I know that some of you have heard this story before but I want to share it again for two reasons: 1) because I think it ties in with today’s celebration of Pentecost and 2) because the main troublemakers of the story are here with us today (Where are you, Mom and Dad?) Ever since I can remember, I have been interested in building things, fixing things, and learning how things work. As a result of this interest, from an early age, tools fascinated me. Between 5th and 8th grade, I would beg my parents to take me to the hardware store at least once a week. And when I would enter into this splendid shrine dedicated to hand tools, power tools, and other hardware accessories, I would take a deep breath and then slowly proceed to walk down every single aisle, looking at the newest innovations, dreaming of the day when I could afford something as glorious as an air compressor, a nail gun, or a table saw. But it didn’t stop there. Every time my birthday rolled around or Christmas approached and I was asked what I would like, I just said: “more tools please.” So for a couple of years that was what I counted on for my birthday and Christmas. I received screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, tape measures, hammers, handsaws, and occasionally, if I behaved and promised to be careful, a coveted power tool.
I was in the height of this “building” stage, when my twelfth birthday rolled around. After blowing out twelve candles and smiling through “happy birthday,” I was eagerly anticipating the newest addition to my workbench. My parents presented me with a small box, about this size, which was somewhat heavy. I just knew that it had to be some new drill bits and or maybe even a new part for the riding lawn mower I had souped up to drive around the neighborhood. I was so excited; I ripped right through the wrapping paper and that’s when I saw them. My mouth dropped and I just stared at my parents in disbelief. My expression was a strange mixture of confusion, betrayal, and yes, even anger. If you see photos from that moment, you don’t have to guess how I am feeling. Inside the box was not a tool or engine parts. No, instead there were four books, by J.R.R. Tolkien, the classic Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
These were really nice books. And it was a very thoughtful gift from my parents. But I didn’t like them and I wouldn’t read them for quite a long time, eight years to be exact, because they weren’t what I was expecting or hoping for. Because I had set my expectations on something else, I wasn’t able to see the goodness or the wisdom of their gift until many years later. My short-term desires blinded me to the long-term benefits of this birthday gift, which I would later read nonstop.
As we gather to celebrate the feast of Pentecost, which is regarded as the birthday of our Catholic Church, we acknowledge that the apostles didn't originally plan for this gift of the Holy Spirit. In fact, they were hoping that Jesus, Risen from the dead, would simply stick around with them indefinitely. That was the gift that they wanted, that was what they were hoping for with their limited wisdom and foresight. But Jesus has something even better in mind. He knew if he stayed here with the apostles and the early church, there would be a limit to how much they could grow in their faith and in their ability to spread the good news.
That is why Jesus leaves them at the Ascension to return to his heavenly father. It isn't what the apostles want but it is exactly what they need. Because Jesus loves the apostles so perfectly and because he is so madly in love with his church and with each and every one of us he only wants to give the best of gifts. Gifts that are beneficial for us in the scope of eternity. That is why we have the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Consoler, the third person of the holy Trinity, who abides in the church forever until that day when Jesus returns. Like a wise parent who knows what his child needs even before the child realizes it, Jesus knows that we need the presence of the Holy Spirit even more than we need him walking around in church today.
With this gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter and the other apostles will be transformed immediately. They will literally go from the room in which they were hiding, out fear, onto a balcony where they will proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and challenge the very people they were hiding from to repentant of their sins and embrace Christianity. Could Jesus have given them any better gift? In his eternal wisdom, he knew that the Holy Spirit, and only the Holy Spirit, could have this effect on his beloved friends.
Our Lord wants the same good things for you and me. He wants us to be bold, confident, full of joy, and ready to do his will. He wants us to be free from fear, from sin, and any other weakness that my burden us or limit our potential. Is this gift of the Holy Spirit, first received in the sacrament of baptism and given more fully in confirmation, that enables us to live in this way. The Spirit is with us always, whether we are awake or sleeping, at home or traveling, alone or surrounded by thousands of people. There is only one condition that comes with this incredible gift from God. The one thing required of us is docility, a certain humility and openness to whatever it is the spirit leads us towards. Sometimes he will lead us in ways we like, that we agree with, which are easy and pleasant. But other times, the Holy Spirit will challenge us, correct us, and even convict us of wrongdoing and laziness. If we hope to receive all the benefits and transformation that can be ours, we have to be open to everything that he wants for us, even when our limited knowledge protests or throws a fit, even when his gift isn’t exactly what we were hoping for.
May this celebration of Pentecost be a powerful reminder that we are loved without limits by a wise and caring God. Let this crowning feast of the Easter season renew your openness to the Holy Spirit and the many ways he wants to renew your soul. Let us be careful not to limit God by our own expectations of how he should work in the Church and in our lives. Above all, let us rejoice that Jesus has given us this Advocate, this Holy Spirit, to be with us everywhere and always until he returns in Glory! Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and renew the face of the earth!
