“Lord, send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth.” Such was our response to today’s psalm but what is this spirit we are asking for to renew the face of the earth? One way to appreciate the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives was inadvertently demonstrated by a five year old boy.
His mother had brought him to a concert by the great Polish pianist, Ignace Paderewski, hoping that the experience would encourage her son in his own young efforts at music. She was delighted to see their seats were close to the stage. The mother then got so involved talking with an old friend that she failed to notice her son had slipped away.
The lights dimmed and the audience hushed. The curtains parted and the spotlight came on. Then the mother saw her son sitting on the piano bench, innocently picking out, “Twinkle, twinkle little star.” Understandably, she gasped in disbelief, but before she could retrieve her son, Paderewski came on stage. Walking over to the piano, he whispered to the boy, “Don’t stop! Keep playing!”
Then, leaning over the boy, Paderewski reached out his left hand and began to fill in the bass. A few seconds later, he reached around to the other side of the boy, encircling him, and added a running obbligato. Together, the great maestro and the tiny five year-old mesmerized the audience with their playing. When they finished, the audience broke out in a thunderous applause.
Years later, almost all those present could not remember the other pieces that were played that night, but no one forgot “Twinkle, twinkle little star.”
The interaction between the great maestro and the five year old boy provides a beautiful image of how the Holy Spirit works with the Church to make the beautiful music of God’s love audible in today’s world.
On Pentecost we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, as Jesus had promised. “The advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”
Recall the image of Paderewski and the young boy. Think of the boy as the disciples. When Jesus parted from their midst, they were like spiritual children. Their knowledge of God and how to spread the good news of Jesus Christ was terribly limited, like the little boy’s knowledge of music was.
Like the great maestro, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and encircled them with love, whispering words of encouragement and transforming their feeble human efforts into something beautiful and beyond anyone’s expectations.
Like the little boy, we play our tune. In our own way, we proclaim to others what is important to us. We make that known by what we say and do. Ideally that would be our faith in the good news of Jesus Christ. Seeing ourselves as evangelists may seem daunting to say the least, but no more than it must have been initially to the disciples. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they began proclaiming the good news to anyone who would listen.
Like the disciples on the eve of that first Pentecost, most of us underestimate our potential and talents. In the face of all that has to be done, we see ourselves as being inadequate to make a difference when it comes to renewing the face of the earth, but believe me; you are quite capable of doing what is being asked of you for your mission is summed up in one word: love.
In a world that is filled with so much violence, poverty, and indifference, you might shrug your shoulders and say to yourself, “But what difference can I make? How could I possibly change the situation?”
For starters, allow the Spirit to work within you and renew you. When you follow your conscience against temptation, you are allowing the Spirit to work within you. The world is a better place because one less sin has been committed. When you succeed in getting out of yourself and reaching out to someone, the Spirit is there to empower you. The world is a better place because love was present. When you forgo a pleasurable feeling for a simple joy, you are in the Spirit. The world is a better place because God became real.
In the gospel, Jesus spells out what he expects of us. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Do this and I will give you a helping hand. To enable us to carry out our mission, he assures us that the Spirit will be sent to remind us of what he taught. Like the Maestro guiding the young boy, the Spirit is there to help us with our obbligato in life: to love more and sin less than we ever thought possible by transforming us into something powerful and beautiful.
Pentecost isn’t just a celebration of a past event. This feast is also a timely reminder that together with the Spirit, we can renew the face of the earth, each in our own way. Imagine the Spirit whispering in your ears, “Don’t stop! Keep playing! The world needs to hear our song!” Working hand in hand, may we always see ourselves as the community of faith, hope, love and forgiveness that we are called to be.