Acts
2:1-11; Gal 5:16-25; John 15:26-27; 16:12-15
One of the popular
plays of William Shakespeare is "The Merchant of Venice."
Antonio, a successful merchant of Venice got into trouble because of his
generosity. His friend Bassanio requested him to lend him some
money. Antonio agreed, but, as all of his assets were tied
up at sea they went
to Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Shylock agreed to lend them 3000 ducats, but
only if Antonio would sign a bond offering a pound of his flesh if
the loan was not repaid in three months' time. Antonio assented to the
arrangement.
Unfortunately Antonio was not
able to keep his word. The case reached the court. Shylock refused Bassanio's
offer of 6,000 ducats, twice the amount of the loan. He demanded his pound of
flesh from Antonio. Everyone present at the scene pleaded for the life of
Antonio. But Shylock was adamant that he wanted the will to be carried
out. Thus the court must allow Shylock to extract the pound of flesh. At that
very moment, a young lawyer made his appearance to defend the case of
Antonio. He argued that the bond allowed Shylock to remove only the flesh,
not any drop of "blood", of Antonio. Thus, if Shylock were to shed
any drop of Antonio's blood, his "lands and goods" would be forfeited
under Venetian laws.
The young lawyer stepped in at a
moment when Antonio was in utter hopelessness. He was sure that he would
lose his life. But his arguments and reasoning brought hope to Antonio. He
began to be reassured. The presence of an Advocate brought great change in
Antonio.
The disciples of Jesus too were
in great hopelessness after the ascension of Jesus. The message of
resurrection gave them hope and courage. However, it lasted only
for forty days. Again after the Ascension they confined themselves
behind closed doors.
Then came the great miracle.
They found the great advocate in their midst. The Spirit of God descended
upon them like tongues of fire. It rekindled their hopes and ignited their
courage. It transformed the ignorant men into possessors of divine
Wisdom. It transformed the cowards into heroes and desperate men into
dreamers.
The Biblical
writer employed fire to describe the presence of God. Yahweh manifested Himself
in the form of fire on many different occasions. Abraham saw the
passing of a smoking fire pot and a flashing torch. And Abraham knew that
God had descended to establish a covenant with him (Gen. 15:17). God appeared
to Moses in Mount Horeb in a flame of fire. (Ex. 3:2-4). During the Exodus of
the chosen people from the land of slavery to the promised land the Lord
went before them by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a
pillar of fire (Ex. 13:21).God descended on Mount Sinai to give the Ten
Commandments in fire and smoke. (Ex.19:18). When Monoah and his wife offered
burnt offerings the Lord descended to the Altar in flames. (Judg. 13:20).
And fire came down from heaven at the consecration of Solomon's Temple.
When Yahweh expressed His desire
to be among the children of Israel, He manifested Himself as smoke and fire.
The descending of the Spirit on the Apostles in form of fire
serves as the symbol of divine presence among the Apostles. Besides being
present among them the Spirit of the Lord showered its gifts on the
Apostles.
Primarily, the Spirit
re-established unity. Many accounts of the breach of Unity between God
and Men are given in the Bible. All of them were caused by
man's pride. In Genesis we read the story of the Tower of Babel. The people of
the earth became skilled in construction and decided to build a city with
a tower that would reach to heaven. By building the tower they wanted
to make a name for themselves and also prevent their city from being
scattered. God came to see their city and the tower they were
building. He perceived their evil intentions, men were proud and they
wanted to challenge God. So God confused their language. They spoke
to one another as they used to, but they understood differently. On the
day of Pentecost the spirit of God has re-established unity. People
spoke different languages, but everyone understood in his language. Difference
in language makes it difficult for people to communicate with one
another. But the early Christians were able to grasp the meaning of each
other's message, because they spoke the language of love, the language
of understanding, the language of selflessness, and the language of
kindness. The feast of Pentecost demands from us that we should get
united with God. Edmund Bruke wrote, "Whatever
disunites man from God also disunites man from man." Once we
establish our unity with God we can strengthen the unity at
home, in the parish, in the place of our work, and in our society; among
the members of the family, among our colleagues, among the members of our
parish, and among all whom we come across.
Secondly, the Spirit brought
courage. At the trial scene Peter disowned Jesus and swore that
he did not know him. But after receiving the spirit the same Peter
proclaimed aloud the message of Jesus and called the people to
repentance. The Spirit blesses us too with courage. When we accept it we too
will be able to make our contribution to better the world. The words of Hellen Keller are noteworthy. "I long
to accomplish a great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish
humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not
only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny
pushes of each honest worker."
Thirdly, the spirit brought the
light of knowledge to the Apostles. When Jesus was speaking to them
of his agony and suffering the disciples were contemplating on as who would be
on his right and who would be on his left. They cherished the dreams
of the kingdom where Jesus would take over the rule of the Roman
Empire. But the descend of the Spirit revealed the meaning
of the words of Jesus to them. They knew what their faith would demand of them.
They knew what their responsibilities would be. They knew the meaning of
Christian love. Their ignorance was wiped out. In the words of William
Shakespeare, “Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we
fly to heaven."
According to Kahlil Gibran
"Knowledge of the self is the mother of all knowledge. So it is incumbent
on me to know my self, to know it completely, to know its minutiae, its
characteristics, its subtleties, and its very atoms." The Apostles
knew their strength and their weakness. And they accepted the supremacy
of the Spirit in their life.
Dear friends the Holy Spirit is
present in the Church as an advocate to plead our case. When we become
receptive to the gifts of the Spirit the spirit will take its course in us
too.
Satish