I have Come to Cast a Fire on the Earth : A Meditation on the Feast of Pentecost

The following comes from Fr. Charles Pope:

What a wondrous and challenging feast we celebrate at Pentecost. A feast like this challenges us, because it puts to the lie a lazy, sleepy, hidden, and tepid Christian life. The Lord Jesus had said to Apostles, and still says to us: I have come to cast a fire on the earth! (Luke 12:49). This is a feast about fire, about a transformative, refining, and purifying fire that the Lord wants to kindle in us and in this world.

The Readings today speak to us of the Holy Spirit in three ways: The Portraits of the Spirit, the Proclamation of the Spirit and the Propagation by the Spirit. Let’s look at all three.

I. The Portraits of the Spirit – The Reading today speaks of the Holy Spirit using two images: rushing wind, and tongues of fire. These two images recall Psalm 50 which says, Our God comes, he does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, round about him a mighty tempest. (Psalm 50:3).

Rushing Wind – Notice how the text from Acts opens: When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.

This text brings us to the very root meaning of the word “Spirit.” For “spirit” refers to “breath,” and we have this preserved in our word “respiration,” which means breathing. So, the Spirit of God is the breath of God, the Ruah Adonai (the Spirit, the breath of God).

Genesis 1:2 speaks of this saying the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And Genesis 2:7 speaks even more remarkably of something God did only for man, not the animals: then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Gen 2:7).

So the very Spirit of God was breathed into Adam! But, as we know, Adam lost this gift and died spiritually when he sinned.

Thus we see in this passage from Acts an amazing and wonderful resuscitation of the human person as these first Christians (120 in all) experience the rushing wind of God’s Spirit breathing spiritual life back into them. God does C.P.R. and brings humanity, dead in sin, back to life! The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us once again as in a temple (cf 1 Cor 3:16). It has been said that Christmas is the feast of God with us, Good Friday is the Feast of God for us, but Pentecost is the Feast of God in us.

Tongues of Fire – The text from Acts says, Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.

The Bible often speaks of God as fire, or in fiery terms. Moses saw God as a burning bush. God led the people out of Egypt through the desert as a pillar of fire. Moses went up on to a fiery Mt. Sinai where God was. Psalm 97 says, The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries round about. His lightnings lighten the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory. (Ps 97:1-6). Scriptures call God a Holy fire, a consuming fire (cf Heb 12:29) and a refining fire (cf Is. 48:10; Jer 9:7; Zec 13:9; & Mal 3:3).

And so it is that our God, who is a Holy Fire, comes to dwell in us through his Holy Spirit. And as a Holy Fire, He refines us by burning away our sins and purifying us. As Job once said, But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10).

And he is also preparing us for judgement, for if God is a Holy Fire, then who may endure the day of his coming or of our going to Him? What can endure the presence of Fire Himself? Only that which is already fire. Thus we must be set afire by God’s love.

So, in the coming of the Holy Spirit God sets us on fire to make us a kind of fire. In so doing, he purifies and prepares us to meet him one, He who is a Holy Fire.

II. The Proclamation of the Spirit. - You will notice that the Spirit Came on them like “tongues” of Fire. And the reference to tongues is no mere accident. For notice how the Holy Spirit moves them to speak, and ultimately to witness. The text says: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

So behold how the Holy Spirit moves them to proclaim, not just in the safety of the upper room, but also in holy boldness before the crowds who have gathered.

Notice the transformation! Moments ago these were frightened men who gathered only behind locked doors, in secrecy. They were huddled together in fear. But now they go forth to the crowds and boldly proclaim Christ. They have gone from fear to faith, from cowardice to courage, from terror to testimony!

And how about us? Too many Christians are silent, dominated by fear. Perhaps they fear being called names, or not being popular. Perhaps they are anxious about being laughed at, or resisted, or of being asked questions they don’t feel capable of answering. Some Christians are able to gather in the “upper room” of the parish and be active, even be leaders. But once outside the “upper room” they slip into undercover mode. They become secret agent Christians.

Well, the Holy Spirit wants to change that, and to the degree that we have really met Jesus Christ and experienced his Holy Spirit we are less “able” to keep silent. An old Gospel song says, I thought I wasn’t gonna testify, but I couldn’t keep it to myself, what the Lord has done for me. The Holy Spirit, if authentically received, wants to give us zeal and joy, and burn away our fear, so that testifying and witnessing are natural to us.

Note also how the Spirit “translates” for the apostles, for the crowd before them spoke different languages, but all heard Peter and the others in their own language. The Spirit therefore assists not only us, but also those who hear us. My testimony is not dependent only on my eloquence, but also on the grace of the Holy Spirit who casts out deafness and opens hearts. Every Christian should remember this. Some of our most doubtful encounters with others can still bear great fruit on account of the work of the Holy Spirit who “translates” for us and overcomes many obstacles that we might think insurmountable.

III. The Propagation by the Spirit – In the great commission the Lord said, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age (Matt 28:19ff). He also said, as we have noted, I have come to cast a fire on the earth and How I wish the blaze were already ignited (Luke 12:49).

But how is the Lord going to do this?

Perhaps a picture will help. My parish church is dedicated to the Holy Spirit under the title: Holy Comforter. Above the high altar is the Latin inscription: Spiritus Domini, replevit orbem terrarum (The Spirit of the Lord, filled the orb of the earth). (See photo, above right, of our high altar).

And yet, we may wonder how He will do this.

But the walls of my parish Church answer the question. The clerestory walls are painted Spanish Red, and upon this great canvas are also painted the lives of 20 saints, surrounding us like a great cloud of witnesses (cf Heb 12:1). (See also, video below). And over the head of every saint is a tongue of fire.

THIS is how the Spirit of the Lord fills the earth. It is not “magic fairy dust,” it is in the fiery transformation of every Christian, going forth into the world to bring light and warmth to a dark and cold world. THIS is how the Lord casts fire on earth, THIS is how the Spirit of the Lord fills the orb of the earth: in the lives of saints, and, if you are prepared to accept it, in YOU.

In the end, the Great Commission (Matt 28) is “standing order No. 1.” No matter what else, we are supposed to do this. Parishes do not deserve to exist if they do not do this. We as individual Christians are a disgrace, and not worthy of the name, if we fail to win souls for Jesus Christ. The Spirit of the Lord is going to fill the orb of the earth, but only through us. The spread of the Gospel has been placed in your hands (scary isn’t it?).

In the Past two years, my own parish, after a year of training, stepped out into our neighborhood, and went door to door and into the local park. And we announced Jesus Christ, and invited people to discover him in our parish, and in the sacraments. And we were in the local park and the market last week doing sidewalk evangelization.

Before we count even a single convert, this is already success because we are obeying Jesus Christ who said, simply, “Go!” “Go make disciples.” And, truth be told, we ARE seeing an increase in my parish. Our Sunday attendance has grown from about 450 to 520, a 15% increase. We are growing, and our attendance, while average for a downtown city parish, is going in the right direction. God never fails. God is faithful.

Spread the news: it works if you work it, so work it because God is worth it. Go make disciples. Ignore what the pollsters tell you about a declining Church and let the Lord cast a fire on the earth through you! Fires have way of spreading! Why not start one today? The Spirit of God will not disappoint.

I know this, my parish has a future because we are obeying Jesus Christ, we are making disciples. How about you and yours? If parishes do not obey, they do not deserve to exist and can expect to close one day, no matter how big they are today. I, in my short 50 years on this planet, have seen it: parishes once big, booming, and, (frankly), arrogant, are now declining and some are near closure. It happens to the best, if they do not evangelize, if they do not accomplish “Job 1.” The Lord wants to light a fire. Why not become totally fire? Let the Spirit propagate the Church through you (I am not talking about the person next to you, I am talking to you).

Happy feast of Pentecost. But don’t forget that the basic image is very challenging, for it means getting out of the “upper room,” opening the doors, and proclaiming Christ to the world. Let the Holy Spirit light a fire in you, and then, you can’t help but spread light and heat to a cold and dark world.

Let the evangelization of the whole world begin with you.

This video features details from the clerestory (upper window level) of my parish of Holy Comforter here in DC. Notice the tongue of fire above each saint. The paintings show how the Spirit of the Lord fills the orb of the earth, (see photo above), through the lives of the lives of the saints (this means you). It is not magic, it is grace, working in your life, through your gifts, and your relationships, that the Lord will reach each soul. The cloud of witnesses on the walls of my Church say simply, You are the way he will fill the earth and set it on fire. Let the blaze be ignited in you!

The song says: We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, looking on, encouraging us to do the will of the Lord. Let us stand worthy, and be faithful to God’s call….We must not grow weary…!

Opening to the Holy Spirit

The following comes from the Catholic Exchange:

So Jesus broke the chains of death, rose from the dead, threw open the stone at the tomb, sought His disciples who abandoned Him, and in today’s Gospel, He walked through closed doors just to bring them the Holy Spirit that He won for them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” One thing is clear – Jesus is powerful and He will do anything to give us a share in His Spirit.

There is only one thing that Jesus cannot and will not do – He will never walk through the doors of our closed hearts. Despite His power over us, Jesus will not attempt to force Himself on us in any way but will continue to knock incessantly on the door of our hearts, always bearing with Him the gift of His Spirit and moving us to freely open ourselves to Him. We have to freely open our hearts to Him if we are going to experience the powerful action of the Spirit that He bears.

Why is it so difficult for us to open our hearts completely to the Spirit and respond to His impulses? In the first place, we close our hearts to Him because we lack understanding of the Spirit’s mysterious way. In today’s First Reading, the crowd is stunned to hear their various languages being spoken from the lips of Galileans “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?” Secondly, we do not trust in the Spirit enough. We are not sure that He has our best interest at heart and that we will have what it takes to respond appropriately to His movements. Thirdly, we are holding on to and attached to our former way of life. The Spirit brings about a transformation by bringing us under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. St. Paul put it this way, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ expect by the Holy Spirit.” Our readiness to be transformed and to live truly with Jesus Christ as sovereign Lord of every aspect of our life is the key to opening our hearts to Him. Lastly, we are usually unwilling to use His gifts for the good of the entire Body of Christ and not just for ourselves. We must be willing to use these gifts selflessly because the Spirit is given “for some benefit” to the entire Body of Christ.

I have experienced these resistances to the Spirit’s movement. I had just begun to seriously discern my vocation to the priesthood and religious life. I was still at the stage of fear and anxiety about what the Spirit was moving me to do. Quit my job, give away lots of stuff, leave my friends and relatives, go to another city, and begin to study philosophy while living with other religious in preparation for consecrated life. Very scary stuff! I shared my discernment with a parishioner who replied, “My, would you be happy in such a life? How are you sure that this is from the Spirit?” I became more afraid. How was I sure that I was listening to the voice of the Spirit and that I would be happy in following His promptings? Couldn’t I as well serve God also as a faithful lay Catholic? Why was I being moved to choose consecrated poverty, chastity and obedience? How in the world am I to respond?

By the grace of God, I turned to Mother Mary when I recalled that she is indeed the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. I figured that, since she is the faithful Spouse of the Spirit, the secrets of the Spirit’s actions are written clearly in her heart as much as the Holy Spirit alone knows the secret of Mary. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the secrets of Mary, His Bride, to us as He revealed her to Elizabeth, “And she was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.’”(Lk 2:41-42)  As faithful spouse of the Spirit, Mary shares with her children the subtle actions and plans of the Spirit and helps them to respond appropriately.

However, I came to realize that, if I was going to respond faithfully to the Spirit’s impulses, my devotion to Mary was to be more than just speaking to Mary with confidence about the confusion that what I was going through; but I was also to look at Mary closely, listen to her with attention and learn from her virtues and attitudes if I was to open my heart to the Spirit and follow His inspirations. Looking at Mary in prayer, listening to her, and striving to follow her example, I began to see enough to take the next steps in my discernment process with greater confidence and peace, visit religious communities and share my discernment story with people who could guide me. I also began to sense that the Spirit was moving me to much greater sources of inner joy than I could ever imagine and I was moved more to embrace a life with Jesus as sovereign Lord and Savior. Lastly, I came to realize that I had been gifted by the Spirit to live for others and not for self and I would find peace only by living for Christ and for others.

The Apostles opened themselves trustingly to the work of the Spirit after Jesus Christ revealed to them the inner peace that awaited them by doing so, “Peace be with you.” They were ready to make use of the Spirit’s gifts for the sake of the gathering souls into the Body of Christ from the moment of Pentecost by their bold proclamation and witness of their lives. They grasped that they were now to live under the Lordship of Christ by serving as channels of His mercy to others, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, whose sins you retain are retained.”

This same Spirit abides in the Church until the very end of time. In Mary, His Spouse, we have a woman and our mother who has had to deal with the mysterious ways of the Spirit in her own life and had responded with unwavering fidelity. Mary did not completely understand the actions of the Spirit but she opened herself completely to the work of the Spirit and let herself by guided by the Spirit step by step. Mary also trusted completely in the Holy Spirit and His plan for her and she was open to be transformed from a chaste virgin to the virgin-mother of the God-man by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lastly, she was willing and ready to use His gifts for the good of God’s children as she shows in her loving intercession for the wedding guests at the wedding of Cana.

Devotion to Mary is the often neglected key to responding to the actions and movements of the Holy Spirit in our lives. She helps us open our hearts to the action of the Spirit as God’s beloved children, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, theseare childrenof God.” (Rom 8:14) Children of God must know their mother in the order of grace and look to her for help, guidance, and example in opening to the Spirit of life.

In this age of the Spirit, the Spirit is moving us strongly. If we are reluctant to follow Him, unsure about His good intention towards us, resisting submitting to the lordship of Jesus Christ, or tempted to live for ourselves, we need to ask how authentic our devotion to Mary is. Is it stuck on the level of speaking to her or praying to her? Are we looking at her closely too for help and for guidance? Are we listening to her as obedient children just as Jesus obeyed her (Cf Lk2:51) or are we fixed in our old ways of living? Are we striving to imitate her obedience to the Father’s mysterious will, her fidelity to Jesus Christ and His saving mission up to the point of death on the cross, and her promptness and docility to the impulse of the Spirit? As long as we have the Spirit within us, He will continue to inspire us because He wants to do great things through us, with us and in us in our world today. Likewise we will constantly need His Spouse Mary to help us open to Him and respond with fidelity to His promptings.

In the Eucharist, Jesus comes with power to us and He brings with Him the same Spirit of power that He bestowed on the disciples on Pentecost. The desire of Jesus is that we all are filled with the Holy Spirit and become His faithful witnesses. Despite His power, He will not force us to open our hearts to His Spirit and He will not walk through the doors of our closed hearts. We must open the doors of our hearts from the inside.

Mother Mary is also waiting to help us open our hearts completely and follow the Spirit wherever He leads us and no matter the cost. We shall truly know the power of the Spirit when we choose to humbly look at, listen to, and learn from Mary, the ever faithful Spouse of the Holy Spirit.

Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!