Pentecost Message (503)

 My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The days of Pentecost are upon us, let us open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and be blessed and transformed by His life-giving presence. The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in the form of tongues of fire over their heads. We all have received that same Holy Spirit on the day of our Holy Baptism and Chrismation. Let us set the world afire with the love, new life, unity, and power that are within us because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in the world today. We experience God today in His sacred Word, in the Sacramental Mysteries, in prayer, in the Divine Liturgy, in the Church, and in each other. The presence of the Holy Spirit makes each of those possible. Without the Holy Spirit we would be orphans. The Holy Spirit is how our risen Lord Jesus fulfilled His promise when he said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been  given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

Speaking to the World Council of Churches, then Metropolitan Ignatios of Latakia, now His Beatitude Ignatios Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, said the following in his Main Theme Address: "Without the Holy Spirit, God is far away, Christ stays in the past, the Gospel is a dead letter, the church is simply an organization, authority a matter of domination, mission a matter of propaganda, the liturgy no more than an evocation and Christian living a slave morality."  (The Uppsala Report, 1968, Geneva: WCCC, 1969)

Our Divine Liturgy shows the important place that the Holy Spirit holds in the life of the Eastern Church. It begins with the beautiful and profound prayer to the Holy Spirit, "O Heavenly King, Consoler, Spirit of truth, present in all places and filling all things, etc…" At the Epiclesis (Invocation of the Holy Spirit), we pray that the Holy Spirit may descend "upon us and upon these Gifts here offered..." and to change them into the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the Litany after the Anaphora, we pray for "divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit." In the Liturgy of Saint Basil we pray that "by the might of Your Holy Spirit attempts of heresies will be cast down" and that we might become "children of light and sons and daughters of the day." At the end of the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom the priest prays that God will "fill our hearts with joy and gladness." Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. "… The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)

There is a moral dimension to the presence of the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul exhorts us, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh ... If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." (Galatians 5:16, 25) The Holy Spirit is living in our hearts since our Baptism. If we give Him permission and surrender our wills to Him, He will transform us and empower us. We will be transformed to be more like Jesus as we grow in virtue, unity, and holiness. Jesus loves us right where we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay there. He has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us on the right path, the way of truth, the way of justice, the way of love. God spoke through His Prophet Ezekiel "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of  your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

 The Holy Spirit empowers us to do the work of the Lord. He allows us to see Jesus in all whom we meet and strengthens us to treat them accordingly. It is the Holy Spirit Who draws our hearts to love our enemies, to serve the poor and the needy, and to forgive those who have hurt us. The Holy Spirit empowers us to stand up for the truth of the Gospel, and not follow the crowd. The Holy Spirit empowers us to remain in unity with  the Church and not give in to negativity, criticism, unkindness, and gossip. The Holy Spirit strengthens marriages, builds up families, and heals our wounds, changing our scars to stars. The Holy Spirit, our Heavenly King "cleanses us from all stain and saves our souls."

Saint Basil sums up his teaching on the Holy Spirit in his famous Treatise: "Hence [by the Holy Spirit] comes to us foreknowledge of the future, understanding of mysteries, discernment of what is hidden, sharing of good gifts, heavenly citizenship, a place in the choir of the angels, joy without cease, abiding in God, likeness unto God, and that which is best of all, being made God."

Pentecost is the Birthday of the Church. Let us continue to pray in a special way for healing, protection, and discernment for the Church. Even more so, let us pray for conversion and renewal in the Church, beginning with conversion and renewal in our own hearts. God willing!

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

Most Rev. John A. Elya

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