Introduction
- The history of Salvation may be divided into three parts, of the Old Testament (the Father), the life of the Son (of Jesus) and the continuing presence of the divine in the world (of the Holy Spirit). We are living in the era of the Holy Spirit. We are the people of Pentecost.
- The meaning of the word ‘Pentecost’ is of the 50th day.
- Historical Development in the Old Testament – it was a feast of harvest. Then new meaning was added to that when Moses received the commandments on the Mount Sinai on the 50th day of the Exodus. Then it became a renewal day, a day when they were made the people of God through the Covenant.
Jews flocked to Jerusalem to offer their first fruits to God on that day.
- Jesus made it the beginning of a new era and a new community
Content
- Meditate on the three functions of the Holy Spirit
1. Life Giving Function
o In the book of Genesis ‘God breathed into the nostrils of the form of the mud and it got life’
o Jesus breathed to the apostles and they who were so afraid received the life.
o When we engage in life giving activities that reduces the evil which takes away life we are with Holy Spirit.
2. Guiding Function
o The apostles were guided to what to do and where to go.
o A common phrase in the acts of the apostles “spirit guided him”
o After the baptism Jesus was guided by the spirit to the desert.
o When we guide others into Jesus, the Truth, we participate in that function.
3. Unifying Function
o The Church exists as a single largest organization since the 1st century in spite of all its limitations. It’s because the Holy Spirit is the unifying factor of the church.
o Call to unity is not a call to uniformity.
o The apostles who were scattered after the crucifixion were brought as a group by the power of the spirit.
Conclusion
- Sins against these functions
o If we indulge in any of the programs that reduces or blocks life.
o If we misguide the people and take them away from God and Truth.
o If we stand for division and conflicts between the groups and individual.
You are called by baptism to be the “temple of the Holy Spirit.
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