Come Holy Spirit and renew our hearts
TODAY is the Pentecost Sunday. Christians all over the world commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles of Christ who were gathered together in Jerusalem and were praising and praying.
This event is narrated in Chapter 2 of The Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. This is how the Church came into form and the disciples spread around with the gospel of Christ and preach that Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.
God created the universe with His word full of the power of His Spirit. According to the Bible when God created the universe His spirit was hovering above the waters and the formless chaos. Out of this chaos God formed and shaped His creation. God did all His works with His Spirit.
Spirit is life giving and it is the power that helps man to have vital relationship with God. When God had created Adam and Eve out of dust He breathed this Spirit into their dummy-body and only then they became living souls. All the miracles that God's prophets performed were possible only because of the presence of the Spirit in them. The virgin birth of Christ, was born of the Holy Spirit. That's why he is also called "The Ruh-ul-ullah."
All the works, the miracles that he also did were done in and through the power of the Spirit. He was resurrected from the dead also by the same power. Christ's ascension into Heaven 40 days after his resurrection from death was followed by the pouring down of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples 10 days later: hence the name Pentecost (from Greek word "pentecostes" meaning "the fiftieth day").
On Pentecost Sunday, the Church celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the lives of Christ's first disciples. The Holy Spirit descended from heaven for their empowerment and transformation into an entirely new quality of life. The Spirit transformed the apostolic community into a community of sharing and caring for others. The Holy Spirit gave them a new vision and hope and strength to transform the lives of other people.
All life and creation of God is good in essence. But where there is the impact of evil and Satanic force creation is imperiled and life is made horrible and meaningless. We are born and live in a violent world, a world where destruction, devastation and plundering of God's creation is the rule of the day. Because of man's greed and pride and the reckless use and abuse of God's creation man in alienated from the rest of creation. We need to redeem the lost harmony between nature and mankind.
Today we need the power and enabling of the Spirit for our renewal in our minds and hearts so that we can fight the forces that beset our lives, the forces that dehumanises people. We need to be liberated from our selfishness, ego and our inconsideration for others. We see and experience so much demonstration of the work of the devil. The power of the Holy Spirit can give us strength to stand against this evil force.
Pentecost comes every year with the message of liberation from all that negates life and oppose God's holy will for justice and peace. Today humanity is so divided and sub-divided from the points of view not only of race, gender, clime, culture, creed, colour and the like, but also from the points of view of diverse interests and concerns. There is injustice and gross violation of basic human rights in every place and in every society.
God wants people to sincerely strive and work for justice and lasting peace. We all may long for peace, but all of us are not being ready to make any sacrifice for peace. Without a sacrifice made we cannot achieve a society or community where lasting peace will prevail.
All human lives are precious to God. Because God wants that all human persons have access to equal rights and opportunities to develop full potential and life is made enjoyable and dignified.
God empowers us with His Spirit so that we can live the new and glorious life of love and peace and justice in fellowship with God and also with other people. Had we have them in us today the world would be an altogether different place!
We pray that God, the Holy Spirit will grant us the power and quickening for the healing and renewal in our personal lives and also in the lives of other people for the promotion of true peach and goodwill among men.
Reverend Martin Adhikary is Director of Advocacy and Promotion of the Leprosy Mission, Bangladesh.
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