by Fr Fabian Dicom
Joel 3:1-5
Psalm 103(104):1-2,24,27-30,35
Romans 8:22-27
John 7:37-39
Theme: In God, All Are One: Unified by Divine Love
Are you all comfortable? We are full, overflowing right into the chapel and beyond. So I hope you are comfortable.
Before I begin, I want to thank Anne and Alphonsos and Sebastian. They have translated my homily into both Mandarin and Tamil. So those Mandarin speaking, Tamil speaking, you want to take out your phone or paper and want to go through it, feel free to do so while I preach in English.
So my dear brothers and sisters, as we come together on this sacred evening to celebrate the Vigil of the Pentecost, we are reminded of the profound truth that Divine Love unites, unites all of us.
Love of the Father, love of the Son, love of the Holy Spirit. The theme of today.
That is the kind of love that Father Paul Kee spoke about yesterday. He mentioned AGAPE, the basis of inclusivity, the basis of caring and unity.
Our First Reading from Prophet Joel, Chapter 3 speaks of a time when God will pour out His Spirit on all people:
I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophecy. Your old men shall dream dreams and your young men see visions.
This prophecy highlights the inclusivity and universality of God’s promise. His Spirit would be given to all, irrespective of race, irrespective of gender, irrespective of status.
And this prophecy, this prophecy was realised on the day of Pentecost as recounted in the second chapter of Acts of the Apostles. On that momentous day, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and believers, empowering them to proclaim the Gospel boldly in diverse tongues.
Now this event marked the inauguration of a new era where the Spirit would dwell within all believers, unifying them in the divine love of God.
And that is what scripture tells us.Yet, my dear brothers and sisters, yet there exists a common misconception that we must wait for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
We hear this phrase used so often.
“We are awaiting a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit as we celebrate Pentecost.”
which means we have to wait for a fresh outpouring every year.
The truth is that the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, and this scripture tells us, was a unique, was a single and once for all event, inaugurating the church and fulfilling the prophecies of old. One single event. That is all!
Every believer, every believer, you and I, and everyone else who believes receives the Holy Spirit. The use the phrase “At the moment of salvation” which also means “At the moment of baptism.” But some authors say “At the moment of creation.” And I would rather go with that that we have received the Holy Spirit at that moment.
And the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is constant, not contingent, not dependent upon a new Pentecost-style outpouring.
Sometimes even mistakenly expected, this outpouring is expected at the Life In Spirit Seminar, or a Earth, Wind & Fire Weekend….sorry, Fire Weekend. Or a convention.
And we move from one place to another, waiting for this outpouring. And the Spirit is already with us!
In John’s Gospel today, Chapter 7, Jesus speaks of Living Water flowing from Him, identifying Himself as the new temple and the Spirit as the river. The Temple and the Spirit.
This imagery draws from Gihon Spring. It is in the scriptures in Chronicles, in the Kings, which provided water for Jerusalem. And this is also drawn from Ezekiel’s vision of a river flowing from the temple. Now Jesus paraphrases the scripture and indicates that ‘rivers of living water flow from His heart‘, symbolising the Holy Spirit given to believers after His glorification.
Now the church sees this fulfilled. The church sees this fulfilled at Pentecost where the Spirit conveyed through baptism, flows like a river of life.
The blood and water from Jesus’ side in John Chapter 19 Verse 34 symbolise the Sacraments of Eucharist and Baptism. Thus, extending the Spirit’s life-giving presence through the church.
Pope Francis kind of emphasises that the Holy Spirit, the church’s soul, he says, the soul of the church, harmonises diverse gifts into one body creating unity without uniformity. Unity without uniformity.
Can we manage that?
Can you manage that the person next to you is totally different? Or do we need everybody to be in uniform? Everyone dressed up like each one of us, spouting the same hairstyle even if you don’t have much on the top?
Unity without uniformity.We struggle with that in the church.
So my dear brothers and sisters, the gift of the Holy Spirit is already given.
Although we sing, we sing ‘Come Holy Spirit‘, the Holy Spirit is already here. The Spirit dwells within us from the moment of creation. I believe that.
And through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, these gifts are awakened within us.
Each one of us, each of us are a temple of the Holy Spirit. A temple equally, objectively and forever.
The only difference, my dear brothers and sisters, the only difference is this: It is the degree to which we know the truth. It is to the degree how much we draw upon this truth, how much we believe in the truth, this truth. That is the only difference.
Now all images of the Holy Spirit are dynamic. Flowing water, descending doves, fire, wind.
Fr Richard Rohr says this:
If we do not find dynamism, movement, energy or excitement in our lives, we are probably not drawing upon the Holy Spirit. If we are bored and just going through the motions without deep conviction, without love, without excitement, without service, without forgiveness, without surrender, it is likely that we are not engaging with the Spirit.
So when I hear this, I also remember the words of Saint Paul who advises us to fan into flame the gift we already have, to desire the Spirit with all our hearts.
And that brings me to the Second Reading from Romans. Saint Paul reminds us of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He speaks of creation groaning as in the pains of childbirth, eagerly waiting the full redemption of God’s children.
Now the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. Interceding. And that is what the Reading tells us. Interceding for us with groans that words cannot express.
This underscores the Holy Spirit’s role as our Helper, our Comforter and Advocate, guiding us in our spiritual journey and sustaining us in our struggles.
The Spirit teaches us to pray and intercedes on our behalf, inspiring within us the ability to forgive, the ability to love. To love not only just love but love unconditionally and to serve others selflessly.
So my dear friends, when we find the strength, when we find that strength to forgive ourselves. To forgive ourselves. To see ourselves as precious, to see ourselves as beloved in the eyes of God, it is the Spirit who grants us this profound grace.
When we forgive others. When we forgive others and accept them as they are, embracing their humanity with open arms, it is the Spirit who softens our hearts.
When we are moved to speak the truth, even in the most testing of times. And I am sure you have had this experience when your heart is beating, you need to tell the truth. But there are consequences to tell the truth. You would lose a friendship, you would lose your job. Something serious can happen.
But when we are moved, the heart beats so fast. You and I know what it means because we have been there many times. It is the Spirit who emboldens us with unwavering courage.
If you really look back at the times when you spoke the truth, when we transcend our self-centredness and reach out to others with genuine compassion, where did this come from? It is the Spirit who propels us forward with an unstoppable force.
And when we go beyond hollowed, self-serving words and extend a tender touch to our sister, to our brother, warming their hearts, it is the sign that we have truly been touched by the Holy Spirit.
And this is very vital here in this parish. When we speak words that uplift and build rather than discourage and tear down, it is the Spirit who whispers these gentle inspirations into our hearts.
And finally, when we seek out the lost. We seek out the lost, we heal the broken, we feed the hungry, we release the prisoner, we rebuild the nation, we bring peace among people, we become peacemakers and create music in the heart, we are undeniably charged with the Holy Spirit.
Stop searching for extraordinary signs to convince you that you possess the Holy Spirit. Stop!
It is not the speaking in tongues, it is not the resting in the Spirit or what we call slain in the Spirit. It is not witnessing miraculous wonders that mark the presence of the Holy Spirit. Neither are the shouts of “Praise the Lord“, “Praise the Lord“, “Amen“, “Amen” that signify the workings of the Holy Spirit. No!
That reminds me of this story of what they call the Pentecostal Mule. Have you heard of it? The Pentecostal Mule. No?
So a Pastor had a mule. And this mule, a donkey, was blind.
So he sold it to another guy. So he told this guy, the fellow who bought the mule. He said:
“Here, this donkey is blind. It works well. You get on it. For it to move, you just say “Praise the Lord” and it will walk and go.”
“And when you want it to stop, you say “Amen“. And it will stop.”
Amen? Okay.
So, this fellow who bought the blind mule and got on to it and said “Praise the Lord“. And it started going.
“Praise the Lord” and it went faster. After a while, the mule got excited. He got excited and he said “Whoa, whoa stop! Stop!” and it didn’t stop.
And finally he said, “Ah yes. Amen!” and it stopped.
And he saw where he was. He was at the very edge of the cliff. He was so relieved and thankful that he said “Praise the Lord!“.
You see what it can get you into? Ya. Okay.
On the other hand, seriously. On the other hand, it is these signs, these signs that matter more than anything else. Let me summarise.
When you forgive someone who has wronged you. When you forgive someone who has wronged you, when you love unconditionally, when you stand up for justice, when you comfort them in distress, when you share what you have with those in need, when you bring hope to the hopeless and when you live with a heart full of gratitude, gratitude and humility, that truly reveal the Spirit’s indwelling within you.
Let me conclude.
This evening, we are reminded of God’s promise to pour out His Spirit on all people. And it was fulfilled on Pentecost, empowering believers to proclaim the Gospel. We don’t need a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Every believer receives the Spirit at creation, at salvation.
The Holy Spirit’s presence is constant and dynamic, guiding us to live out our faith with love, with forgiveness and service.
True signs of the Spirit’s presence include acts of love, compassion and justice, reflecting the Spirit’s indwelling within us.
This Vigil, this Vigil. This Vigil is not a waiting. This Vigil calls us to rekindle our awareness of the Spirit.
This Vigil is a time for you to look inside and say, “Hey, the Spirit is here. It has worked in my life. I want to acknowledge it. I want to rekindle that.“
It calls us to rekindle our awareness of the Spirit, uniting us to Divine Love. Empowering us to live with joy and zeal.
I ask you to take these hours before tomorrow to just reflect on that. The presence of the Spirit in you.
May we, inspired by the Holy Spirit, continue to embody the values of Inclusivity, of Unity and Caring within our parish and beyond. Unified by Divine Love, may we go forth from this Vigil renewed in Spirit, ready to bear witness to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our parish, and in the world.
Amen.
