Pentecost Sunday

Come Holy Spirit and Renew the Creation

Rev. Martin Adhikary

May 27 this year is the Pentecost Sunday. Christians all over the world celebrate this Sunday as the day when the Holy Spirit came upon the earliest disciples of Christ who were gathered together in Jerusalem and were praising God and praying. This event is narrated in Chapter 2 of The Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. This is how the Church came into form and the disciples spread around with the gospel of Christ and preach that Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is God's power, and it is God Himself in the unfathomable mystery of the Holy Trinity: The One God revealing Himself in three Persons vis-à-vis Creation. God recreates, renews and sustains His creation, which travails under the bondage of evil since the Fall, with Holy Spirit. According to Christian teaching Holy Spirit is a person, not only a power. Holy Spirit also heals and reconciles. The Hebrew and Greek words for 'Spirit' are 'Ruach' and 'Pneuma' respectably. Both these words also can mean 'wind'. Indeed without the help of Spirit we cannot live a truly and fully human life just as without wind and water life in general cannot live. Without Spirit human life is no different from that of other animals. Denial of the existence and holy power of the Spirit tantamounts to denial of the existence of God. The Nicene Creed of the Church pays tribute to the Holy Spirit as being Himself God and equal to the Father and the Son in the following words:

"I believe in the Holy spirit

The Lord and giver of life,

Which proceeds from the Father and the Son together

Is worshipped and glorified"

God is Spirit. He created the universe with His word full of the power of His Spirit. According to the Bible when God created the universe His spirit was hovering above the waters and the formless chaos. Out of this chaos God formed and shaped His creation. God did all His works with His Spirit. Spirit is life giving and it is the power that helps man to have vital relationship with God. When God had created Adam and Eve out of dust He breathed this Spirit into their dummy-body and only then they became living souls. All the miracles that God's prophets performed were possible only because of the presence of the Spirit in them. The virgin birth of Christ, was born of the Holy Spirit. That's how he is also called "The Ruh-ul-ullah". All the works, the miracles that he did were done in and through the power of the Spirit. He was resurrected from the dead also by the same power. Christ's ascension into heaven forty days after his resurrection from death was followed by the pouring down of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples on the tenth day since then. Hence the name Pentecost (from Greek word 'pentecostes' meaning 'the fiftieth day'). On Pentecost Sunday the Church celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the lives of Christ's the first disciples. The Holy Spirit descended from heaven for their empowerment and transformation into an entirely new quality of life. The Spirit transformed the apostolic community into a community of sharing and caring for others. The Holy Spirit gave them a new vision and hope and strength to transform the lives of other people.

God is good. All life and creation of God is good in essence. But where there is the impact of evil and Satanic force creation is imperiled and life is made horrible and meaningless. We are born and live in a violent world, a world where destruction, devastation and plundering of God's creation is the rule of the day. Because of man's greed and pride and the reckless use and abuse of God's creation man in alienated from the rest of Creation. We need to redeem the lost harmony between nature and mankind. Today we need the power and enabling of the Spirit for our renewal in our minds and hearts so that we can fight the forces that beset our lives, the forces that dehumanizes people. We need to be liberated from our selfishness, ego and our inconsideration for others. We see and experience so much demonstration of the work of the devil. The power of the Holy Spirit can give us strength to stand against this evil force. Human life is created in the image and likeness of God. Life is holy and precious in the eyes of the Creator. But today violence, terrorism, murders, rapes, exploitation of people by people in diverse ways, there is jealousy and hatred; innocent sufferings seem to know no bounds in our society. All these are the societal consequences of human sins: they are sins against God as well as sins against people. We need to have the renewing of our minds and hearts by the power of God's Spirit so that we can change our values, we can boldly protest and stand against all evil and immoral things that undermines and frustrates all noble purpose of people of goodwill, and also tarnishes the divine image in man.

God is Just and Righteous. Pentecost comes every year with the message of liberation from all that negates life and oppose God's holy will for justice and peace. Today humanity is so divided and sub-divided from the points of view not only of race, gender, clime, culture, creed, colour and the like, but also from the points of view of diverse interests and concerns. There is injustice and gross violation of basic human rights in every place and in every society. Today God wants us to work for justice and peace. Perhaps we all want peace, but we all may not be ready to make any sacrifice for peace.

"Nothing comes out of nothing" (Ex nihilo nihil fit" goes a saying. Without a sacrifice made we cannot achieve a society or community where lasting peace will prevail. All human lives are precious to God. Because God wants that all human persons have access to equal rights and opportunities to develop full potential and life is made enjoyable and dignified. As the most tangible mark of God's love and care for the whole well-being of mankind he gave his son Jesus Christ, who freed us from the bondage of sin by paying the ransom-price for sin by sacrificing his sinless life on the cross. Not only that God empowers us with His Spirit so that we can live the new and glorious life of love and peace and justice in fellowship with God and also with other people. In the personal absence of Christ Holy Spirit is a believer's Counselor, Advocate and Guide. The ideal is that a follower of Christ is one, who is led by the Spirit. The multiple good fruits of the Spirit that the Bible speaks about, are: "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (St Paul in Galatians 5:22-23). Had we have them in us today the world would be altogether different place! We pray that God, the Holy Spirit will grant us the power and quickening for the healing and renewal in our personal lives and also in the lives of others for the cause of peace and progress of mankind.