IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Pentecost Sunday Homily
Fr. Marcel Divine Okwara CSsR
Holy Names Church, Memphis in Tennessee
May 23, 2010
Today is Pentecost Sunday! It is fifty days after Easter - but not exactly fifty. No, between Easter and Pentecost there are only forty-nine days, that is, exactly seven complete weeks. Thus, Easter and Pentecost are two feasts that are celebrated on Sunday; and this is not without significance. Indeed, Sunday is the first day of the week, the day that corresponds to the first of the six days during which God created the world and the entire universe. This means that the feast of Pentecost is celebrated as a memorial of the first creation: it is like a celebration of a new creation! The Holy Spirit whom the Lord sends to us on this day enters the Church in order to realize in us a new creation, to make us new creatures, renewed and restored in the Resurrection of Christ!
In today’s gospel taking from John, Jesus says to his disciples “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.” But what commandment was Jesus talking about? I am sure Jesus was talking about the two most important commandments: “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Later on in John 15: 12, he says “Love one another as I have loved you.”
These commands of Jesus seem pretty simple, pretty straight forward, isn’t it? But why is it so easy to say, and so hard to do and live? It’s hard because it does make a difference!
First, it makes a difference to God. Many of us have a laidback way of looking at God. Some of us have a lax and lazy philosophy of God. We easily claim that God is the ultimate Judge who will sort out the righteous from the unrighteous at the end of time. But God does not get involved in our daily lives. But that’s unbiblical! God gets involved in the daily lives of his people. Remember the experience of Cleopas and his companion on the way to Emmaus. Remember Saul who was an ardent persecutor of the church before he became a Christian; remember Peter who was sent to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. God got involved in their lives in a strong way. God wants a personal relationship with us. God created us, we are the clay, and he is the Porter. We are God’s creative masterpieces. An artist does not just walk away from his or her artwork. Each of us is important to God, and we have to make God important to us.
It also makes a difference to Jesus. What difference does it make? It makes a difference to God and to Jesus. In the Old Testament, precisely in Exodus 19:5, God says “Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples.” But in the New Dispensation (New Testament), Jesus takes us in an even deeper and more profound relationship. In Matthew 20:50 Jesus says “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” At the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus tells his disciples “I no longer call you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. But I call you friends because I have told you everything I have heard from the Father. You did not choose me, I chose you, and I am sending you to the world to bear fruit, fruit that will last. If you bear fruit, you can ask the Father anything in my name, and he will give it to you. But remember the root command: “Love one another.”
In today’s gospel Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” So living out these commandments of loving with all we are and loving our neighbor as Jesus loves us is a concrete proof of our love for Jesus Christ. It’s not enough to say we love him. We proof we love him by doing what he asked us to do. Doing what Jesus asks us to do is the measuring rod of faithfulness.
It also makes a difference to us. When you turn on the Television or read newspapers or blogs or listen to Tea Party Movement and some political commentators, the voices of cynicism and pessimism always seem to be the loudest. When you look at our great nation America, the problems we face are so numerous ranging from terrorism, a changing climate and economic recession which gave birth to 9.9% unemployment rate, foreclosures and loss of homes. Sometimes you want to give up. But don’t! If you follow the will of God, if you love God and neighbor, you know that that in spite of all the terrible things that are happening, you will never loose a final refuge. You know that the foundation of the world is love; so that even when no human being can or will help you, you may go on trusting in the One who loves you so much- Jesus Christ the Redeemer.
Instead of choosing cynicism and pessimism, you can choose hope and optimism. That’s what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is a hopeful person. We can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us. We may not see the presence of God at all times. But the power and presence of God is always available for us. No matter how frightened or lonely we feel, no matter how much we feel abandoned or how weak or powerless we think we are, that does not mean the Holy Spirit is not there. That does not mean we are unloved.
If you feel somewhat separated from God, remember to call on the Holy Spirit who came to energize the Apostles when life seems dreary and dull. Jesus promised not to leave us as orphans. He said the Advocate, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit will come to teach, energize, and strengthen us. We are God's treasured possession. We are God's children, brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus. We're friends of Jesus. Jesus promised He will never leave us orphaned. He promised to be with us always through the presence of the Holy Spirit. But again, there's that obedience clause, that faithfulness factor. "They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me.
Rules are enacted to be obeyed. Commandments of God are to be obeyed as well. Jesus promised to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to those who keep the commandments.
Finally, it makes a difference to others. You know we were never meant to be alone. The book of Genesis tells us that when Adam, the man was created, he was really lonely and gloomy. And God saw that it was not good for him to be alone. “I will make him a helper as his partner” God says. As soon as Adam saw his partner, Eve the woman, he smiled for the first time and said “Waoh! Behold the bone of my bones, and the flesh of my flesh.” God has created us to be in relationship with each other. This relationship can only be maintained by and with love. It is a relationship of love. Fake love ruins our relationship. Hatred works against the original plan of God for us.
As we celebrate Pentecost, let’s pray for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit again which are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
