Pentecost - the demonstration of the Holy Trinity and
the indwelling of and cleansing by the Holy Spirit
Rev.
Dr. George Pulikkottil
In the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
On this day we
recall that just 50 days after the Glorious Resurrection and 10 days
after the Victorious Ascension of our Lord, the Holy Spirit came upon
the Holy Apostles and all those gathered with. (Acts of the Apostles
Chapter 2) Today we celebrate the bringing of the Holy Spirit,
Pentecost, the fulfillment of the Resurrection in the heart of man.
Christ prophesied it Himself, and the fulfillment we hear in the Acts of
the Apostles.
Usually, when we
have a feast day, the primary reading will be from the Gospel, in terms
of in content of the feast, but the event of Pentecost is described in
the Acts. ‘Acts of the Apostles’ is the account of continuation of the
history of Salvation and hence it is included in the New Testament
giving next importance to the Gospel. The Ascension of our Lord, the
dissension of the Holy Spirit and indwelling in the Church, in the heart
of each believers and the early history of the Church are described
there. The book is hence also called the ‘Work of the Holy Spirit.’ The
event of Pentecost is the link between Gospel and other part of the New
Testament. It shows that the Church is the Church of Triune God;
continuation of Creation, redemption in Christ and growing in Spirit.
Why it is like a
demonstration of the Holy Trinity, why there are three parts for
the order of Service of the Feast of Pentecost?
We worship the
Triune God – The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each of our
prayers starts and ends in the name of Triune God – “Glory be to the
Father and to the Son and to the Living Holy Spirit, One God for ever
and ever.” No doubt, we believe in One True God - “The Father who by His
grace created the world, the Son who by His precious suffering redeemed
the world and the Holy and Living Spirit who fulfills and perfects all
that has been and all that will be.” The above quoted liturgical
passages are the most meaningful explanation why the One True God is
worshiped in three Persons. He is the One manifested in three. He is the
One who bestowed upon us in three Persons– Creator, Redeemer and
Indweller for fulfillment and perfection. This is why He is understood
and being referred by the Church in an integrated Triune form – the Holy
Trinity. (In classical Hinduism the soundest philosophical definition
for God follows: Sat-Chit-Anatam Brahmam. Here ‘Sat’ is the Pure
Essence of Creation, ‘Chit’ the Pure Consciousness of Redemption and
‘Anatam’ the Pure state of Intelligence – indwelling for fulfillment and
perfection. So for an Indian mind it will be much easier to understand
the philosophy of One God in Three Persons.)
All the three
phases of creation, redemption and indwelling are there from the start
of the world itself. But these things revealed to humanity, as according
to Christian Faith, in three definite phases, the Work of the Father, of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In the liturgical year of the Church,
which is a depiction of the history of Salvation, these phases could
trace as following: The start of first season begins with Sanctification
of Church (Koothos Etho), the Redemption through the Incarnation
of Christ- the second to fourth seasons- and the Indwelling of the Holy
and Living Spirit- starts from the fifth season. This third and final
phase starts on the day of the Feast of Pentecost. This could be the
reason why the Fathers of the Church decided to use this wonderful
occasion to demonstrate the Holy Trinity. To show and explain it so
clearly and to become part of it they, filled with the Spirit of our
Lord, designed it in three services of absolute meditation on the Holy
Trinity. The history of Salvation is well presented in this canonical
liturgy referring to each historical, prophetical and evangelistic
writings from the Word of God; with high theological explanations,
philosophical reasoning and contemplative meditation. One could see a
finite expression of Eastern Orthodox liturgical worship on the Feast of
Pentecost.
Why the Kneeling
down and Sprinkling of water on the Feast of Pentecost in our
Church?
As it is very clear
in the message of Christ, repentance is the only way to attain the
Kingdom of God. Receiving the renewal of Holy Spirit is the sign and
expression of becoming a member in the Kingdom of God. In Eastern Church
kneeling down and crying Kurielaison is the most genuine and
powerful expression of real repentance. There is no other way to
invocate the Holy Spirit than our real repentance and confession.
(Outward expressions like making terrific sounds and instructing Holy
Spirit to come down and so on are not a sign of repentance, but of
arrogance and ignorance of divine wisdom. Apart from some physical
exercise no internal meditation may be possible there.)
Sprinkling of water
is considered in the Church as a symbolic expression of receiving the
power of Holy Spirit. Christ said, "If any man thirst, let him come to
me and drink," and He said, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water." The Apostle John tells us this refers to the Holy Spirit,
Who was not yet given, but He was prophesying of what would happen when
it was given. "If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink." The
Holy Spirit is available to us, if we thirst. Abundant water, cool
water, fresh water. Not water from a cistern, but water from a living
spring is available to us, but only if we thirst. If we do not thirst,
then the water that we partake of is flat and lifeless and tepid. We
must thirst. Thirst for righteousness, thirst for Christ. Then, out of
your belly truly shall flow rivers of living water. Think of the image,
of what this means. Continual activity, continual purity because water
purifies, especially flowing water. It scours the ground, and cleans,
takes waste away, continually flowing and purifying and cleansing. This
is what happens in the heart of man, but only if we thirst. We must
thirst for that good water, the water that Christ also spoke of with the
woman at the well. If you thirst, then indeed, you will have living
water.
"As many as we have
been baptized into Christ, we have put on Christ." This putting on is
our action, our desire, our continual living in Christ. May it be that
we would truly live as Christians. The Spirit makes it possible. It is
all there for us. Abundant grace is present, and abundant grace is
continually shed upon us. And we would have all of this grace if we
thirsted. To the extent that we thirst for things that are not godly,
and that distract us, to that extent we don't have this living water.
When he sent His
Holy Spirit upon mankind it was so that the things of Christ would be
revealed to those who would be willing to listen, and they would become
completely alive. Everything would be cleaned; just as water that is
rushing, cleans and freshens everything. So that even those parts of us
which are dirty, even those parts of us which resist becoming perfected,
the Lord will indeed perfect. Water can not be held back when it is in a
torrent; everything in its path is pushed out of the way. So it is with
the Holy Spirit. But there is a difference: when a flood comes upon us
it is not of our own will that the water comes, and the water destroys
things that are precious to us. But the flood of the Holy Spirit comes
only if we desire it. If, of our will, we desire to follow the things of
God, then indeed the torrent will come. The torrent will flow and never
end. Anything that is ungodly that is in our way of the keeping of the
commandments will be scoured away, will be pushed away, and the water
will flow eternally out of our belly, out of every part of us.
Now, the Holy
Spirit is also fire. Not just water, but also fire; now these are two
things that in Nature do not exist together - one destroys the other.
But according to God, these things can coexist. Fire burns away that
which is trash, that which is unclean. Fire purifies. Fire softens. Fire
warms. And we need the fire of the Holy Spirit to burn away impurity in
our soul, and we need the warmth of the Holy Spirit to encourage us. He
is called Comforter - He comforts with fire; He comforts by warming our
hearts, by giving us that sure and certain hope that indeed we can be
changed. And He is water, eternally giving us life, refreshment,
invigorating us; a spring that never, ever ends. A drought will never
come upon he who has the Spirit; fire and water in the soul of a
Christian, each doing their part, each from the same Spirit.
The Holy Spirit
abides in a Christian. Until the promise was given, the Holy Spirit did
not live in men; all the things that were accomplished by the Spirit
outside. Even the prophets who spoke by the Spirit: the Spirit did not
live in them. He inspired them, and they were still unable to accomplish
perfection. But now the Comforter is given to us, and we can become
perfected. Anything that is impure, anything that is temporal can all be
changed, can become perfected, can become clean, and can become light,
life. Today when we celebrate the fulfillment of the Resurrection in man
the Lord has given us everything now we need.
He lived on the
earth and showed us the way of life that is perfect; the way of life
that leads to eternal life, to true happiness, no other kind of
happiness is possible. Only by following the will of God can we truly be
happy. He showed us this. He showed us the way to live, of having
priorities, to follow the commandments. But showing this would not do us
any good, unless He also made us capable of doing what He shows us,
because we were not capable of following His examples; we are strangers
and aliens as the apostle said, far from God, unable to follow the
commandments, not completely, not so that we could have rivers of living
water in our belly springing out; not so that we could be completely
perfected, have nothing ever that is corruptible in us. So He died, and
resurrected Himself so that our bodies can be resurrected, can defeat
corruption.
But even this is
not enough. How many people live in the Resurrection? We still see sin,
suffering, unbelief, sadness in the world. The Resurrection is for all
men, but not all men are able to apprehend it, to clasp it to their
bosom. We need a Comforter, a Guide, a Helper; that is the Holy Spirit.
He is given so that we can live in the Resurrection; so we can apply the
lessons the Lord has given us - and continues to give us on a moment by
moment basis - of how to live, how to think, how to be, how to feel. All
these lessons can be applied because the Comforter tells us in groanings
that can not be uttered. Most of what the Holy Spirit does for us we do
not see, or feel, or even know, but he does enlighten, and He does
change, and He does make alive, Without the Holy Spirit, the
Resurrection would only be a painting on the wall inaccessible to us,
beautiful to be sure, but not something that belongs to us. The Holy
Spirit makes it belong to us, because we can be changed. We do not have
to live with incorruption.
May the Holy and
Glorious Triune God bless and enable us to understand the meaning of the
Feast of Pentecost and indwell in us as He does in case of the Apostles
and Saints.
