Solemnity of Pentecost
For our part, we are probably used to invoking the Holy Spirit when we have an instinct to do something or not do something. And certainly, the Holy Spirit guides our actions, whether sought out or avoided. But sometimes it’s also simply our instincts pushing us towards or away from something. And do you ever notice that every group seems to claim the support of the Holy Spirit? Both those who advocate teachings contrary to the faith, like women’s ordination, as well as those who hold to the faith revealed to us by Christ will argue from the authority of the Holy Spirit that their course of action is what God wants.
Some see in the Gospel according to John, as John and Peter run to the empty tomb at the instigation of Mary Magdalene, a distinction between the hierarchical nature of the Church (represented by Peter, our first pope) and the charismatic nature of the Church (represented by John, the one loved by the Lord). John (charism) arrives at the tomb first, but waits for Peter (hierarchy) to go in. Throughout the history of the Church, these two groups have oscillated back and forth for more influence. The Second Vatican Council, in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, states, “The Church, which the Spirit guides in the way of all truth and which He unifies in communion and in works of ministry, He both equips and directs with hierarchical and charismatic gifts.” In other words, both the hierarchical and the charismatic are gifts of the Holy Spirit, all given for the salvation of souls.
I mention this because the Holy Spirit is often invoked by some for pushing the Church to new realities, while others invoke the Holy Spirit as the one who brings order to chaos. In reality, both are right: the Holy Spirit pushes us beyond our comfort zone, but also orders and unifies all of creation. We see this in the Upper Room scene at Pentecost. On the one hand, the Holy Spirit took those who probably knew only Aramaic, Hebrew, and possibly common Greek, to those who proclaimed the Gospel so that everyone present, from many different parts of the Roman Empire, could understand the proclamation of the Gospel in their own tongues. The Holy Spirit pushed the disciples out of the comfort of the Upper Room, and eventually to lands as far as India to the east, down to North Africa and Egypt, over to Rome, and lands in-between. It helped the Apostles discern that non-Jews could become members of the nascent Church without becoming Jewish and being circumcised.
On the other hand, the message that the disciples proclaimed was the one Gospel of Jesus Christ, the one message of salvation. As the disciples traveled far and wide, the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church expanded its influence, and began to rid the world of the worship of demons in the pagan religions. The Holy Spirit united all those who wanted to follow the Lord to be united in faith and morals, as discerned by the Apostles and their successors.
Even before that, the Holy Spirit is the one who spoke through the prophets, who were often a bit…eccentric. The prophets were often the outcasts of society, because they called society from its rejection of God back to fidelity. The Holy Spirit inspired King David to dance with abandon before the Ark of the Covenant as it was brought into Jerusalem, which dancing David’s wife Michal mocked because it made David look too much like the common people.
But the Holy Spirit also took the primordial chaos and ordered it into light and darkness, land and sea, different forms of animals, and was given to our first parents to give them the breath of life. The Holy Spirit guided sacred authors to compose literary works to communicate God’s saving will, and guided the bishops to choose which works were, in fact inspired by the Holy Spirit, and which were simply the works of man that also told stories that involved God.
In our own lives, too, the Holy Spirit often pushes us beyond our comfort zone. He fills us to continue the proclamation of salvation through Christ. He sometimes puts us in situations we never expected, sometimes even dangerous situations. But, as our Advocate, He pleads our cause and gives us words to respond to our attackers, as He did for St. Stephen.
But as He pushes us to new realities, He does so with the continuity of what has come before. The Holy Spirit deepens our understanding of what God desires for His people, but without contradicting what came before. For example: the Holy Spirit has revealed that the Church is meant to be led by the Pope, the Vicar of Christ and successor of St. Peter. That is a truth that can never be rejected, without rejecting what the Holy Spirit has revealed. At the same time, the Holy Spirit can guide the Pope to understand how to exercise that power in new ways. The Holy Spirit has revealed that marriage is between one man and one woman for life. That can never change. But the Holy Spirit can give us new guidance on how to share that truth with those who have gone through a divorce, or those who struggle with same-sex attraction.
[Joshua and Halley: the Holy Spirit has led you here to this day when you will receive the fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation. You have come by different paths, but have come to this union of faith in what the Holy Spirit has revealed through the Church and her sacred teaching office. The Holy Spirit will give you new ways to proclaim that one faith, and to witness to the life of Christ from this point on, and into the future, especially as you prepare for Holy Matrimony. Be open to the Holy Spirit pushing you to spread the faith, but also stay faithful to that faith as revealed to us by God through His Church, which is still one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.]
If we feel that the Holy Spirit is only keeping us in our “safe spaces,” then we are probably missing out on one aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit. If we feel that the Holy Spirit is going against what has been taught infallibly before, then it’s not the Holy Spirit to whom we are listening. Each of us will have different ways that the Holy Spirit operates in us. No matter what, may we be open to the Holy Spirit, who with the Father and the Son is God, for ever and ever. Amen.