Sixth Sunday of Easter - May 21, 2017

Homily for Easter 6

May 21, 2017

The Wild Goose

 

            I love the outdoors – backpacking, canoeing, mountain climbing, anything that involves getting away into the wild. I have learned many spiritual lessons from the wild – and one of the best lessons is, “Be prepared for the unpredictable.”

            One time a friend of mine, Fr. Chris Perella, and I were hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire on a gorgeous sunny day in August. The weather was perfect, and the sights were spectacular. We were on an exposed ridge between two mountains, with 360-degree views…and without any kind of trees or shelter. But we didn’t think that mattered, since it was such a nice day. Lo and behold, literally within three minutes, out of nowhere, a thunderstorm rose up and began to pelt us with massive drops of rain. We had no rain gear, so we booked it to the closest rock outcropping we could find (which was already occupied by a lovely couple from Canada!) and waited it out. Five minutes after it started, the rain stopped and the sun returned. We were amazed – the wilderness is indeed wild and unpredictable! Much like in life, we were clearly not in control!

            But how many times do we want to be in control of God? For far too many Christians, we want our relationship with God to be predictable, tame. We want our relationship with God to be “God, meet my needs”. Instead, He says, “I am doing something new – will you join me?”

In today’s Gospel, I can imagine that the disciples are grieving. Jesus is announcing that He would disappear from their sight, ascend into Heaven. They want to keep Him close by! They had gotten used to being in the presence of Jesus – and Jesus now promises a new thing – the Holy Spirit Who will dwell in their souls.

Which would you rather have – Jesus beside you, or the Holy Spirit within you? Well, Jesus says in John 16, “It is better for Me to go away, that you may receive the Spirit.” Jesus is our brother and Our Lord, but the Holy Spirit literally dwells in our souls.

The ancient Celtic people used to call the Holy Spirit, “The Wild Goose”. They recognized that, like wild geese, the Holy Spirit is untameable. We can’t tame the holy things of God! Look at the first reading and how the Apostles were able to use the extravagant power of the Holy Spirit – demons came out of the possessed, cripples and sick were healed, people spoke in tongues, agnostics came to faith…all because of the wild power of the Holy Spirit.

            We believe that the same Holy Spirit dwells in you and I through baptism and confirmation. We see as much in the first reading – the people have been baptized, but they had not yet received the Spirit until Peter and John pray over them (confirmation!), which stirs up the latent gift of the Holy Spirit within them.

            You, too, have the Holy Spirit. If you believe in Christ, that is the work of the Holy Spirit in you. If you love your neighbor with heroic sacrifice, that is the work of the Holy Spirit in you. If you have a desire for holiness, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. If you pray with conviction, that is the Holy Spirit. If you speak to another person about God, that is the Holy Spirit living in you.

            But perhaps the Holy Spirit wants to do more in you? We often picture the Holy Spirit as a fire, because fire consumes and burns…and the Spirit wants to consume and burn in your life as a passion!

Have you ever met someone with passion? When I think of passion, I think of the late, great…Bob Ross. Remember Bob Ross? He was that painter who had one of the biggest and best afros the world had ever seen. Although he spoke softly, he had an incredible passion for art. Over the course of 11 years, he painted about 30,000 paintings, and he donated all of his earnings from his TV show back to PBS. This is passion – a single-minded devotion and love for something.

The Holy Spirit can inflame your heart with a passion for God. How do we do this? We invite Him in. Pray for an increase in the Holy Spirit. Give yourselves opportunities to encounter God. Recently we had a night of praise & worship music with Eucharistic Adoration at Trinity High School, and afterwards one of the teens who attended told his mom, “That was the first time I had ever felt the Holy Spirit!” Pray with others, pray with music, invite the Holy Spirit in.

Scripture tells us that “no one can say that Jesus Christ is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is wild and untameable, like a wild goose; He is powerful and burning, like a fire. The same Spirit that inflamed the early Church with love for Jesus Christ can, and will, inflame your heart. You already have Him within you – but He must be stirred up and invited to become a bigger piece of your life. Right now, let’s pray.