Ordinary folks could become saints

The apostles would have had no idea of what Jesus meant when he said them: “Not many days hence you will be baptised by the Holy Spirit.” However, they did what the Lord has asked them to do – they gathered together in the Upper Room and waited. We are told that they waited in prayer. Mary, mother of the Lord, was with them.

They must have wondered exactly what this promised gift of the Father was to be. Jesus had spoken about the Holy Spirit on a number of occasions. Particularly important were the three times he spoke about the Holy Spirit at the Last Supper. There the Spirit was described as the Spirit of Truth. Still, this would not have helped them very much.

So they waited. Wondering. Indeed, unclear about their future. Perhaps they pondered the extraordinary expectation of the Lord that they were to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Then, on Pentecost day, they were taken by surprise. We are told that there was a sound, like a rushing wind. St Luke tells us that they were “filled with the Holy Spirit”.

“Filled with the Holy Spirit”. Each of them felt something immediate and personal, something extraordinarily real. It was a spiritual experience that flowed through their entire being.

There was commotion in the room. Each turning to the others in amazement: are you experiencing what I am experiencing? They spoke with exultant voices; they gave forth sounds of excited wonder; they sang; they praised God. They were full of joy.  

They had just had a taste of heaven. They felt the reality of the personal love of God for them in a way that drew them into an experience of ecstasy. They sensed in their spirits the glory of the Lord. And they could not contain themselves. Their spirits soured in pure exultant joy.

As they looked around in amazement they realised that their companions were experiencing the same thing. They all began to praise God, finding a new language of praise which took them beyond the limits of human speech.

A fire was lit within their hearts. There was a burning zeal to proclaim the wonders of God. This could not be contained.

They joined Peter on the balcony as he preached boldly to the crowd that had assembled wondering what was going on in the upper room.

Peter spoke with such zeal and conviction that his listeners embraced his message and wanted to respond. They said, “What must we do, brothers?”

Peter knew what they were to do. They were to be baptised, and they too would receive the Holy Spirit in the same way as the apostles. This gift, this outpouring of the Spirit belonged to all who would embrace faith in Jesus Christ.

Thus the Church was born. It was born of the Spirit. The Church would be from that day on a people who live under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. From that day on the Church would be composed of those who have come to live a new life in the Spirit. From that day on the very soul of the Church was the Holy Spirit.

Thus, the Church would be the means by which ordinary folk could become saints. The Church would offer a path for every believer to know in a personal way the depth and power of the love of God. The Church would be the means by which an enduring joy would reside in the depth of the human heart. The Church would enable people to taste a peace that the world cannot give.

This is what we celebrate today on this great Feast of Pentecost. We celebrate our life in the Church. We celebrate what it means to be a Christian. We celebrate our life in the Spirit.

Archbishop Julian Porteous

Sunday, May 31, 2020