The Holy Spirit & Love

The Reading



Acts 2:1-21


When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.


Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."


But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:


`In the last days it will be, God declares,


that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,


and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.


Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy.


And I will show portents in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and smoky mist.


The sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.


Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "

The Sermon

There came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house. Divided tongues as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit!

Wow! What an experience. Jesus had told them the Advocate was coming and then she did. Have you ever felt like you were filled with the Holy Spirit? It's OK to talk about these things. You are not bragging when you do. Sharing spiritual experiences is part of sharing your faith. It makes you stronger and it inspires those around you as well. I know some have told me that when they sing certain hymns it brings them to tears. That is the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I have read a number of stories about people who have had near death experiences and one of the consistent threads in their stories is that as they are drawn into the light, they feel an incredible sense of being loved. Overwhelming love.

I am not surprised that the disciples were accused of being drunk. They were so filled with the Holy Spirit that they must have felt that overwhelming love. They were drunk with love!

The Holy Spirit is love God's love changes the people it touches. If we are touched by the Holy Spirit, will we start speaking in foreign tongues? Probably not, but our language will change. The Holy Spirit affects the way we talk to each other. It changes the way we see each other. We begin to realize that all of those around us are children of God.

I often carry around with me a rock. It is a small rounded stone with the mark of the cross on it. I carry it with me as a reminder that my faith is my rock and what I do and how I act around others should be centered on that faith. It is a way for me to keep myself open to the Spirit.

Part of living a Christian life is surrender. Sometimes our egos get in the way of our spiritual growth. When you surrender all that you say and do to God, you are freeing yourself from all of the petty things that get in the way of abiding in God's love.

I was reading in a book the other day about how everything in the universe is connected. It is a hard thing to imagine but the author was saying that what we do matters not only to those around us but that the impact of our actions affects the entire universe. Her point was that we are tied to everything. Everything.

It reminds me of an old Beatles lyric, 'I am you as you are he as you are me and we are all together'.

May God Bless

Fr. Fred