Christ in Us

Pentecost Sunday marks the conclusion of the Easter season and the inauguration of the mission of the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Even though Pentecost celebrates the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, we recognize the hidden workings of the Spirit from the moment of creation.

The Spirit of God in the form of “a mighty wind swept over the waters” in Genesis 1:2.  The same Spirit that brought about the creation of Adam is the same spirit that created the new spiritual life of the disciples at Pentecost, and the same Spirit that comes to us through Baptism and Confirmation. 

With Pentecost, the Spirit becomes visible through the gifts of the Church, gifts given to individual members, given to you and me, for the common good of all.

The Hebrew meaning of the word “spirit” means breath, air or wind (ru-ah)  (Catechism of the Catholic Church #691). 

The title Holy Spirit, used by the Catholic Church, evokes the sense of God’s divine breath (ru-ah).  The metaphor of breath is indeed an excellent representation of the Holy Spirit to which we can easily relate in a number of ways. 

Breath is invisible. We cannot see it, yet we can detect its presence through our other senses. 

Breath is essential to life.  Emerging from the womb, the first act of a newborn baby is to take in that crucial first breath.  The air and the wind are carrier of seeds, water, and soil, which provide for the regeneration of God’s natural; creation.

Breath, air, and wind are essential for life.  The invisible breath of God is essential for our life in Christ.

From the Acts of the Apostles, Luke gives his account of Pentecost.  Following the Ascension of Jesus, the apostles, “together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus  and his brothers (Acts 1:14) gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.” 

A few days later their dramatic baptism by the Spirit of God included noise like a strong wind, tongues as of fire, and the gift of speaking in many languages as they preached about the marvels God has accomplished. 

Throughout the Acts of the Apostles we read how the Spirit guided and empowered the mission of the early church to renew the face of the earth.

The Feast of the Pentecost, which we celebrate today, marks the moment  when God began to dwell among His people in a totally new form.

For some 30 years God dwelt among His people in the form and person of Jesus.  But Jesus was truly human.  His presence among God’s people was limited to a human life span.  Thus if God were to continue to dwell among us after the life span of Jesus, it would have to be in new form – a form different from a human body.

Pentecost marks the moment when God began to dwell among us in a totally new way not in the physical person of Jesus, but in the spiritual presence of the Holy Spirit.

And yet Pentecost marks more than the change in the form of God’s presence among us.  It also marks the change of Jesus’ presence among us. He now resides among us, not as someone dwelling alongside us, but as someone dwelling inside us.

The personal experience of Leonard LeSourd, former editor of Guideposts magazine illustrates what we mean.  LeSourd explains that he knew five Christs in the course of his lifetime.  He first met Jesus in a Sunday school.  His introduction to Jesus came in the form of a stern-looking person.  This Jesus failed to impress a nine-year-old, who was more interested in playing basketball than he was in learning about a man, who lived 2,000 years ago in a far away country.

LeSourd met his second Christ in college.  This was the Christ of history.  It was the Christ, whose impact on history has been so immense that even non-Christians call him “history’s greatest person.”  But the historical Christ didn’t touch him personally.  He was just another great man.  “Putting Christ in this setting,” he says, “was a simple solution during college and four years as an Army Air Corps pilot.  The historical Christ didn’t interfere with anything I wanted to do.”

Lesourd met his third Christ after completing his military service.  He got a job with Guideposts magazine interviewing people about their faith.  In the course of doing the interviews, he was surprised to learn that many successful people lived their lives by the teachings of Jesus.  Soon he found himself reading the Gospels to learn more about these teachings.  And thus he met his third Christ: the “Teacher Christ.”

LeSourd met his fourth Christ while on retreat.  The theme of the retreat was commitment to Jesus.  During the retreat, a young man got up and told others how he had gone into the chapel, knelt down, and committed his life to Jesus.

LeSourd found himself wanting what that young man had found in the chapel.  So before the retreat ended, LeSourd went into the chapel, knelt down, and committed his life to Jesus. 

He recalls the unforgettable moment this way:

“I found myself in this chapel, on my knees before the altar, saying a simple prayer, ‘Lord, I don’t know how I happen to be here, but I want to give my life to you.  I do so now.’”

And so LeSourd met his fourth Christ.  It was the “Savior Christ.”  It was the Christ who loved him in a deep personal way.  From that day on, Jesus became the center and focus of his life.

This brings us to the fifth and final Christ.  One day LeSourd found himself being severely tempted, LeSourd felt himself falling.  He reached out frantically for something to hold on to. 

He found it in the commitment he had made to Jesus years before during the retreat. 

He found something more.  He found his most meaningful relationship yet with Jesus.  It was contact with the “Indwelling Christ.” It was contact with the Risen Christ, who began to indwell his followers, when the Holy Spirit descended upon them on Pentecost Sunday over 2,000 years ago.

This brings us to another important point about Pentecost.  Besides being the birthday of God’s new presence among us individually, it is also the birthday of God’s new presence among us – collectively.   Because Jesus dwells inside us, we are united with him in a new way.   Jesus said in his farewell talk to his disciples, “On that day [when the Holy Spirit comes you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me and I in you.”

And so through our new unity with Jesus, we now form one body with him.  The Holy Spirit forms us into what Paul calls the Body of Christ.  Thus, Pentecost is the birthday of Christ’s Body, the Church.  It is the birthday of God’s new family.

A story will illustrate in a concrete way what we mean: 

Some years ago an artist was commissioned to do a painting illustrating the point that, through the Church, God calls all nations to be one family.  The artist decided to model his painting after the lines of an old hymn that read:  “Around the throne of God in heaven thousands of children stand.”

Late one night, after weeks of work, the artist finished the painting.  Shortly after falling asleep he seemed to hear a noise in his studio.   When he went to investigate, he found a stranger changing his painting.  The stranger was changing the color of the faces of the children.  One was now red, another brown, another black, and another yellow.

“What are you doing?” shouted the artist.

“I’m correcting your painting,” said the stranger.   “You’ve painted only white faces answering my call.”

“Your call?!” said the painter.

“Yes,” said the stranger, “I said to my disciples, ‘Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’  That’s what I told my disciples in Gospel times, and that’s what I’m still telling them.”

Then the artist woke up, and he realized that he’s been dreaming.  The next morning he revised his painting in line with his dream. 

The Church is the vehicle through which God is saying to us, “Let the children of all nations come to me and become one family.”

Let’s close with a prayer:

“Lord, help us realize that Pentecost

marks the end of an old relationship with you

and the beginning of a new one.

Help us realize that this new relationship

places upon us a new responsibility.

It is the responsibility

of working for the spread of the Gospel,

not just in our own parish

but also throughout our world.

This is what the Holy Spirit calls us to do

both individually and collectively.

Help us carry out our calling with confidence,

with courage, and with commitment.  Amen.