Come, Holy Spirit

This past Sunday, the Church celebrated Pentecost. It is a monumental moment in our history, and one that continues to provide us with inspiration and direction.

For context, before Pentecost occurred, Jesus’ followers and his mother, Mary, returned to the Upper Room. It was here not so long before where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, teaching them one final lesson by washing their feet, giving us the perpetual gift of Body and Blood, and predicting the betrayal of his friends (talk about an eventful night!).

As promised by Jesus, the Holy Spirit provides these confused and mourning followers the gifts to love as their Messiah did. They now had the ability to leave the comfort and safety of the Upper Room to spread the Gospel- and they did- despite great danger and human doubts. The Holy Spirit breathed new life into them.

We should find comfort in knowing these imperfect people were able to shine the Christ-light, showing others a new way to live and love. This way of life spread like wildfire, and we are the beneficiaries of it all these years later.

Here is where we must pause and recognize that the gift of Pentecost is not just the remembrance of a historical and spiritual event, but it is an invitation to do the same. The Holy Spirit, one of three equal parts of the Trinity, provides us with the same gifts now to love as Jesus did. Will we rise from the comfort of our 21st century Upper Room and love as Jesus the Christ did, not the Jesus that we shape in our own heads to affirm and satisfy our Ego? (I wonder how many of us would reject Jesus if He walked the earth today due to his radical life style- would we leave it all behind and follow Him?)

Often in religion, we get caught in the “law” or the issues of the day- not unlike the religious of Jesus’ time. We are good in creating inner circles, which unfortunately leaves others on the outside. Even the early Apostles dealt with this, as they debated the difference of “Gentile” Christians and “Jewish” Christians (not that they even used the term “Christian” then). Since, how much blood has been shed in the name of Jesus (who believed in non-violence)? Even in our small parish communities, we draw circles that only boosts the ego and divides those who seek belonging.

Perhaps this Pentecost, we can finally stop the cycle of division. Jesus never asked us to be Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Liberal, a Yankees or Mets fan. Jesus asked us to love unconditionally, to forgive easily, and to tend the wounds of the hurting.

Might we allow the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts this time and to be a shared community of wounded yet hopeful beings, loving God and loving one another, without condition. Where borders and national pride are exchanged for our shared humanity. Where we encounter the divine in every person and creation, no matter the color of our skin, the dialect of our language, or the way we pray.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of us all, and give us the gifts required to love and cherish one another- Finally!