Holy Spirit Fall Afresh On Us
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages,
as the Spirit gave them ability” Acts 2: 4
Every year in our Christian calendar the Day of Pentecost reminds us of a new creation, another incarnation, with wind blowing and tongues of fire falling, and the amazing experience of speaking in different languages! God breaking into the whole creation to continue the work of building up a just and faithful community. Although the coming of the Holy Spirit is often associated with confusion and disorder, it also clearly demonstrates freedom and excitement. An extraordinary event indeed.
Unlike other events of God’s spirit in the Bible, which was reserved for few, the Pentecost experience is for everyone and not just a chosen few, which gave birth to the Church! The Holy Spirit was falling upon not just the disciples, gathered in a room, not just the holiest or the most faithful or the most learned, not just the believers, not just those who were with Jesus on the road or witnesses to his Resurrection, but all flesh, male and female, old and young, slave and free, everybody received the Holy Spirit, everybody was invited and included in this new birth of the Church. Pentecost was an experience of sacred solidarity, not a solitary mystical journey. It was a visible and communal eruption of God’s power. It is also important to observe the disciples; they did not perceive God’s doing in advance but discover as it happened and unfolded. Therein lies an important aspect of discipleship, it is not laid out in front of us as a blueprint, but we had to discover God’s plan as we follow the Spirit. Because of their openness the Holy Spirit was able to convert the small group of terrified disciples into a community of believers and empowered them to become the Church.
The Holy Spirit facilitates both continuity and creativity to the ministry of the disciples. Being relevant and open to the challenges of our times. Moreover, the importance and wonder of Pentecost could be fully understood only in the light of the arrest, humiliating trial, brutal execution and marvellous resurrection of Jesus. Pentecost comes to remind us that we have not been abandoned. The Pentecost also carries the memory of the biblical Jubilee Year, where freedom and new life is brought to the slave life.
I am reminded of the words of Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch for the World Council of Churches in 1968, ‘Without the Holy Spirit, God is far away, Christ stays in the past, The Gospel is a dead letter; church is simply an organisation; authority is a matter of domination; mission is a matter of propaganda; the liturgy no more than a reflection of Christians living a slave mentality. But with the Holy Spirit, God is with us, the universe is resurrected and groans with the birth pangs of the kingdom, the risen Christ is here, the Gospel is a living force, the Church is a communion in the life of the Trinity the body of the living Christ, authority is a service that liberates people, mission is Pentecost, the liturgy is memory and anticipation, and human action is God’s work in the world.”
How might we experience Pentecost today? The very first thing these Spirit-filled believers did was to move from the upper room to the streets and proclaim the good news to the people standing around in the street. The primary gift given by the Holy Spirit is the gift of witness. To experience Pentecost today is to actively engage with the gift of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t a passive event; it’s a divine empowerment that reshapes our lives, our communities, and our engagement with the world. The Spirit works in us personally, but for a communal purpose: to equip the Church to be a powerful witness. Just as fire does, the Holy Spirit ignites our spirit, warms our hearts, purifies our lives, lights our path, and enables life to flourish.
This empowerment by the Holy Spirit has a specific purpose: to enable us to be authentic and compelling witnesses of Jesus Christ in a world that is hurting and aching for healing. The courage that stems from the Holy Spirit is not a mere absence of fear, but the profound conviction to speak and act in alignment with the truth of the Gospel, even when it is unpopular or costly. The power given by the Spirit is a dynamic, life-altering energy that fuelled the early Church. It is the power to love unconditionally, to forgive offensively, to persevere through trial, and to see lives genuinely transformed.
Dear Sisters and brothers, the Holy Spirit enables our witness to be more than just words; our lives themselves become a testament to the reality of Christ. Our role as witnesses is directed outward, toward a world fractured by division, shadowed by anxiety, and marked by loneliness and injustice. In the face of this brokenness, a silent faith is insufficient. The Holy Spirit compels us to step into these places of pain, not with easy answers, but with a presence that reflects the compassion of Jesus.
May God the Holy Spirit fall upon us afresh and set our hearts and lives on flame.
The feast of Pentecost 2025
