Tuesday 14 June 2011

Pentecost Sunday 12 Jun 2011 Sermon

Pentecost Sunday 12.6.11 Real change

Pentecost is a fuller-than-ever before revelation of the plans of God to save us, and therefore a day to rejoice. God had intervened many times before but never to this extent. All the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, were leading up to this. Even the work of Christ Himself was not complete until Pentecost.

At Pentecost we see that God desires an internal change in people, in the way they relate to Him, in the way they live.

When the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles they were changed forever. They were given in that moment a new and deeper understanding of the reality of God, and though they believed before now they reached a new level of faith and with it, charity.

Receiving a new awareness of God, like a brand on the soul, they forgot their previous fears and were able to proclaim the Gospel to anyone, receptive or hostile.

So we talk of the Holy Spirit putting His seal on us, marking us for life. We belong to God once and for all. (Our sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation are meant to express the same reality as Pentecost, but do not always carry the same conviction. Sometimes only later do we grasp the full impact of sacraments already received.)

The apostles could not not preach the word of God. They knew too much to keep quiet about it. They had discovered the formula that would set everyone free and bring universal happiness.

The same must happen to us. Pentecost is about conversion, of moving form darkness to light, from ignorance to knowing; from not-caring about our neighbour to caring. Caring in the spiritual sense; wanting him to know what we know, the goodness of God. Not being patronising but simply pointing to something that anyone would benefit from.

For the apostles the deeper conversion and the bolder proclamation seemed to be as one movement. Once they reached a certain level of awareness they could not keep that awareness bottled up.

We need a deeper conversion. No matter how well we know God now we could all use an increase. And when we are converted enough we will find ourselves like the apostles, ready to go through fire and water to make Christ known to the world.

We do not have to wait till we are perfect to make known the glory of God. Even if there are no St Peters or St Pauls about we already know enough to know which direction we must head. We encourage each other to holiness, by prayer and example.

We can make progress even if we are only limping.

Different people have different needs for what has to be done.

Whatever our particular problem: habitual sin, doubt, anger, unforgiveness... this is our seeking at Pentecost. The change may not come on Pentecost Sunday itself, but if we keep seeking it will come. And the more the light of God gets inside us the more transformed we become, and the more powerful agents of evangelisation.

The Church vis-a-vis world seems to be always in the same position. We have so much to offer but the world does not really want to hear it. Through fear we can be huddled in the Upper Room saying, I’m not going out there.

But if we are really filled with the Holy Spirit we cannot not live it, and this is the beginning of proclaiming it. It must show.

Therefore, may that same Holy Spirit fall afresh on us and all who seek Him this day, and in due time on those who do not seek Him - but would if they knew better.

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