Acts 2:1-11 Romans 8:8-17 John 14:15-16,23-26
The Polish poet Czesław Miłosz composed his personal version of the Veni Creator:
"Come, Holy Spirit, / Bending or not bending the grasses, / Appearing or not above our heads in a tongue of flame, / At hay harvest or when they plough in the orchards or when snow / Covers crippled firs in the Sierra Nevada. / I am only a man: I need visible signs. / I tire easily, building the stairway of abstraction. / Many a time I asked, you know it well, that the statue in church / Lifts its hand, only once, just once, for me. / But I understand that signs must be human, / Therefore call one man, anywhere on earth, / Not me – after all I have some decency – / And allow me, when I look at him, to marvel at you."
The one who uttered this prayer understood that “signs must be human”. He thereby moved from a sort of “Catholic neo-paganism” (chasing after cheap miracles), towards something better. We could say perhaps that he became “a devout Jew” from the Acts of the Apostles: “Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language, telling the mighty works of God”, as we have heard in the first reading. So the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and what happened? What was the miracle of grace, if you like? The sound from heaven “like a mighty rushing wind”? The tongues of fire? The gift of speaking in strange languages? Not really. One thing is certain, however, the end result was that they were getting through with the Good News. Devout men from every nation under heaven heard them, that's the miracle. Their lamps had oil in them, the oil of devotion, the disciples brought the fire. Others, those who were yet unprepared for it, were mocking the disciples saying “they are filled with new wine”, but the devout ones heard them praising God for what was accomplished in Jesus. And began to desire that fire. This miracle was the Church at work for the first time, and it was the fruit of a long process.
Jesus Christ had risen from the dead and over a period of 40 days appeared to every single one of his disciples. This shared experience, of having seen the Risen One, held them together, stopped them from scattering, slowly built up their faith. They were still not at all sure what to do next, but for the time being stayed close, and every now and then came together to talk about it all. Then they witnessed the Ascension and a community was born, but not yet the Church. There was great joy, but it was a community without a centre, the Lord was no longer with them, he had been taken up. The hearts of the disciples were reaching out to heaven, but couldn't quite get there. That's what they had in common, this joyful longing. It was a community made up of individual relationships of love with the Risen Lord in heaven. Out of their longing prayer was born, out of joyful anticipation – the desire to make things right, to prepare.
Unsurprisingly, it was at this very point that they suddenly realized they were missing one Apostle! Matthias replaced the traitor Judas. This is precisely where our desire to make things right has its proper place, too. This is where Christian morality comes in, the struggle against sin, asceticism, devotions and observances. It is like preparing a house for a longed-for guest. It's not a matter of coming up to a standard imposed from above, of deserving, of pulling oneself up by the boot-straps. There is nothing grim about it. Rather it's getting everything ready for Him, for Them, as far as we can, freeing the space, putting things in order. It is fighting for freedom to receive God within, for the time and space in which to receive Him.
The community after the Ascension was very devout, they prayed together, their lamps were full of oil.
When the Spirit finally comes, the Church is born – communion in the breaking of bread, teaching and preaching. This is “the Spirit of Christ” - and so Christ himself, as St Paul tells us, - “the Spirit of adoption as sons”. Jesus is now both in heaven and within each one of the disciples, turning them all into Anointed Ones. He is also “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead”, and therefore eternal life itself, experienced as a constant pull upward. It manifested itself as a flame over their heads. The Church is the miracle of grace then! It consists of many “Christs” working together, spreading the Fire. Brothers and sisters, there is perhaps not all that much oil of devotion within us, there is perhaps not all that much freedom from sin within, not all that much order and love without, among us. Let us nevertheless gather the little that's there, present it to God and wait for the Fire together.
DSP