Homily for Pentecost B: The Holy Spirit: the score behind the symphony of holiness

 Homily for Pentecost Year B 2021

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23

Introduction

As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, I would like to borrow a line that Jesus used a lot and ask: “To what shall we compare the coming of the Holy Spirit?”

Scripture and Theology

But before I answer that question, I would us to remember that Pentecost was not the first time nor the last time, that the Spirit came into the world.

·        At the very beginning, in the book of Genesis, 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 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 announced to Mary that she would bear a child, he told 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 also something special: at Pentecost the Spirit comes to complete saving work of God in Jesus Christ and has continued since.

And so, to what shall we compare the work of the Holy Spirit?  I will give you three images, not because I doubt your capacity to understand, but because I don't trust my capacity to explain effectively.  The Holy Spirit could be compared to an executor of a will, an advocate in a court of law and a composer of music.

Christian Life

First, the Holy Spirit is like an executor of a last will and testament.  When you make a will and testament, you appoint an executor to ensure that your instructions will be faithfully and completely followed.  Jesus left a rather important will, which we heard 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.

Even 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 my poor words, that enables you 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.  Only with the Holy Spirit, as executor, can the sacraments of the Church produce grace for us.

The Spirit continues to be the power behind everything we do as a Church.

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.

Although lawyers are often the butt of many jokes, we need lawyers, because they know the law well, to help us navigate what is often a legal minefield.  As the cliché 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!  On the last day, we shall be found not guilty, we shall be found innocent only because the Holy Spirit as our Advocate intervened 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.

The Church too is like an orchestra, with the Pope as the conductor and the rest of us being musicians, who contribute our own unique talents to the symphony of holiness that resounds throughout the world and history.  But behind our work is the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul writes: “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.  That is why after the consecration, we pray to God, that "we who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your Son and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit in Christ."

But what kind of unity does the Spirit bring?  It is a unity in diversity and not the unity of a melting pot.  Unlike at Babel where diversity of voices created confusion, at Pentecost the Spirit used the diverse voices to hear the one message of God.  Catholic unity therefore does not mean we lose our individual gifts and talents, nationality and ethnicity, colours and races, femininity and masculinity, but that we use our individual uniqueness for the good of all.

Conclusion

And so, this Pentecost Sunday is as good a time as any other to remind us of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The Holy Spirit acts as executor of Jesus' will, as advocate for us and as the musical score providing us with the road-map of our lives.  And he acts in every aspect of our lives, not just in times of excitement, but even quietly as we go about our daily duties.

Let us therefore make the words of today’s Psalm our own: “Lord send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth.”  Like he did at Pentecost, may the Holy Spirit allow us to hear God’s word in our own individuality and yet keep us united as one until the Last Day, when we shall be one in heaven.