Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the great feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit onto the Apostles!

Today, in the excerpt from Acts, we heard how this came to be. Let’s note that the Holy Spirit, Who is invisible and incomprehensible in His nature, on that great day showed His power in a manner humans could physically see and comprehend. St. Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, very clearly says that there was suddenly a sound from heaven, as if a mighty wind was blowing, but there was no such storm. Afterwards, visible signs of Grace appeared, cloven tongues that looked like fire, which came down onto the disciples of Christ. This otherworldly sound was so loud, unexpected, and distinct that it drew the attention of many of the citizens and pilgrims of Jerusalem, who came to see what had happened. Having come to the source of this strange sound, these people, representatives of all the nations, from the whole world, themselves experienced the great power of the Holy Spirit when they heard about “the wonderful works of God,” each in his own language.

Although the events of today’s feast took place many years ago, each of us continues to participate in them. The Holy Spirit continues, you could say, to make noise and to burn in the Church and in the hearts of individual believers. There is no particular need to prove this, as each one of us can remember those times when we felt in our own lives the power of the All-Holy Spirit. The events of today’s feast, like all other times throughout the history of mankind as well as throughout our own lives when the power of the Holy Spirit is made manifest, give us a clue as to what communion with God means. Through these manifestations we are given a foretaste of that sweet life that is prepared for the faithful followers of Christ.

One of the main themes of today’s feastday is the union of all in the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles contains a relatively long list of various peoples who were present in Jerusalem on the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The author of Acts could have been more succinct, but it is probably not by chance that he lists all these nations individually. In this way it is highlighted that the Church is for all, that the Holy Spirit sanctifies and saves all people who wish it, and that external differences between people cannot divide us if we are united in Christ.

Today the world around us is far from the ideals of peace and unity about which today’s feastday so insistently informs us. Let us try, in both our personal lives as well as our church lives, to follow in the footsteps of the apostles. Let’s be of one accord for the sake of our faith in Christ, and, in such a way, to bring into being, as much as it’s possible, the high ideals of today’s feast. God willing, the Holy Spirit will continue to make noise and burn in our parish, in our families, and in each of our souls individually. Let’s pray that seeing the works of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in general in Orthodox Christians, new people will join us, so that we can all together glorify the All-Holy Trinity!

priest Alexis