When I see a well cut diamond, the facets of which display, in their own unique way, the beauty that belongs to the entire stone, I am sometimes reminded of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit whose reflection mysteriously impacts our proudest moments.
The extraordinary impact of The Holy Spirit on the Disciples, fifty days after Passover, accompanied as it was with audible and visible signs, continues to echo through time.
What form did that initial impression take?
Those men and women who were gathered together were expectant but also vulnerable and uncertain. They constantly drew strength from each other as they reviewed that commitment made by Jesus to send not just a spirit but THE Spirit who would breathe into them Jesus’ and therefore the Father’s own presence bestowing wisdom, faith and fire.
That Divine presence that would enable them, and, eventually us, with all of the above... but never FORCE them or us to respond. For such is the nature of Divine Love.
And then it actually happened, they were Confirmed in the Spirit.
What was their first joint response to this empowerment?
Led by Peter, what did they do?
They joyfully shared with anyone outside those walls who were open and disposed to listen.
And what of this disparate crowd of pilgrims, merchants , farmers, slaves, husbands and wives, young and old... What did they hear?
They heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their own native languages, spoken by strangers who were obviously not multilingual!
And soon they were all happily speaking from the same page and embracing the revelation and each other.
Think of it! The gift of the Spirit, the sharing of that intense love between the Father and Jesus was first manifested in clear and total communication across boundaries of difference. Think of all the acrimonious meetings, every day and all over the world that end in frustration or worse.
But on that day, at that meeting, God, who, in the person of Jesus, walked through locked doors, entered the locked hearts of countless individuals.
It was a huge tidal motion toward forgiveness, healing and peace. In other words, toward the common good.
The Toronto Sunday Star May 20th 2012 headlines, "G8 leaders take tough line on Iran." Similar releases out of Chicago suggest NATO leaders will be beefing up security in the face of new challenges.
What is missing? It is a fair Question. Think about it and pray about it. For the most part, God asks no more from us and if He does call us toward some form of action we will hear his voice... in the meantime, we can be sure that our little, seemingly powerless prayers will indeed participate in the moving of mountains and in the renewing of the face of the earth.
