not walk with Him as the apostles did, we can know and love and serve Him authentically, through the indwelling Spirit. In the Spirit, we are members of the Church of Christ, and as such, form the Body of the Lord for our neighbor.
In this Age of the Church, even with the sin and the scandal within and without the Church, we are blessed to be part of this world-wide community of faith, this universal assembly of the people of God (the Catholic Church). Let us rejoice in the Lord and through the silent flame of love... that is the Spirit.
Msgr. David Talley
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