The Holy Spirit Brings New Life

[simpleazon-image align=”left” asin=”1593250355″ locale=”us” height=”375″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GMHCZRNBL._SL30_.jpg” width=”246″]This weekend, the Holy Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Pentecost.  As Catholics and Christians, it is important to know what or rather who is the Holy Spirit, and why HE is necessary.

All of Jesus’ teachings, all of His ministry bring us to one place, “Go out into the world and be like Jesus.  Go out into the world and be like Christ to others.  Go out into the world and be the eyes of Jesus, be His hands, be His feet, be His body, have His heart.”  This is the call of on the life of every Catholic and Christian.  This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  The really wonderful thing about out GOD is that everything that HE asks of us, HE gives us every single thing we will ever need to accomplish it.  He never sends us on a mission without giving us all that we will need to complete that mission.  That is the nature of our GOD.  Such is the love of our PAPA; our Heavenly Father.

Journeying through this life is no different. We are called to be followers of HIS SON Jesus Christ, a mission that we can never achieve on our own; in our humanness.  This is why Jesus spoke so much about the coming of the Holy Spirit.  In the gospel of St. John, Chapter 16, verse 7, Jesus says,

“Still, I must tell you the truth; it is for your own good that I am going, because unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I do go, I will send Him to you.  And when He comes, He will show the world how wrong it was about sin, and about who was in the right, and about judgement:”

This simple passage tells us quite a lot.  The first thing that it says to us is very consistent with the love of GOD.  It is very consistent with GOD’S love for you and for me.  Think about it a bit.  Jesus’ mission was to make a way for us to enter Eternal Life, and to live forever with our Father in Heaven.  In the gospel of St. John, it is written,

“Yes, God loved the world so much, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him, may not be lost but may have eternal life.” John 3: 16.

Now, even though Jesus gave his life for us, that still would not be enough, for we now have to follow in His footsteps.  This kinda reminds me of a scene that I have seen in several movies – and I’m sure you have too – where there people find themselves lost or in perilous terrain, and someone has to lead them our of it.  It is normally quite dramatic with that person going before them and giving them the instructions to stay close behind.  This is Jesus, and this is what HE does, and He tells us to stay close behind; to follow in His footsteps.  We are able to do this through the power of His Holy Spirit.

The second important thing that comes out of the John 16: 7 passage, is that it identifies a key role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, “ And when He comes, He will show the world how wrong it was about sin, and about who was in the right, and about judgement.” One of the critical roles of the Holy Spirit is to convict our hearts of sin.  Without the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, and by extension, our world, it will become difficult for us to do what is right.

Even though Jesus loves us, He never flattered us, but rather in Mark 7: 20 – 23, He tells us, “And he went on, ‘It is what comes out of someone that makes that person unclean.  For it is from within, from the heart, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly.  All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.”

St Paul too pointed out the weakness of our human nature when he wrote in Galatians 5: 19 – 21, ” When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: sexual vice, impurity, and sensuality, the worship of false gods and sorcery; antagonisms and rivalry, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels, disagreements, factions and malice, drunkenness, orgies and all such things. And about these, I tell you now as I have told you in the past, that people who behave in these ways will not inherit the kingdom of God.“

These two passages should begin to paint a picture of why there is so much sin and darkness on our world.  It is not because of the absence of the HOLY SPIRIT, but rather because many – including Catholics and Christians – have chosen to stifle the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is meant to and does make a difference: “On the other hand the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control; no law can touch such things as these.  All who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified self with all its passions and its desires.  Since we are living by the Spirit, let our behaviour be guided by the Spirit and let us not be conceited or provocative and envious of one another.” (Gal 5: 22 – 25)

It does not make sense to try to live a good Catholic and Christian life and exclude the Holy Spirit.  It makes no sense at all, and you will be destined to fail.  It is the Holy Spirit that brings life, the flesh has absolutely nothing to offer. (John 6:63)  It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are given the grace and the strength to do what is right.  So without the Holy Spirit at work in us, we will see what St Paul spoke about in Galatians 5: 19 – 21.

Jesus died and rose from the dead to give us power, power to live in a new way, power to die to selfishness, power to die to sin, power to break the strangle-hold that sin has on our lives.  As followers of Jesus Christ, the best advertisement we can ever be for HIM is by being SPIRIT filled and SPIRIT led people.

In verses 22 – 25 of his letter to the Galatians, chapter 5, St. Paul is telling us that our human nature is of little help, but the Spirit of Jesus Christ comes to equip up with all that we need to live like Jesus.

In the first reading for today, we see a bunch of very frightened men – Jesus disciples. So frightened were they that they remained locked up in the upper room for fear of the Jews. But when the Holy Spirit came down upon them, these same used-to-be frightened men broke down the door of their fears, and faced the very people they were afraid of, and preached a word that was so powerful that it was heard in many languages, and it cut the very hearts of those they were afraid of, bringing about conversion in their lives. This same Holy Spirit can help you overcome all your fears. This same Holy Spirit can transform you into a new and better person – a true disciple of Jesus Christ, just as it transformed the eleven disciples.

The second reading proclaims that “No one can say that Jesus Christ is Lord, unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.” Now I think I need top make the point that St Paul is not just speaking about any and everybody saying “Jesus Christ is Lord”. As we read on, he clarifies what he means by the first statement. It is not proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ with our lips, but rather in our hearts and by the way we live, and we need God’s Holy Spirit to do that. We saw by reference to St Paul’s letter to the Galatians, that it is senseless and impossible to try to live a good life, to try to live a Catholic and Christian life without GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT! More than a drowning man needs air to survive, so do we the HOLY SPIRIT.

Finally, in the Gospel reading for today, Jesus reiterates the importance of the Holy Spirit in following Him. It is very important to note that Jesus did not just say to them, “AS the Father has sent me, so am I sending you. Go.” But rather, He breathed on them, He empowered them with His Holy Spirit, and He gave them power over a very contentious issue – forgiveness of sins. The same issue that landed Jesus in a lot of trouble with the Scribes and the Pharisees, who challenged Jesus when He told a paralysed man that his sins were forgiven. You will recall that the Scribes and the Pharisees thought that – and rightfully so – that only GOD can forgive sins. Jesus now has passed this same power and authority down to His disciples, through the power of the Holy Spirit. This marked the birth of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and the beginning of the wonderful Sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as Confession.

Even now, I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your heart and mind that you may see what rich treasures GOD has in store for you, and that through the power of this same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, you will choose to live lives that are pleasing to JESUS CHRIST.

Happy Pentecost