Psalm 104: 25–35, 37 / Acts 2: 1–21 / John
20: 19–23
This is the homily provided for the
people of St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker, for Sunday
May 31, 2020.
“VISION, WILL AND WORK”
(Homily text: Acts 2: 1-21)
Many, if not most, of the projects that people
consider doing often follow a pattern which flows from conception to
accomplishment: 1. A vision for what could be done; 2. Establishing the will to
do it, and 3. Setting about actually doing the things that are needed to bring
the idea to reality.
Put another way, we could summarize the process by
using three words: Vision, will and
work.
In our own locality, just such a project is now
underway. It has to do with the East Broad Top Railroad (EBT), located in
Orbisonia, about twenty-five miles southeast of Huntingdon. The EBT is a gem
among the historic railroads of the US, for it is the last surviving narrow
gauge railroad which is still located in its original setting in the eastern
part of the country. The EBT’s shops are a time capsule of machinery, complete
and intact, from over a century ago. So also are the six steam locomotives,
which were built from 1911 – 1920.
The historic significance of the EBT is unique, and
makes it, therefore, well worth saving.
That significance brought about a vision to restore
the railroad and to return it to active status. (The EBT last ran as a tourist
railroad in 2011, and has been dormant since then.) Following the vision to
restore it, the will to do so was established when a new entity was formed
which bought the railroad about three months ago. Since the inception of this
new ownership, the work has now begun to do the things to bring about its new
life. Hopefully, by this time next year, the EBT will be running again.
The description just offered has to do with vision,
will and work.
The process we see in today’s first reading, the
account of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, tells us a lot
about the process of vision, will and work, as the Spirit comes, lighting upon
those gathered that day, empowering them to tell of the great and good things
that God had done in the sending of Jesus Christ to proclaim the Good News
(Gospel) of the new covenant, and setting before them the work to do the
telling of the Good News to the whole world..
The Pentecost event fulfills Jesus’ charge to his
followers, which we read in Acts 1:8. He said, “…you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Now, as faithful Jews had come from various parts
of the known world (many of those places are named in Acts 2:9–11) to celebrate
Pentecost,[1] the Holy Spirit comes in power, enabling those followers of Jesus to speak in
languages that each one who looked on could understand. The beginning of the
work of spreading the Good News to the far corners of the world had begun,
through the power of the Spirit.
Just what role does the Spirit play in providing us
with the tools to do the work, our part, of spreading the Good News to those
who are near to us, and to those who are far off?
The Spirit enlightens us to see what needs to be
done, oftentimes. Our spiritual and physical eyes are opened to see the tasks
at hand.
Then, the Spirit provides the willpower to set
about doing that work. In so doing, sometimes the Spirit has to overcome our
reticence to get up and do the things that are set before us. At other times,
the Spirit must bolster our own weakness of spirit.
Then, the Spirit joins in, working within our
hearts and minds, to make it possible for us to actually do the work required.
Absent the Spirit’s various roles, we might be
tempted to be content to think about the work we are called to do, but to do
nothing more than to think or contemplate. Contemplation and thinking are
invaluable, but the actual, hands-on doing, is also going to be required. The
actual, hands-on doing completes the process, and it is in the observable acts,
physical acts, that we do in the Lord’s name that demonstrate our faith, and
give witness to the power of the Holy Spirit to do marvelous things.
A saying which is attributed to St. Francis of
Assisi summarizes this truth quite well. He said, “Always preach the Gospel. If
necessary, use words.”
AMEN.
[1] Pentecost falls fifty days after Passover,
and was one of three major feasts which was celebrated during the year. It was,
therefore, a pilgrimage feast, which accounts for the large number of visitors
who were in Jerusalem at the time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The
Hebrew name for Pentecost is Shavuot, and it celebrates the giving of
the Law to Moses.
