Come Holy Spirit 聖神請來

Sixth Easter Sunday, Year A
Theme: Come Holy Spirit 聖神請來

The Easter Season will end on the Pentecost and we are approaching it. Thus the Holy Spirit becomes the major theme of the Sunday readings during these few weeks. In the first reading today we see the continuous growth of the early Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in the gospel, we read of Jesus pledging to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to the disciples as another Advocate (John 14:16).

The Church celebrates the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost as her birthday. The beginning of the early Church in Jerusalem was exclusively Jewish. However, there was a subtle division: Hebrew-speaking Jews vs. Greek-speaking Jews. This subtle division became an issue when the Greek-speaking Jews started complaining that “their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution” (Acts 6:1). It is inevitable because the bigger the size of a community, the greater its complexity. A new institution of deacons was set up within the growing Church to handle this complexity.

A lot of things had happened before the first reading today. St. Stephen, one of the seven elected Greek-speaking deacons was stoned to death because of his eloquent preaching. He became the first Christian martyr. The Sanhedrin began purging the Christian community. Thus most of her members fled Jerusalem and only the apostles remained (8:1). Today, we read of the evangelization work of deacon Philip in Samaria and we see a further development of the Church, namely the apostles have the faculty to lay their hands on the baptized to give them the Holy Spirit (8:17). This is significant for two reasons. Firstly, the apostles were the foundation of the hierarchy of the Church. All further division of labour/ministries within the Church originated from the apostles and their successors. More significantly, they reserve the faculty to give the Holy Spirit to themselves. Deacon Philip preached, worked miracles and baptized only. He could not give the Holy Spirit. Secondly, John says, “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (John 3:8). Which means human beings are not supposed to manipulate the Holy Spirit. We cannot appease the Holy Spirit by offering sacrifice to Him! However, here in Samaria for the first time in history, the Holy Spirit could be invoked and would follow the will of an elected few, namely the apostles! The Church in modern times has come a long way to arrive at the present form. Yet, the legitimate successors to the apostles remain the foundation of the Church for all ages.

In the gospel reading today, Jesus continues His farewell discourses. Earlier on Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (13:34) That’s the only commandment we have in record. But today Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (14:15). “Commandment” is in plural which is not apparent in case-insensible languages such as Chinese! One may wonder what other commandments are included “my commandments” besides the “Love one another as I have loved you”. Perhaps we have forgotten that Jesus is God. He says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). The Ten Commandments were also given by the Son of God! Therefore, when Jesus used the plural form of the word “commandment” in “my commandments”, He was declaring His divinity as well.

Further down, Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always” (John 14:16). If the Holy Spirit is “another Advocate”, who is the Advocate in the first place? Of course it is Jesus Himself. We can find the clues in several places. “My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one” (1 John 2:1). “He, because he remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away. Therefore, He is always able to save those who approach God through Him, since He lives forever to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25). “Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us” (Romans 8:33-34). Why do we need a perpetual Advocate? It is because there is “an Accuser of our brothers … who accuses them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10). This Accuser is Satan who is allowed audience in God’s presence (Job 1:6) before “it is thrown into the pool of fire and sulphur” (Revelation 20:10) at the Last Judgment.

So, while Jesus Christ intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit accompanies us in our perilous journey on earth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and it remains with us and in us (John 14:17). The “Spirit of Truth” is just another way of saying the “Spirit of Jesus” because earlier on Jesus describes Himself as “The Way and the Truth and the Life” when He proclaims His divinity (14:6). Incarnation confines the Son of God to a well-defined point in space and time. Now that Jesus would ascend into heaven and remains there to intercede for us, the Holy Spirit takes over the Son’s salvific mission but with a greater freedom in space and time on earth. Yet earlier, Jesus says, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (8:31-32). The mission of the Son is to redeem and to save. Thus, the Holy Spirit continues to set us free from the bondage of sins by residing in us. If you have any doubt about the possibility of Holy Spirit’s residence in our sinful bodies, let’s listen to what the apostle says. St. Paul puts it concretely when he preached against prostitution. “Do you not know that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

The Holy Spirit is essential for us in leading our spiritual life. In His revelation to the Samaritan woman, Jesus teaches, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth” (John 4:24). This is a Trinity formula we must adhere to when we worship God. Thus, our prayers, devotions, liturgy and sacramental must be conducted within the context of the Blessed Trinity without which all acts of devotion would be in vain. The role of the Holy Spirit as an Advocate is best expressed by St. Paul who says, “The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings … because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will” (Romans 8:26-27).

Brethren! It is understandable that most of us are not familiar with the Holy Spirit. Unlike Jesus Christ whom the disciples might see, hear and touch, the Holy Spirit is not tangible. Don’t worry. The Holy Spirit is within us and comes to our aids with inexpressible groanings. Though we are not bishops with the faculty to give the Holy Spirit, He will prompt us to invoke Him to our aids. Amen.
God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: flickr.com