Pentecost
5-31-20
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Many of us know friends who are generous,
perhaps impulsive or unpredictable. They can be extremely loyal but a
bit of a “coward” so that you can’t always depend on them. They may show
occasional flashes of brilliance but they are generally thick headed.
Others say that they mean well, but they are losers. However, let us say
these friends change overnight and instead of impulsive they become
aggressive; instead of unpredictable, they are now reliable and brave
rather than cowardly. Now they are open to new ideas, listen and
evaluate.
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If all this happened, you would wonder what
happened to change them from a loser to a winner. You would want to know
what force built their good points and corrected their bad ones. The
person that I am thinking of who fits in all these categories is St.
Peter. When we read about him in the Gospel, he is pretty much the
loser. However, when we read about him in Acts, he is transformed into
the kind of leader that the early church needed.
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The reason for the change is clearly the
event we heard about in today’s first reading - the coming of the Holy
Spirit. The same kind of transformation took place in the life of that
other great leader, St. Paul. Before his conversion and his reception of
the Spirit, Saul was an extremely dedicated person, but with a closed
intolerant mind, ready to persecute those whose beliefs challenged his.
He was a brilliant student of the law, but could calmly watch his peers
stoned to death.
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After receiving the Holy Spirit Paul was
still energetic and brilliant, but he became a warm understanding
person. God knows each of us needs a lot of transforming. The fact that
we are Christians does not mean that we automatically act consistently
in a Christian manner. God knows that we still have many rough edges
just like the Apostles. Jesus kept promising them that He and the Father
would send the Spirit to help teach, strengthen and comfort them.
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That initial arrival of the Spirit we
commemorate today. The amazing effect the Spirit had on the members of
the early church is what is written in the Acts of the Apostles. The
Spirit does not try to transform us into some sort of ideal Christian so
that each of us is a carbon copy of the other. Note how different Peter
and Paul are from each other and how each of them retrains his unique
personality and gifts. The role of the Spirit is to strengthen the good
each of us has within, so that each of us will mirror Christ in our
unique way and make our contribution to the building up of Christ’s
Body, which is the church.
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Many of you are sitting asking yourself,
“With all the Christians in the world or in this Parish, why isn’t
Christ more visible? Where is the Holy Spirit today?” The answer to
these questions involves another question.
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“Why do I and most people I know resemble
the Apostles before Pentecost, rather than after it?” The answer to this
question is that God never forces His gifts on anyone. Many times
unfortunately, we do not let His Spirit into our lives. Perhaps it is
because we do not think we will enjoy being truly Christian, generous,
loving and full of reverence for others. Maybe we are just be afraid of
any change in our lives even if the change is for the better. Whatever
the reason all of us can admit that we often block the action of the
Spirit within us.
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Sometimes we deliberately fill our lives
with distraction. We would rather be bored then speak to God or take the
time to read the bible. If you want to see what the Holy Spirit can do
look at the Apostles on the first Pentecost. One moment they were a
handful of ordinary workingmen hiding behind locked doors of fear and
the next moment they have flung themselves into the heart of Jerusalem.
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They preach Christ crucified to the people
who crucified Him. The Holy Spirit had become the moving force in their
lives. It is a tremendous thing this gift of God to you: The same Holy
Spirit hoovered over the waters when God made heaven and earth. The same
Holy Spirit spoke through the Old Testament prophets. The same Holy
Spirit overshadowed a young girl and made her the Virgin Mother of God.
The same Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in tongues of fire and
transformed cowards into heroes.
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The same Holy Spirit is the soul of the
church, who keeps the church Holy and free of error. That Holy Spirit
dwells within you. Yes, He can transform your lives, this Holy Spirit if
you will only let Him. Part of that transformation is something we
rarely realize. Do you remember the words of Christ? “Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you.”
This is your peace this gift of God to you, this Holy Spirit.
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The realization that God loves you, God
lives in you. This peace no one can take from you. Christ invites us to
open our lives our hearts and minds to the working of His Spirit. So
that we can ask….Lord, send forth your Spirit to renew the face of the
earth.
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