Weekly HOMILY for June 12, 2011: Communion Through the Spirit Within

Feast of Pentecost, Cycle A
St. Mark, St. Margaret Parishes
June 12, 2011

Communion Through the Spirit Within
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

There is a fifteenth century Russian icon entitled “The Descent of the Holy Spirit.”

This icon – The Descent of the Holy Spirit – depicts Pentecost with complete quiet and calm. It is, in sharp contrast to the strong wind, the fiery tongues, and the fearful disciples, that we see in today’s readings.

The icon portrays the Apostles sitting in a semi-circle in complete serenity and peace. It conveys the coming of the Holy Spirit as an inner event.

The idea is that through the birth of Jesus, God becomes God-with-us. Now, through the sending of the Spirit, God becomes God-with-in-us.

Surprisingly, the figures in the icon are not looking at or talking to or working with one another. Instead, they are all listening intently to the God-within-them.

Each of the persons is portrayed as very differently. Each has different color hair, different way of sitting and even clothes that are different in style and color.

And yet, despite all of these differences, the icon portrays complete harmony. The message is that the God-within-us – The Descent of the Holy Spirit – makes many individuals into a single community.

The icon confronts us with the truth that we are not complete, in and by ourselves, but it also consoles us with the revelation that it is the very God-within-us that brings about our completeness through our communion with others.


THE LESSON OF THE ICON

This fifteenth century Russian icon makes an extraordinary point for our living: The presence of God-within-us can be seen as the common ground between each of us and God. It’s what makes us one.

And so, what we need to do is awaken our awareness to the Spirit’s presence as what grounds us, much as we see the Apostles doing in the icon. This awareness moves us to realize God’s presence and our common grounding with all people.

In this way, our awareness of God-within-us is our union with him but also it speaks of the communion we have with each other. It is the most solid and most lasting basis of community that we could ever hope for.


THOMAS MERTON'S INSIGHT

The well-known Trappist monk and spiritual writer Thomas Merton has a profound insight on this.

I want to read a few sentences of Merton that relate directly to this point. As I read them slowly, please simply take them and relish any insights that surface.

Merton says: “The deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless.

“It is beyond words, it is beyond speech, and it is beyond concept. Not that we discover a new unity – we discover an older unity.

“My dear Brothers and Sisters, we are already one. But we imagine that we are not.

“And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”


CONCLUSION

Merton’s thoughts are simple and yet quite profound.

We sometimes make the differences between us, like the differences in the figures in the icon, we sometimes make these obstacles to communion or community or unity.

➢ Black versus White, Brown versus Yellow – an obstacle to communion!
➢ People in Harford County versus people in Baltimore City – obstacle!
➢ Christians versus Jews – yes, obstacle!
➢ You’re getting the point. Christians versus Muslims – obstacle!
➢ Jews versus Muslims – obstacle!
➢ Catholics versus those who are not – obstacle!
➢ American citizens versus illegal immigrants – obstacle!
➢ Politically liberal versus conservative – obstacle!
➢ Catholic progressive versus traditionalist – obstacle!

Have I left anyone out?

Yes, so often, myself included, allow differences to obscure the communion and community and unity that is there.

As Merton writes, “We are already one.

“What we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”

This is the Holy Spirit, God-within-us. This is what Pentecost is about.