“Come, Holy Spirit, come!” As we celebrate Pentecost Sunday our communal cry is for
the Holy Spirit to come to us and renew us in our faith, hope and love for God. In the course of our daily lives we become weighed down by the cares and concerns of the world. We feel the weight of our sins and weaknesses. We become distracted by the fast pace of our lives and the constant demands made upon us. Our faith seems warn out and cold and the love and mercy of God seems more and more like a distant memory. We need something new and fresh. We want to experience the joy again of that first love. Come, Holy Spirit, come!

Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles takes us back to that first Pentecost and reminds us of the gifts that the Holy Spirit brings. The first sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit is the sound of a strong and driving wind. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God and has often been experienced as a wind that sweeps over the earth. It reminds us of how the Spirit of God hovered over the formless abyss and brought order and life out of chaos. All of us can use some fresh air from time to time. The spiritual air that we breathe can become stale and lifeless when we close ourselves in and keep breathing the same air over and over. Sometimes we need to open the windows of our interior life and let the Spirit bring in some new air. The Spirit blows where it wills. We cannot control the inspirations of the Spirit. We need to catch an updraft of Spirit from time to time and let it carry us closer to God. When was the last time that you let yourself be blown away by God’s inspiration? Come, Holy Spirit, come!

The next sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit is tongues of fire. The Spirit of God is a fire that warms us and inflames us with love. When we hear the Word of God our hearts should be burning within us as the disciples on the road to Emmaus experienced. Our faith should be ardent. God wants worshippers who are on fire with love and burning with a desire to enter more deeply into his divine mystery. Too often we have become “lukewarm” in the practice of our faith. Everything is routine and we have become complacent. Sometimes we can even be cold and distant to God. It is time for us to “stir into flame” that spark of faith once again. Jesus will not snuff out the smoldering wick but he will work to fan it into flame so that it throws light out into our darkened world once again. The Holy Spirit can set us on fire with an all consuming love for spiritual things. God wants to see a little fire in your belly, the fire of his Spirit. He wants to see a wildfire sweeping through the spiritual landscape of your soul and purifying you in love. Come, Holy Spirit, come!

The next sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit is the ability to proclaim the gospel in our lives in a language that others will understand. Too often it seems like people of faith are speaking a foreign language that confuses others in the world. We need to be able to speak in languages that others will understand and identify with. We need to proclaim the “mighty acts of God” in a way that speaks to others and informs them of God’s love and mercy. The Holy Spirit can help us to speak in ways that bring people together not divide them. The Holy Spirit gives us words that will give witness to our faith before others and will express the deepest prayers of our hearts to the Father. The most profound words are actions. The good things that we do speaks volumes to others about the presence of God in our lives. Our actions need to be consistent with the faith that we confess so that we do not confuse others. Come, Holy Spirit, come!

Finally, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon us gives us a profound sense of peace. It is a peace that the world cannot give. It comes from trusting in the love of God. It is the quiet joy of living in God’s presence and knowing that all manner of things will be well. Guided by the Spirit of God we do not need to be anxious or fearful but we can walk humbly the way of Christ that leads us to the fullness of life. Come, Holy Spirit, come!