Homily for Pentecost Sunday, 2022
Homily for Pentecost, Commonly Called Whitsunday, 2022
John 14:16: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may
abide with you for ever.”
Today we celebrate Pentecost. The name “Pentecost” means fiftieth day - marking fifty
days after Easter. You may notice that the Prayer Book also calls today Whitsunday from the
Old English term “White Sunday,” which likely referred to the white robes worn by those
baptized on this day.
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Today also marks the relatively short season of Whitsuntide, which lasts
from today until next Sunday. As we would expect, the Scripture readings for Morning and
Evening Prayer this week are about the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.
Few things in the New Testament are more striking than the disciples’ behavior before,
and after, Pentecost.
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They had been with Jesus for three years. They saw Him cleanse lepers,
heal the sick, walk on water, and raise Lazarus from the dead. In spite of daily contact with God
in the flesh, they were often foolish, quarrelsome, and petty. They became wise, loving, and
united only after Jesus left and the Holy Ghost was given to them. What happened on the day of
Pentecost was dramatic and miraculous. But what accounted for the holiness of their lives and
the effectiveness of their witness took longer to unfold – and it was due to the abiding presence
of the Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus would say to them, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is
expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but
if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
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What the disciples came to learn is that the departure of
Jesus and the coming of the Holy Ghost resulted in an intensification of their relationship with
Jesus.
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It is the Holy Spirit who applied all that Jesus had accomplished for them. This morning,
we are going to look at two specific applications. The subject of today’s homily is this: how the
abiding presence of the Holy Spirit enables us to love and to praise.
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First – love. Today’s Gospel reading from John 14 begins, “Jesus said unto his disciples,
If ye love me, keep my commandments.” The very next verse begins with “and.” “And I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”
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So that we don’t miss the connection between love and the Holy Spirit, Jesus refers to love six
more times in this passage. Five references are to the disciples’ love for Jesus. The sixth is a
reference to the Son’s love for the Father.
Why is love spoken of so often as a work of the Holy Spirit? Of the nine fruit of the Spirit
the Apostle Paul lists in Galatians chapter five, the very first one is love.
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Also, Romans 5:5:
“God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
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Let’s look briefly at the theology behind such verses. There are three Divine Persons – Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit - in one Undivided Essence. The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves
the Father, and the exchange of their love is Himself a Divine Person, the Holy Spirit.
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Second
Peter 1:4 states that we are “partakers of the divine nature.” We certainly can’t partake in God’s
absolute omniscience or omnipotence, but we can partake of His love, for “God is love.”
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A
popular device in novels and movies is the grand, romantic gesture. It is considered unmistakable
proof of love for another. But Christian “charity” – to use its technical name – is different.
You’ve heard the First Corinthians 13 passage many times. Love is patient and kind; it does not
boast; it does not insist on its own way; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
and endures all things.
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Christian charity doesn’t need to make a big splash, in fact, giving a cup
of cold water to someone is to receive Jesus in that person.
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This means that there is no such
thing as a small act of charity. When you spend extra time with that troubled or misbehaving
student, when you listen patiently while someone unburdens himself, when you watch someone
else’s child – all of those are a direct result of the abiding presence of the Holy Ghost who has
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poured God’s love into your heart to accomplish that act. Don’t discount those moments, for
when you put yourself aside for the sake of someone else, you are participating in the very love
that has been occurring between the three Persons of the Trinity for all eternity.
This same principle, however, works in the other direction. When we are not patient or
kind, when we insist on our own way, or when we withhold, this is more serious than, “I guess I
could have been nicer to her.” No. What really happened is far more consequential. You have
grieved the Spirit of God. In falling short of charity, you have pulled back from partaking of the
divine nature – the very reason God gave you His Spirit.
Point number two: The abiding presence of the Holy Spirit enables us to praise. For this,
you can turn to today’s Psalm – Psalm 145. This is a beautiful Psalm of praise, which is clear
from the opening verses: “I will magnify thee, O God, my King; and I will praise thy name for
ever and ever. Every day will I give thanks unto thee; and I will praise thy Name for ever and
ever. Great is the Lord, and marvelous worthy to be praised; there is no end of his greatness.”
Why doesn’t God leave praise to the angels and archangels? He doesn’t need us for this. Angels
are superior beings, who have never sinned, and continuously offer glorious praise to God. When
they sing, “Great is the Lord; there is no end of his greatness” their minds can far better
apprehend His greatness and worthiness. Yet, God tells us, with our relatively poor powers, to
join them in praise.
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You visit an art museum with a close friend. You’re not an art expert, but you know
enough to appreciate work that has been admired by countless people over many centuries.
Such admiration is the appropriate response. We might even say such art “deserves”
appreciation. As you leave the museum and talk about what you’ve seen, you are using words
like “creative,” “beautiful,” and “transcendent.” Your friend is quiet, though, and finally says,
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“Yeah, they were okay – but I don’t see what the big deal is.” You first might think that there
were gaps in your friend’s education. You would be right. But your friend has a problem that
goes deeper. C. S. Lewis observed, “I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time
most balanced and capacious minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents
praised least.”
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If this is true for works of art, music, and the beauties of the natural world, how
much more for that Being who is the source of all beauty and overflowing in every perfection?
Why does God want our praise? Thomas Aquinas summarized the answer: “God seeks glory, not
for His sake, but for ours.”
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We are creatures made in His image. He has endowed us with powers of reason and will
in a physical body. When we praise Him now, even when at our best, we are merely tuning our
instruments. But one day, may it please God, our minds, made for truth, will directly know Truth
Himself. Our wills will not have even the slightest opposition to His Will; and therefore we will
be supremely happy. Our bodies will be glorified and made incorruptible and will take a full and
rightful place in heavenly worship. There will be nothing further to desire or to seek. All tears
will be wiped away. We will be perfectly and eternally fulfilled. This is called the Beatific
Vision. It is the purpose for which He made us. Our highest joy, happiness, and bliss will be to
eternally behold Him who created, redeemed, and sanctified us, and to do so with all the
company of Heaven. Out of His great love for us, He gives us His Holy Spirit, so that we can
praise Him. Such Pentecost-enabled praise here is a foretaste of the Beatific Vision. He is
already getting us ready. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring
it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
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Now we come to the connection between our two themes of love and praise as enabled by
the Spirit. During last Sunday’s Confirmations, we prayed for the Comfirmands that God would
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grant them daily increase in the Holy Spirit more and more.”
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How do we know if this is how
we are living? We know we are daily increasing in the Holy Spirit when we are growing in love
and praise. Love and praise are not part of a “skill set” to be turned on depending on the
situation. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may
abide with you for ever.”
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This is why we have been referring to the “abiding presence” of the
Holy Spirit. Only His continual abiding presence can enable us to love authentically and praise
whole-heartedly. And so His presence must be continually welcomed, and we must develop
greater self-awareness to all the ways we neglect and inhibit His presence. Our Lord promised
His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be given to them at Pentecost. And when they allowed
that promise to be fulfilled, they were able to love and praise as never before.
“Finish then thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee:
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.”
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1
Massey H. Shepherd, The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary (1950), pg. 180.
2
C.B. Moss, The Christian Faith (1943), pg. 223.
3
Jn. 16:17, KJV.
4
Darrell L. Bock, Jesus According to Scripture (2002), pg. 503.
5
Jn. 14:15, 16, KJV.
6
Gal. 5:22.
7
Rom. 5:5b, ESV.
8
Francis J. Hall, Theological Outlines (1933), pg. 102.
9
I Jn. 4:8b.
10
1 Cor. 13:4, 5, 7, ESV.
11
Matt. 10:42.
12
Eph. 5:18-20.
13
C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (1958), ch. 9.
14
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 132. a. 1.
15
Phil. 1:6, ESV.
16
The Book of Common Prayer (1928), pg. 297.
17
Jn. 14:16, KJV.
18
Charles Wesley, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (1940 Hymnal), stanza three, pg. 479.