|
Greetings, SBT Readers:
Every year, I include the same poem in my Pentecost issue of Sunday BibleTalk. Strung together from biblical words and images, it chronicles some of the actions of the Spirit in addition to divine attributes. When I penned the poem roughly thirty years ago, I considered it to be a "description" of the Holy Spirit; now, however, I see it as a summoning, a calling down, a much needed invitation to the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, to intervene in the affairs of the world. Despite all our technical advances, human wisdom has brought us to the brink of catastrophe -- indeed, we are already "over the edge." Developments in AI undoubtedly have benefits but our lack of emotional intelligence and social intelligence --in addition to our loss of critical thinking skills-- does not bode well for the ways in which we will use it. Human folly seems to have no bounds and "bringing in the robots" will not increase our capacity for compassion or ethical behavior. In fact, our mistreatment of each other and of the Earth has had such devastating consequences that only Divine intervention can penetrate to the root of our diseased existence and bring healing. But this is not intended as a Doomsday commentary, especially on the great feast of Pentecost; rather, if we truly believe in the infinite power of the Holy Spirit, then nothing is impossible and we have every reason to be a people of hope...
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Link to the Sunday Readings
Brothers and sisters,
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except through the Holy Spirit. There are different spiritual gifts but the same Spirit, different forms of service but the same Lord, different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for the common good. Just as a body is one but has many parts, and just as all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and we were all given to drink of the one Spirit.
1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13
Though we Christians profess to be Trinitarian, we tend to tame the Holy Spirit into a gentle dove whose presence we invoke when we need a little inspiration -- the right words, perhaps, or some new insight about a situation, or assistance with a matter of discernment, or the a solution to a thorny problem or even the correct answer to an exam question... Then we barely notice when the Spirit takes flight, perhaps forgetting to express our gratitude if we received the enlightenment for which we prayed. Sadly, in taming the Spirit we also tame ourselves and the Church. If, as we claim, the Holy Spirit is the very power of God, then why do we live as though we are powerless --and why do we barricade church doors and windows against the transforming, all-consuming fire of Divine Love?
If we really believed in the power of the Holy Spirit we would pray for more than a little inspiration. Instead, we would boldly call down the Spirit to open our minds and hearts to that Presence which is all around us and within us; we would listen to the revelation we receive, not just with our ears but with our whole being, surrendering to God's desire for us, whatever that means. Like Mary, we would say "Yes!" to the impossible; like Jesus, we would allow ourselves to be driven into the "desert," that place of self-discovery where Spirit speaks into our solitude; like the disciples at Pentecost, we would courageously proclaim the Good News, allowing our lives to be both the medium and the message! Empowered by the very power of God, we would work tirelessly to overturn systemic injustice, to confront evil in its many forms and to solve the seemingly insurmountable problems threatening to destroy the human race. And we would pray with passion, seemingly intoxicated, moved to sing, to dance, in the company of the Holy One...
But most of the time, despite our Profession of Faith, we don't act as though we really believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our liturgies are often dull, rote, flat, lacking in soul-power. We go through the motions of public prayer, with many of the faithful viewing attendance as a matter of "obligation." In addition, we tend to be clueless when it comes to transforming the face of the Earth because our thoughts are too small and
our understanding of the Holy Spirit is more of a textbook definition than a lived experience.
Perhaps the catechism is partly to blame, along with religious education that defines the Holy Spirit through Seven Gifts (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord) and Twelve Fruits (charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity). Now, I have no problem with any of these Gifts or Fruits, but when we focus on a numerical list of attributes, we somehow lose the Holy Spirit in the equation. Yes, the Spirit bestows all gifts, but the Spirit is fluid, kinetic, dynamic, indefinable, and quite unpredictable. More than an "inspirer" or Divine Influencer, the Holy Spirit is an initiator, an originator, a generator, an inaugurator, a designer, an organizer -- and, lest we forget this most significant attribute of all, a fiery seeker of the human heart. But this is all too much to comprehend. Sadly, it is quite possible that we tame the Holy Spirit precisely because we are terrified at the thought of what might actually happen if those ancient tongues of fire were to settle on us and burn away our cowardice, inadequacies, and resistance to being changed... Perhaps a "tame" Spirit is more palatable than the Love Energy that longs to burst through closed minds, closed hearts and closed doors...
Come, Holy Spirit, this Pentecost and always!
QUESTIONS
FOR REFLECTION
* How does the Holy Spirit manifest in your life?
* When do you call upon the Holy Spirit and when does that same Spirit "show up" uninvited?
* With what Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit do you most identify?
* What will it take for a NEW Pentecost to wake up the Church to its transforming power in this world?
|
