The Grace of Pentecost

The Grace of Pentecost

By Charles Whitehead

Two thousand years ago Jesus said to his disciples 'I am sending down to you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city then, until you are clothed with the power from on high' (Luke 24:29). So they stayed in the city, received this 'power from on high' on Pentecost day, and then went out and preached the Gospel throughout the world. Each time we celebrate Pentecost we pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so this seems a good time to ask a few simple questions about the grace of Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives

Each one of us needs a personal Pentecost if we are to receive the fullness of the power from on high and to allow that power to work in us and through us, changing our lives and the lives of many who come into contact with us. But the grace of Pentecost must never be seen as just a personal blessing - it's a grace for the Church and the world, to be expressed in everything we do. The transformed disciples immediately left the upper room for the market place, and we must do the same. But we must never relax in the belief that having experienced a new release of the Spirit in our lives there's nothing more to be done. We need to be filled again and again. God chooses to fill imperfect and broken vessels with the living water of his Spirit, you and I - we leak and need constant refilling.

So the important question to ask is not, as the late Cardinal Suenens expressed it, have you got the Spirit? The answer to that question for all baptised Christians is clearly yes. The real question is, has the Spirit got you? In other words, have you and I welcomed the Holy Spirit into every part of our lives? Are we open to his gentle prompting day by day? Have we allowed him to change us? Each of us needs to answer these questions honestly if we are to continue to grow in the grace of Pentecost.

The next question to ask is not, are you enjoying the warmth and fellowship of the Holy Spirit in your life? We know that the Spirit is called the Comforter, but it mustn't stop there. The real question this time is, are you passing on the good news of Jesus Christ, and are you using the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of others? What about Acts 1:8 "When the Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere……..to the ends of the earth"? I don't think the Holy Spirit is given to make us comfortable, he wants to take us out into the world to make a difference. I find it a great encouragement that so many who have been touched by the grace of the Charismatic Renewal are not just attending prayer meeting and other charismatic events, good though these are. They have taken the grace into their places of work and into their Justice and Peace, Pro-Life, and similar groups. It is at this point that we face some of the biggest challenges. How do we use the gifts of the Spirit in everyday situations? Many have found that they receive gifts of wisdom, enabling them to give the right advice; some that a word of knowledge shows them the way through a problem, or that an offer of prayer is accepted; others say they are often asked what makes them different. When we are open to the Spirit he will work in and through us in the ordinary, everyday situations we encounter.

But we are also called to serve the Church, and this is becoming more and more important as we face a future in countries that are becoming less and less Christian year by year. One of the most important questions we ask ourselves at our National Service Committee meetings is where and how we can serve the Church more effectively. As part of our service in the Church we must recognise that we are called to be prophetic. We may have to challenge and disturb the comfortable, recognising that this doesn't just mean other people - we too can be very comfortable in the Church. It calls for courage to speak out when things need to change, and it doesn't make us popular. It will often mean rejection, ridicule, even persecution. It has always been so for those who are Christians in word and deed rather than in name only, so why should we expect anything else? Rejection comes not only from the world but also from many in the Church. But we have no right to challenge the Church, and our challenge will lack credibility, unless we love and remain committed to the Church. Here, however, we encounter another temptation against which we must guard - the danger of developing an excessive desire to be accepted and approved.

Such a desire can easily lead to compromise, so that we no longer practise or teach those things which cause others discomfort or irritation. I am, of course, thinking of such things as the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, prophesying, speaking in tongues, and even praying for healing. Whilst these things can be misused, they are also gifts of the Spirit for the good of the whole Church. The answer to misuse is proper teaching and discernment - not embarrassment or prohibition. We all want to be affirmed and accepted, but if it means rejecting the Spirit and his gifts, it's a price that must not be paid. To walk in the Spirit is to realise that in everything we are to live out of the Father's provision of life, love, and power in Jesus Christ, and not out of our own efforts and human strength. It means turning from self to God, from works to faith, from law to Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings us a new freedom (Gal.5:1) and there must be a passion for his freedom in our hearts. People may talk about the Baptism in the Spirit, the release of the Spirit, the outpouring of the Spirit, the fullness of the Spirit, the anointing of the Spirit; but how we describe it is not the important thing. It's quite simply that every Christian needs to know the love, power and freedom of the Spirit of God if we are to bring the reality of the good news of Jesus Christ to our needy world. We are temples of the Spirit (1 Cor.6:19) and he wants to work in us and through us. He's poured out his gifts again, and taught us how to use them. This is a sacred trust for which we are accountable.

One of the most wonderful things about the Gospel is that it's never too late for a new start, so let's learn from our mistakes and look to the future. There can be no standing still for a Christian - if we try we'll just slip backwards again. In Galatians 5:25 Paul writes "Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit". What better commitment could we make as we celebrate Pentecost 2002? If we are to be faithful to what God is asking of us, the Charismatic Renewal must remain a move of the Holy Spirit and never be allowed to become a bureaucratic structure. History has seen too many moves of the Spirit fail when the prophetic vision died and over-organisation strangled their life. If we restrict the Spirit, the gifts will be less available at a time when the Church so much needs these charisms. As Pope John Paul II said at the gathering of the new movements and communities on the eve of Pentecost 1998:

"Be open and docile to the gifts of the Spirit! Accept with
gratitude and obedience the charisms that the Spirit never
ceases to bestow. Do not forget that each charism is given
for the common good, that is, for the good of the whole Church!"

The Lord doesn't baptise techniques, systems or programmes in his Spirit - he baptises men and women. Let's keep asking him to do that. We must let God be God and do things his way, not ours. This Renewal must remain fully open to the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit.

So today, in thanksgiving for all that is past and in eager anticipation of all that is to come, let's say with Paul "Glory be to him, whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; glory be to him from generation to generation in the church and in Christ Jesus for ever. Amen" (Eph.3:20-21). The Catholic Charismatic Renewal has an essential contribution to make to the life of the Church, and there's more, so much more, still to come………