Great Gifts From The Greatest Giver

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Solemnity of the Pentecost

St. Gerard Majella Church

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Saints of God, it’s Pentecost Sunday again, and today we celebrate the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise in John 14:18; “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” On the eve of his Passion, the Lord promised to send the Advocate, the Counsellor, the Helper and the Teacher to stay with us until the end of time. Today, we commemorate the profound action of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, the once fearful and confused Apostles- fearful of the killers of Jesus and confused of what next to do with their lives after the death of Jesus, suddenly experienced an extraordinary powerful from above, courage like never before. With the descent of the Holy Spirit on them, fear and timidity gave way to courage and fearless witnessing of the Risen Lord. The once fearful Apostles, who had been hiding in the Upper Room, received an uncommon push to storm to the streets and share their joyful experience. No one can possibly hide the feeling and the experience after an encounter with the Spirit of the Father and the Son. When your stomach is filled up with great joy- joy of salvation, joy of deliverance, joy of manifold blessings, joy of healing, joy of  forgiveness and reconciliation with the Most High God, you cannot possibly stomach it within. Such joy, such unspeakable joy can hardly be kept secret. When you are overtaken by the Holy Spirit, when the Holy Spirit is in full control, there is a profound joy and courage that drive you to witness for Jesus. That’s what happened to the Apostles. With the fresh descent of the Holy Spirit on them, the emotions of confusion and fear disappeared. Unspeakable joy and rare courage drove them to the streets of Jerusalem. No wonder St. Paul in 2 Timothy 1:7 says that “God did not give us a Spirit of timidity but that of power, love and sound judgment.” 

Brothers and sisters, at baptism, the Holy Spirit was given to us making each of us Christ, that is messiah, God’s anointed children. He aids in our growth in faith, love and goodness. As we grow in our Christian faith after our Confirmation, we become more aware of his presence. We become more active and he helps us use his gifts in the building up of the church. These gifts of the Holy Spirit help us demonstrate that Jesus is actually living in and among us. With the gifts, we are able to commit ourselves to the work of Jesus Christ who loved us and died for us. These gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, fortitude, knowledge, piety, counsel and fear of the Lord (i.e. wonder and awe). The Holy Spirit gives us Wisdom to enable us love spiritual things more than material ones. This gift also gives us the common sense to figure out right from wrong in the world.  Understanding is given to us so that we can comprehend and grasp the best way to live as followers of Jesus Christ. A Christian with understanding will not be confused by the conflicting messages in the world about the right way to live. The Christian cannot be led astray by atheistic and secular philosophies of this world. No matter what the world says, he or she understands that relationship with God is primary and that nothing or nobody worths sacrificing the blessedness of heaven for, that nothing on earth is worth going to hell for. Counsel (that is right judgment) enables us to know the difference between right and wrong and also to choose to do the right. The gift of counsel warns us of the deceit of the devil and the things that can deny us salvation. A Christian with right judgment knows what is wrong and makes efforts to avoid it and knows what is good and strives daily to do it. He or she is never confused about it. He knows what the good Lord expects of him or her and makes effort to do them happily.  We are given Fortitude (courage) to live a life of martyrdom for Jesus Christ. This gift helps us to overcome the fear of the known and the unknown. It enables us to stand up for others in the name of Jesus Christ. A Christian with fortitude is not afraid of standing up for what is right, just and good in the sight of God, even it means incurring verbal attack, hatred, and rejection. Fortitude also gives us courage in times of trial. It strengthens us to continue to do the will of God even in trials and tribulations. This gifts helps us to avoid quitting on God in the face of great suffering.The gift of Knowledge helps us to understand the meaning of God and who God is. A Christian with the knowledge of God will know the great length God went to secure his or her salvation. When he or she realizes how much God loves him or him, he or she will continue to live a life of gratitude to God. Piety shapes our worldview. This gift is also called reverence. It enables a Christian to have a deep sense of the sacred, a profound reverence for God and the Church. This gift also gives us a sense of reverence for religious and spiritual articles like the Rosary, the Bible, the Cross etc. A Christian with reverence handles the Bible or any religious articles with utmost respect and care. With the gift of piety, we recognize our complete dependence on God and comes to him with great humility, trust and love. On Sunday morning, this is the gift that inspires and motivates us to get up from bed, prepare and go to church where, together with others, we pay our homage, our worship and thanksgiving to God. The fear of the Lord, which is the seventh gift of the Holy Spirit is not so much about being afraid of God. It is more of wonder and awe. With it, we are constantly aware of the glory and majesty of the awesome God. This gift enables us to profoundly love God, yearn for him and yield to him. The book of Proverbs 9:10 tells us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” A Christian with the fear of the Lord is less concerned about the punishment of hell and more concerned about the disappointing God, about disappointing self and not living up to the standard of life expected of him or her: “I don’t want to disobey my Father, not because I am afraid of hell, but because I don’t want to disappoint and fail him. My Dad loves and respects me a lot. He trusts me. He has lots of confidence in me. I do not want to disappoint him.” This is what the fear of the Lord does for a Christian in relation to God. It puts our minds and hearts on the things of God. Fear of the Lord makes us to depend more on God and less on ourselves and others. Fear of the Lord encourages us to strive to please the Lord at all times. It convicts us when we have erred and gone astray. It keeps us in check and prevents eternal wreck. Fear of the Lord prevents moral recklessness and decadence. It keeps our both eyes fixed on God and on Jesus his Son. Fear of the Lord enables us lean and depend on God like a child does on his mother or father. 

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Pentecost, let us bear in mind that being a confirmed Christian should make a noticeable difference in the life of a person. We must make a difference in the world we live. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus says that “Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven.” Being a confirmed Christian, like being a confirmed soccer player or a confirmed singer, is a matter of deeds and actions. Words are not enough. Confirmed and commissioned by the sacrament of Confirmation, we are to act in the name of Christ Jesus, to act as Christ would act or acted, for the same end that Christ acted. Each of us has been given the Holy Spirit. But if he is not active in our lives, it may mean that we have grieved him. In Ephesians 4:30, St. Paul warns: “Do not grieve(i.e. offend or sadden) the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed (i.e. marked, branded and secured) for the day of redemption.” How do we grieve or offend the Holy Spirit? It’s by living a sinful life, as if God does not matter. But today can be the turning the point. As we sing and declare: “Lord, send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth” let us ask him to transform us. Let us ask him to come into our lives. The Holy Spirit has been waiting for us to allow him to come and possess us. And these fruits shall follow those possessed by the Spirit of the Lord: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control.