Homily for Pentecost Year B 2015

The Holy Spirit: an advocate, an executor and the score

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 15:26-27; 16:12-15

Introduction

“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God?”  Jesus asks and answers this question, by comparing the Kingdom to everyday images: wheat growing in a field, the tiny mustard seed growing into a large tree, yeast causing a batch of dough to rise and a few other images.

As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, let me borrow that line of Jesus and ask: “To what shall we compare the coming of the Holy Spirit?”  And my answers are, the Holy Spirit could be compared to an executor, an advocate and a composer.  But first, let us recall what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit.

Scripture and Theology

Pentecost was not the first time the Spirit was active in the world

·        At the very beginning, we are told that God created man by breathing his Spirit into him.

·        And then whenever God appeared to the people of Israel, he usually did so in a cloud of the Holy Spirit.

·        Later, as the Prophets announced the coming of the Messiah, they also spoke about the coming of his Spirit.

·        In the New Testament, when the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a child, he tells her, “The holy Spirit will come upon you.”

·        And as Jesus begins his ministry in Luke Chapter 4, he declares that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him, and is the inspiration of all his work.

And so, when on Pentecost the Spirit came upon the disciples he was continuing a long tradition.  But there was something special with this coming: at Pentecost and since then, the Spirit comes to complete saving work of God in Jesus Christ.

Christian Life

And so to what shall we compare the Holy Spirit?  The Holy Spirit is like an executor of a last will and testament.  The executor ensures that the instructions left in the will are faithfully followed.  

Jesus left a rather important will, which we had him make in last Sunday’s gospel when he told his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”

Clearly the disciples could not do this job by themselves without help.  A few weeks earlier we had seen them running away from the Lord when he was arrested.  They needed help.  This help came on Pentecost day, when after receiving the Spirit, we see them carrying out the Master’s instructions.  They are now fearless and effective preachers of the Word, because the Holy Spirit gives them clear directions and the courage, to proclaim the gospel to the whole world.

Today as we carry out our various duties in the Church, we do so effectively only with the help of the Holy Spirit.

·        For example, as a preacher of the Word, I know that it is not my words alone, but rather the Holy Spirit working through me, that enables people to hear God’s word.

·        Also, when I celebrate the sacraments, it is the Holy Spirit who brings about God’s grace.  At Mass, for example, listen carefully during the Eucharist prayer, and you will hear the priest asking the Father to send down his Spirit to change our humble gifts of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  Such things are above my pay grade.  Only with the Holy Spirit, as executor, can the sacraments produce grace for us.

To what shall else we compare the Holy Spirit?  Jesus himself suggests another image when in the gospel he says: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” The Holy Spirit is like an advocate, a lawyer, an attorney, who speaks up for a client in a court of law.

Lawyers today tend to have a bad name, because of a few rotten eggs.  But lawyers play a very important role because they know the law very well.  Recently I needed some legal papers drawn up and without the help of a lawyer, I was lost.  As the proverb goes, “A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client."

We could say the same for the Church and for us Christians.  If we act without the Holy Spirit as our advocate, we act foolishly.  We need the Holy Spirit as advocate to help us remain on the right side of God’s commandments.  We need the Holy Spirit as advocate to help us face persecution.  We need the Holy Spirit as advocate to help us fight off temptations.  How else would you explain those occasions when, despite every inclination in you, you succeed in avoiding sin!  How else could you explain those situations when despite your unworthy self, you do good!  We are found innocent only because the Advocate intervenes on our behalf.

To what else shall we compare the Holy Spirit?  The third and final image of the Holy Spirit is that of a symphony orchestra.  The orchestra is made up of a hundred different musicians and dozens of instruments.  But each of them is not the real source of the music.  Even the conductor, the visible focus of everyone's attention is not the real source of the music.  The composer is the real source of music; in front of every musician is a music stand holding a few pages marked with black lines and dots - the score, the music.  No one in the audience sees the score, but that score is what brings all those minds together, coordinates everyone's efforts, and produces a beautiful, inspiring performance.

That's what the Church is like, that’s how the Spirit operates in our lives.  The Pope is the conductor.  We are all musicians, contributing our own unique talents to the symphony of holiness that resounds throughout the world and history.  As St. Paul tells the Corinthians, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.”

And so the Holy Spirit is the living musical score, the one who tells us what notes to play, when to play them, how fast to play them, how loud to play them, how soft to play them.  He is the silent force behind the holiness of every saint, behind the growth of every Christian, and behind the unity of the Church.

Conclusion

And so, this Pentecost Sunday should remind us of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the work of the third member of the Trinity, after God the Father and God the Son, who came down to earth as Jesus.

As executor, the Holy Spirit guides our words and actions, as we carry out the command of Jesus to go out to the whole world and proclaim the gospel.

As advocate, the Holy Spirit protects and defends us, so we might not go to hell, but might remain on the path of righteousness.

As composer of the musical score, the Holy Spirit provides the road-map for our lives, sometimes filled with excitement, but sometimes proceeding quietly as we go about our daily duties.

Let us make the words of today’s response our own:  “Lord send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth,” starting with each of us individually.