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