Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
The Holy Spirit - The Gift
The Feast of the Pentecost
St. John 6: 6-16
Verse 7: “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
St. John 6: 6-16
Verse 7: “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
Pentecost, the word, derives its origin from the Greek word pentecoste which means ‘50th day’. We celebrate Pentecost on the 50th day after the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is also associated with an event in the Old Testament. It marks the 50th day after the deliverance of Israelites from Egypt, the day when the 10 Commandments were given to the people of Israel which they were required to follow and not succumb to worldly or cultural influences of the places where they might stay or migrate to – be it in India or the United States of America.
Scholars have said that the journey by foot from Egypt to Canaan was just 11 days. But it took 40 years of sojourn for the Israelites to reach the promised land and just two – Joshua and Caleb – to have begun and completed the journey. We all know what took them so long – their disobedience and unbelief in God.
While in the Old Testament, these commandments were interpreted based on our actions, Lord Jesus gave a revolutionary explanation of the commandments by asking us to watch our thoughts. Jesus says if you have hatred in your heart against anyone, you have already committed murder. Jesus says if you have looked with the wrong intention at anyone, you have already committed adultery. Jesus asks us to watch our intention behind every action of ours and every word we speak. If our intentions are wrong, we have already broken the commandment. We have been disobedient to our God, and then it must not be a surprise to us that the things we can achieve in 11 days are taking 40 years or more of the wilderness experience.
For our intentions to be right, we need the Holy Spirit, the Counselor that Lord Jesus sent to us as recorded in the Gospel of St. John 16: 6-16. The Holy Spirit is God’s consciousness that resides within each one of us, but it cannot be realized unless we have a strong intent and desire for it. Unless we really want to know God, understand Him and think and act as He desires of us, we will always falter. The Holy Spirit is that silent Counselor within you who guides your thoughts and prompts you to act as per God’s will. This might be completely different from what the world desires of you.
We come to church every Sunday, some of us even hold official leadership roles in our church. Achens hold a prophetic role in the church. Do we have selfish intentions behind our actions surrounding the church? Let us expand our intentions to any situation – our family, our contributions to society, our workplace, our schools, and colleges, or any other organizations or communities we are associated with. What is our intention behind the role we play there?
-Are we trying to prove that we are better than everyone else or are we doing the best we can for the community?
-Are we trying to make happen only our ideas or are we trying to implement the best idea?
-Are we trying to chase away anyone and welcome only the ones we think are right, or are we being inclusive bringing together people?
-Are we trying to be self-righteous and find faults in everyone else, or are we trying to hold each other’s hands in this journey towards becoming like Christ?
What is the intention behind every action of yours? Are we being self-centered individuals, or do we truly desire the betterment of the world around us, irrespective of whether they reward or recognize us? After we do something for the church, do we focus on whether our name was expressed significantly during the Vote of Thanks, or we really do not mind even if our name was not mentioned at all? Behind every action and word we express, there is a self-centric intention that is damaging to others, or there is a God-centric intention that can never be damaging to others and even if the world throws stones at you, you will not be hurt or disheartened. The way the world treats us will never affect the role we would play in this world.
We need to invoke the Holy Spirit in our hearts daily. Our personal time of prayer and reflection, our pains and tears, our struggles, listening to the Word of God, and a deep intent to live as our God desires are necessary in this world. As Christians, we have a huge role to play in this society where even in the name of religion people are hurting each other. It is here that Jesus says – Love your neighbor as you would love yourself. Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.
When we experience discrimination in the workplace or bullying at schools, how does the Holy Spirit want us to respond? Are we supposed to punish the person by lashing out at them, yelling at them, or even lodging a complaint with the authorities? Or correct them, and not punish them, exactly how Jesus corrected many individuals during his lifetime. It was never through punishment or force but through forgiveness and encouragement. We need the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to respond gracefully even when we are encountered troubling situations.
Let me conclude by summarizing the thoughts we meditated on together.
The theme we meditated on today was The day of the Pentecost – The gift of the Holy Spirit. It was on the 50th day after Passover, that God gave the 10 Commandments to His people. Their disobedience and unbelief took them 40 years to reach the promised land, which they could have traversed in just 11 days. Jesus expands our understanding of the 10 Commandments to not just our actions but even our thoughts. To have the right thoughts and intention behind all our actions and words, we need the Gift of the Holy Spirit. We usually look at ourselves as three-component – the Body, Mind, and Soul. I would like to reword it as – Our Actions, Our Intentions, and Our Consciousness. Most of us are trying to judge each other based on our Actions, we are trying to make our Actions look as acceptable as possible to the World. But our Intentions can never be known by anyone around us. To have the right intentions, we are required to rise above Human Consciousness to God’s Consciousness – to think and act how God would.
You can take a few moments and reflect on things that you could have achieved sooner, which is taking a lot of time due to hindrances. Well, if there are hindrances, it’s time to look back on ourselves and evaluate where are we being disobedient?
Scholars have said that the journey by foot from Egypt to Canaan was just 11 days. But it took 40 years of sojourn for the Israelites to reach the promised land and just two – Joshua and Caleb – to have begun and completed the journey. We all know what took them so long – their disobedience and unbelief in God.
While in the Old Testament, these commandments were interpreted based on our actions, Lord Jesus gave a revolutionary explanation of the commandments by asking us to watch our thoughts. Jesus says if you have hatred in your heart against anyone, you have already committed murder. Jesus says if you have looked with the wrong intention at anyone, you have already committed adultery. Jesus asks us to watch our intention behind every action of ours and every word we speak. If our intentions are wrong, we have already broken the commandment. We have been disobedient to our God, and then it must not be a surprise to us that the things we can achieve in 11 days are taking 40 years or more of the wilderness experience.
For our intentions to be right, we need the Holy Spirit, the Counselor that Lord Jesus sent to us as recorded in the Gospel of St. John 16: 6-16. The Holy Spirit is God’s consciousness that resides within each one of us, but it cannot be realized unless we have a strong intent and desire for it. Unless we really want to know God, understand Him and think and act as He desires of us, we will always falter. The Holy Spirit is that silent Counselor within you who guides your thoughts and prompts you to act as per God’s will. This might be completely different from what the world desires of you.
We come to church every Sunday, some of us even hold official leadership roles in our church. Achens hold a prophetic role in the church. Do we have selfish intentions behind our actions surrounding the church? Let us expand our intentions to any situation – our family, our contributions to society, our workplace, our schools, and colleges, or any other organizations or communities we are associated with. What is our intention behind the role we play there?
-Are we trying to prove that we are better than everyone else or are we doing the best we can for the community?
-Are we trying to make happen only our ideas or are we trying to implement the best idea?
-Are we trying to chase away anyone and welcome only the ones we think are right, or are we being inclusive bringing together people?
-Are we trying to be self-righteous and find faults in everyone else, or are we trying to hold each other’s hands in this journey towards becoming like Christ?
What is the intention behind every action of yours? Are we being self-centered individuals, or do we truly desire the betterment of the world around us, irrespective of whether they reward or recognize us? After we do something for the church, do we focus on whether our name was expressed significantly during the Vote of Thanks, or we really do not mind even if our name was not mentioned at all? Behind every action and word we express, there is a self-centric intention that is damaging to others, or there is a God-centric intention that can never be damaging to others and even if the world throws stones at you, you will not be hurt or disheartened. The way the world treats us will never affect the role we would play in this world.
We need to invoke the Holy Spirit in our hearts daily. Our personal time of prayer and reflection, our pains and tears, our struggles, listening to the Word of God, and a deep intent to live as our God desires are necessary in this world. As Christians, we have a huge role to play in this society where even in the name of religion people are hurting each other. It is here that Jesus says – Love your neighbor as you would love yourself. Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.
When we experience discrimination in the workplace or bullying at schools, how does the Holy Spirit want us to respond? Are we supposed to punish the person by lashing out at them, yelling at them, or even lodging a complaint with the authorities? Or correct them, and not punish them, exactly how Jesus corrected many individuals during his lifetime. It was never through punishment or force but through forgiveness and encouragement. We need the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to respond gracefully even when we are encountered troubling situations.
Let me conclude by summarizing the thoughts we meditated on together.
The theme we meditated on today was The day of the Pentecost – The gift of the Holy Spirit. It was on the 50th day after Passover, that God gave the 10 Commandments to His people. Their disobedience and unbelief took them 40 years to reach the promised land, which they could have traversed in just 11 days. Jesus expands our understanding of the 10 Commandments to not just our actions but even our thoughts. To have the right thoughts and intention behind all our actions and words, we need the Gift of the Holy Spirit. We usually look at ourselves as three-component – the Body, Mind, and Soul. I would like to reword it as – Our Actions, Our Intentions, and Our Consciousness. Most of us are trying to judge each other based on our Actions, we are trying to make our Actions look as acceptable as possible to the World. But our Intentions can never be known by anyone around us. To have the right intentions, we are required to rise above Human Consciousness to God’s Consciousness – to think and act how God would.
You can take a few moments and reflect on things that you could have achieved sooner, which is taking a lot of time due to hindrances. Well, if there are hindrances, it’s time to look back on ourselves and evaluate where are we being disobedient?
Prayer
Lord, help me understand where am I being disobedient. Help me recognize the unbelief that engulfs my heart. Help me to be completely dependent on you acting according to Your will. Help me in my journey of faith and help me to lead others closer to you.
Rev. Johnson P. Abraham
The Mar Thoma Church, Staten Island
The Mar Thoma Church, Staten Island