Drunk on the Holy Spirit

“We must often remember what Christ said, that not he who begins, but he that perseveres to the end, shall be saved.”  Saint Philip Neri

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the Acts 2 account of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is like a wind blown grass fire roaring onto the scene and impossible to ignore. A huge crowd gathers, curious rubberneckers ready to witness a disaster, and are astounded that some uneducated hicks can speak the languages of the world. This is happening in the holy city of Jerusalem so the mob is made up of people who believe in and pin their hopes on a miraculous God which explains why they were willing to look for meaning in these events.

And then there were the scoffers.

I’m a little sympathetic with the hecklers in the crowd, I have the tendency to be a comedian myself and love to get a laugh from the back bench. It’s difficult to hold a joke in because what good is it to think up a witticism if you don’t share it?

Okay, that’s a lousy excuse, I confess I have trouble resisting the urge to be a smart ass…

The jeer-leaders accuse the Apostles of being drunk and, no doubt, they got a laugh from the crowd so Peter shoots a joke back at them. That Peter’s “how can we be drunk, it’s only 9 am?” comment is a joke is my personal opinion but it stands to reason. You don’t respond to hecklers with lame explanations since that only encourages sharper jests at your expense. Believe me, I know. No, if you want to shut the loud mouths down you use a little self-deprecating humor to let the rabble know you don’t take yourself too seriously and if they’re laughing at your jokes that means they’re listening to you.

We can’t possibly be drunk… yet… just give us a few hours…

I’m getting myself sidetracked however. Notice the scoffers said they were drunk and not insane or devil possessed or snake-oil salesmen? The Apostles appeared to be intoxicated. Were they laughing, giddy, loose, impetuous, brazen and loud? Wouldn’t you be if you had just been flooded with God’s Spirit? It doesn’t make any sense to imagine the Holy Spirit making the Apostles dour, timid and quiet.

Drunk on the Holy Spirit… shouldn’t that be the description for us?

As we are coming to the end of the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) classes the aim has become less of “what do Catholics believe” and more “how do Catholics live?” The latter question unites us with Christians of all flavors as we all seek to be God’s hands and feet in the world by becoming servants: serve the church, help our neighbor, reach out to the world.

In many ways I’m sad to come to the end of these classes, I have learned a great deal, been inspired and the fellowship has been wonderful. On the other hand this class has made me wait. I had to wait months to receive Holy Communion and I’ve had to wait to become a participant in the life of the church; both have been great joys for me over the last 16 years at my former church. But I see the wisdom in being made to wait, it’s called…

Anticipation.

Jesus referred to it in the beatitudes when he said, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” Just as an alcoholic thirsts for that next drink, believers are starving for the chance to conform their lives to Christ’s. In this way anticipation becomes a sacred act, as much a blessing as the acts themselves. This weekend I experienced both anticipation and satisfaction, this weekend I was blessed.

I was blessed by the Evangelization Retreat which does not mean I was taught how to save people but was instead made drunk on the Holy Spirit. To be an evangelist is to be a bearer of good news, the better the news the more elation the deliverer has to the point where people know good news is coming before any words can be spoken. We want people to take one look at us and ask, “what are you smoking?” so we can tell them about the joy of being loved by God.

The previous post on this blog was about cultivating a capacity for surprise which makes sense for a religion full such Mysteries as the Trinity, the Sacraments and the Church as Body of Christ. Yet I went into the retreat not expecting any surprises figuring it would probably be a tame, Catholic-dull event…

Boy was I surprised!

We were blessed by powerful testimonials, meaningful and rich small group time, renewal, reconciliation, musical celebration, the laying on of hands and on and on. There was too much to tell here so I will just share two things.

I discovered the blessing of anticipation in the laying on of hands. By chance (or not?) I was the last to go forward so I was a long time sitting in the pew waiting but the waiting was like a beer buzz. To watch everybody stand up by the altar, to hear the prayers, unintelligible from where I was sitting so it sounded like they were speaking in some other language, to hope, with a sort of reckless abandon, to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit… all this seemed as astounding as the prayers themselves. I’m still processing it.

We also had a silent lunch in which we were supposed to be in prayerful conversation with Christ. Dutifully silent I sat down with everyone else and noticed my dinner roll saucer was empty. I looked down the table both ways and saw everybody else had a roll. My conversation with Jesus wasn’t going any better so I decided to break the ice with a joke, me being me, so I asked,

“Where’s my dinner roll Jesus?”

Being God I figured he’d know… yeah… shameless. To my surprise, words immediately popped in my head.

“I am all the bread you’ll need.”

I decided my end of the conversation wasn’t necessary anymore and just kept repeating those words to myself until lunch was over. Another blessing.

I put that St. Philip Neri quote at the start of this post because I am at a new beginning now in the Catholic Church. Between RCIA and the Evangelization Retreat I have had an amazing beginning full of many graces for which I am very thankful but the time has come for joyful perseverance.

May we each drink deep of the Holy Spirit and dine on the rich Bread that is Christ so our lives will glow with the spiritual joy that comes from being a child of God as we anticipate all the surprises our Father has for us.