Poked to Re-think Pentecost

As I was beginning to write this reflection, I realized I couldn’t remember the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit, and some of the ones I thought were gifts are Fruits of the Spirit. Finally, I got over being amazed that I could possibly have forgotten the Gifts of the Spirit. (Remember, I have 30 years of being a nun behind me!) Then, with a smile, I realized that God was poking me to not just remember but to “re-think” the gifts and what they mean for us. God was pushing me not to just have the answers but to look deeper.

I went back and looked up the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Just so we are starting on the same page, they are Fortitude, Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding, Piety, Counsel, and Fear of the Lord.

My reflection brought me to this understanding:

Fortitude: Is Jesus for 40 days in the desert facing all forms of difficulty, adversity, danger, and temptation. And in the end, Jesus with confidence saying, “I shall serve no one but the one true God.”

Knowledge: Is Jesus teaching the wise and the learned in the temple from the time he was 12. It was knowing and understanding the Hebrew Scripture with a clarity that mirrored God’s consistent love and care for His people. It was recognizing the Covenant love of God for His people.

Wisdom: Jesus knowing how to answer the crowd each time they tried to trick him. It is saying, “you who are without sin cast the first stone” or ‘”render onto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

Understanding: Jesus on a shore cooking fish and forgiving and loving Peter despite his denial. It is Jesus embracing the Disciples even after they scattered without recrimination. Instead, He offered only with love and a prayer that they not fear.

Piety: Jesus consistently goes away to a “quiet place” to pray. Piety is the Garden of Gethsemane and a heartfelt, painful conversation between a Father and His Son. It is the intimacy of the words, “Thy will be done,” “Forgive them,” and “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.”

Counsel: is Jesus teaching the parables and the stories and the private moments sitting on a mountainside with the disciples. It is picking wheat on the Sabbath, eating with sinners, and embracing a leper. 

Fear of the Lord: Jesus was one with the Father. Yet, he always pointed to His Father as the source of life and goodness. Fear of the Lord is awe in the wonder of God’s presence and fidelity at Jesus’ baptism by John and His Transfiguration on the mountain.

At Pentecost, we are given the Holy Spirit. I think for the first time, I realize that the gift of the Spirit is the indwelling of Jesus in me. 

The Holy Spirit at Pentecost gave the disciples the heart of the Lord and made them the very being of Jesus. It does the very same for us. 

We are Sacramentally confirmed in our faith. Every year we remember, at Pentecost, our Confirmation. The fullness of God dwells within us in all ways and for all time. What a wonderful Feast we celebrate today!

In God’s unending love,

Gwen