How many of you have ever run out of gas? (several in the church raise their hands) Oh, I don’t feel so bad (laughter). How many of you have run out of gas more times than you can count? Alright, I’ve got some people like me here. What I’ve learned about running out of gas more times than you can count is you know who your true friends are because you aren’t afraid to call them again, when you run out of gas.
How many of you have run out of gas Spiritually in your life? How many of you have run out of gas Spiritually more times than you can count? Raise your hands. What do we do when we run out of gas Spiritually? This is what we are celebrating today as Pentecost, the gift of receiving the Holy Spirit. This is what fuels us. It’s the Holy spirit that allows us to have that energy to live the life that Christ desires of us.
There are three eras that we live in in the church. I’m not talking about Taylor Swift’s eras but, the eras of our church. The first era, was the era of God, the Father. Until Jesus was born into this world, God the Father was the one that we knew and that we prayed to. There were prophecies of Jesus, the Savior, coming into the world, but he had not yet come into the world. So that era was the era of coming to know God the Father.
Then when Jesus was born into this world, we entered into a new era, and that era was God, the Son. For those thirty-three years, God revealed himself in a unique way during that time through His son, Jesus. For thirty-three years, Jesus was here on this earth in the flesh. Then he would suffer and he would die and he would rise and then he would spend forty days revealing Himself in the resurrected form to his disciples.
Before the end of that era, before he ascended into heaven, He told his disciples that they would receive the Holy Spirit. After he ascended into heaven and poured out his gift of the Holy Spirit onto the church, we entered a new era. We live in this era of the Holy Spirit. What that means now is that this is the time of the entire revelation of God that we most experience Him on this earth through the Holy Spirit.
I know a lot of people will say I don’t understand the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit, this is the era that we live in right now. The Holy Spirit is what brings us together, makes us all the Body of Christ; it is the Holy Spirit that makes us essential members through our Baptism, of this Body. It’s the Holy Spirit that fuels us in our time right now.
The disciples when they were first in the upper room, before they had received the Holy Spirit, were terrified. They locked themselves in this upper room and Jesus would walk through that door. He would come to them and in their terror, He would breathe on them, and give them the breath of the Holy Spirit. And then we hear in the Acts of the Apostles that now that they are filled with the Holy Spirit, they are going out into all the world. They are speaking every single language across the world and 2,000 years later the church is everywhere. In every language that is spoken, the church is present.
Today, the Holy Spirit works through each and every one of us and this is how we come to know God. We hear in the second reading, it’s through the Holy Spirit that we can cry out, “Abba, Father.”
So, what do we do when we run out of gas? When we run out of gas through the Holy Spirit, we cry out to the Father, “Abba, Father.” This is what God desires of us, that in our poverty, when we’ve run out of gas in the spiritual life and we have reached our bottom, we cry out to our Father. The great thing about God is that no matter how many times we run out of gas, no matter how many times we run out of spiritual fuel, no matter how many times we’ve neglected the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can cry out to Him.
I’m going to give you an opportunity to do that right now. I invite you just to close your eyes for just a moment. We are all going to pray together for the Gifts and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. I’m going to go through these Gifts and Fruits and I want you to just evaluate your fuel tank. How full are you of the Holy Spirit and are there any steps or levels that you need the Holy Spirit?
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. I kind of just want you to gauge that gift in your life.
The first is Wisdom. Do you have the gift of Wisdom in all the situations in your life? Or do you want to ask the Holy Spirit for more of that?
Understanding. Do you have the gift of understanding? People in your life, situations in your life where God is present?
The gift of Counsel. That’s the gift to be able to console other people when they are struggling. Do you have the gift to counsel them?
Fortitude. Fortitude means that strength that is so strong that no matter what you go through, you never weaken. Do you have the gift of Fortitude or do you want to ask for that right now?
Knowledge. It’s our knowledge that helps us understand scripture, understand revelation, understand the church. Do we have that gift of knowledge?
Piety. The gift of a devotion, a single-hearted love of God that draws us into prayer, daily. Do you spend time daily, at least 15 minutes a day is what the Bishop asks, in prayer? Do you desire an increase in that?
And the final gift of the Spirit is Fear of the Lord. This is a holy fear, a fear of never wanting to do anything that would offend God because of our love for God.
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit are what comes forth from these gifts. Are these fruits present in your life revealing the Holy Spirit working?
The first is Charity, loving God with all of our heart, our mind, our soul, and our neighbor as ourself. Do you love God? Do you love neighbor? Do you love yourself?
Joy. Joy is that presence of the Holy Spirit where people can see something about you that beams the presence of God.
Peace. Peace is a state of calmness and tranquility in the heart, even amidst difficulties. Do you experience that state of calmness and tranquility? Do you find peace even in difficult times?
Patience. Patience, patience, patience. Are you patient with others? Are you patient with yourself?
Kindness. Kindness is that disposition where you are just so kind to people. There is an ease about you. You are thoughtful.
Goodness. Is everything in your life done out of the goodness of your heart?
Generosity. Do you freely give of yourself to God and to your neighbor? Do you give of yourself to the church? Your time, talent, treasure?
Gentleness. Are you gentle with others? I think, even more important, are you gentle with yourself?
Faithfulness. Is there faith in God the Father? Faith in Jesus His son? Faith in the Holy Spirit? Faith that overcomes all fear?
Modesty. Are you modest about yourself and your own gifts and talents?
Self-Control. Are your passions in control? Are your desires in control? Is there any part of your life that is out of control, that with the Holy Spirit, you can have some sense of that control?
Finally, the gift of Chastity. We are all called to chaste love, single, married, priesthood, religious life. It’s the opposite of lust. Are we chaste?
These are the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Together I just invite you to continue to keep your eyes closed and open the palms of your hands on your laps. I’m going to lead you through this prayer for the Holy Spirit. If you can just repeat phrase after phrase with me:
“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. “O God, who by the Light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in his consolation, through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Silently for the next few moments, repeat over and over again in your mind and in your heart, softly on your lips, Come Holy Spirit, Come Holy Spirit, Come Holy Spirit.
