Today is Pentecost, also known as Trinity Day. Today we celebrate both the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Disciples and the unity that is found in the One God who is Three Persons.
The reality of today’s feast is not some abstract theology, but a celebration of who God is and the gift He offers us:
- Unity to all; persons brought together in Christ through the Holy Spirit.
- An end to wars, discrimination, and oppression
- An end to division, loneliness, and despair
- People heard the Gospel in a way that broke down language and cultural barriers; a nation was created that allowed all of us to be brothers and sisters with One Blood coursing through us
- Incredible power.
- The Apostles received the power to forgive sins; to resurrect people into a new life through Baptism; to offer and share the very Body and Blood of Christ; to lead people into eternal life
- Ultimately, an end to disease and death itself
- The life in Christ – the Orthodox life – is not a cultural construct or a facet of our identity, but the transformative power of God made manifest in this world.
All we have to do is give our life to Christ and allow His Holy Spirit to fill our lives.
We yearn for Unity and we yearn for Transformation, but we always seem to get it wrong.
- Unity OF what? Unity FOR what?
- Tower of Babel is the Biblical example
- Dreadful record of nationalism, tribalism, familialism, fascism, communism, theocracies of every stripe, and especially Islamic totalitarianism.
- Modern example:
- Technological connectiveness; what has it bought us? What do we share? What kind of community is being built? The trend is towards telepathy and a continually openness of all to all – can you imagine a worse kind of hell?
- Transformative power – but into what?
- Simon Magus is the best Biblical example.
- But what kind of transformation do we invest in and hope for?
- Transhumanism? An end to disease and death through dehumanizing technologies
- What is perfect bodily health without the contentment of the soul perfected in Christ?
- What is eternity without love that can grow forever?
- We are investing in eternal curses, not blessings.
What is required for real unity and real transformative power? To receive the Holy Spirit, the Living Water, one must believe in Christ as the Son of God and live a new life in Him; a life of love, dedicated to pasturing others towards perfection in Christ.
But so many refuse to believe. Despite the evidence. Despite the testimony and witness of the saints.
- Some would rather believe in aliens, alien technology, and transpermia than in the Incarnate and Resurrected God-man
- They would rather put their trust in technology than in the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the dead.
- They would rather seek temporary transformation through surgery, virtual (on-line) campaigns, and popular practices like Yoga than through the timeless truth of the Risen Christ.
- They would rather immerse themselves in the shallow and dehumanizing unity of technology than through a personal connection with and through the Living Christ.
God is powerful and He is One. It is His desire that all of us be saved from the misery of this fallen world. We wants us to be One as He is One. He wants us to grow in perfection and power eternally as He is already purely perfect and powerful.
Accept His gift. Drink from the Living Water. Marvel in the Truth and grow in the gift of Pentecost.
