'We need to ask God for all that we need'
(Readings: Romans 8.8-17; John 14.15-16, 23-26)
Today’s feast has its origins in the Jewish feast which originally celebrated the harvest but which came to be closely associated with the giving of the Law to Moses on Sinai. It was on this feast that the Apostles were gathered in a room in Jerusalem when they were transformed by the inpouring of the Holy Spirit. We all know the description of that event in the Acts of the Apostles very well indeed: we recall the sound of the rushing wind and the descent of flames of fire upon the heads of those present in the room. We remember how Luke describes the Apostles as transformed men – fearlessly going out into the city and preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ to all who were present so that the very many devout people who were present all heard their preaching as if it was in their own native tongue.
This feast day is not simply an historical commemoration. We are praying today that the Holy Spirit may overshadow us. Few of us will experience the dramatic events which accompanied the outpouring of the Spirit at the Pentecost – but that does not mean that the Holy Spirit is not active in our world. And so let us ask ourselves what kind of change we are expecting to take place in the course of our lives.
Let us remember first of all that Pentecost represents the culmination, the completion, of our celebration of Easter. Let us just remind ourselves what Easter means. Jesus suffered and died and was laid in a tomb. His death, in a mysterious way which is difficult to understand, reconciled us to God the Father. By this we mean that Jesus restored our relationship with his Father; that he broke down all the barriers that human sin had placed between the loving mercy of God and individual human beings. On the third day Jesus rose again from the dead and was truly, completely, superabundantly, alive. He lives now for all eternity in the presence of God his Father. Jesus, the Son of God, is the perfect human being who lived his life on earth as all human beings are called to live their lives on earth and who now enjoys the result of his fidelity to the Father’s will by remaining in his presence for all eternity. You and I are invited to share in the life of Christ: we are invited to follow in Christ’s footsteps on earth so that we, too, may live in God’s presence for all eternity in heaven.
How can we follow in Christ’s footsteps? Is this not completely beyond our strength? Isn’t it the case that when we try to live as Christ lived we find ourselves falling short? It is certainly true that for as long as we depend on our own strength we fall short, but it is not impossible to follow in Christ’s footsteps – God never asks us to do what is impossible. Let us listen once more to the words of Christ in the Gospel: ‘If you love me you will keep my commandments...’ ‘If you love me...’ It is our love for Christ which makes all the difference. If we love Christ we follow the commandments not as an end in themselves but as a means of getting to a more important end – that is union with God in this life and eternal life in heaven after our death.
When we love a person we are not afraid of asking that person for their help, for their support, for their friendship. St Paul in the first reading tells the Christians in Rome that they must regard God as the best of all possible fathers, the kind of father they can call, ‘Abba’. We need to have the same kind of simple trust. We need to ask God for all that we need.
Our most important need is to have God present in our lives. Clearly Christ cannot be present to us in the same way that he was present to Peter, James, John and the other Apostles in Galilee before his crucifixion. We experience Christ in the same manner as they experienced him after his Ascension. You will recall that before his Ascension Christ told his disciples that he would send the Paraclete to them and that they would be baptised with the Holy Spirit. He makes the same promise to us. The Spirit of the Lord is present within us when we pray. The same Spirit is present among us when we gather as Christians to listen to the Word of God in Scripture. The same Spirit fills and transforms the gifts of bread and wine which we offer at this altar. This Holy Spirit awaits our acceptance of his gifts: the Spirit longs to transform us as he transformed the first Apostles.
The Lord delights in giving to his chosen people what they ask for in faith: this morning let us ask for the gifts which will, in the course of our lives, transform us making us the human being God desires us to be.
Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Holy Spirit, lord of light, from the clear celestial height, thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, thou Father of the poor, come with treasures which endure; come, thou light of all that live!
Thou, of all consolers best, thou, the soul's delightful guest, dost refreshing peace bestow; thou in toil art comfort sweet; pleasant coolness in the heat; solace in the midst of woe.
Light immortal, light divine, visit thou these hearts of thine, and our inmost being fill: if thou take thy grace away, nothing pure in man will stay; all his good is turned to ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew; on our dryness pour thy dew; wash the stains of guilt away: bend the stubborn heart and will; melt the frozen, warm the chill; guide the steps that go astray.
Thou, on those who evermore thee confess and thee adore, in thy sevenfold gifts descend: give them comfort when they die; give them life with thee on high; give them joys that never end.
Rt Rev Cuthbert Madden OSB, Abbot of Ampleforth