Homily Five for the Feast of Pentecost
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1–4).
Holy Trinity, grant me a word for Your day! May my word, a mortal man's, be worthy - as far as possible - of Your holiness, goodness and truth, Your wisdom, Your mercy and generosity to the fallen human race, Your unapproachable light, Your beauty! This is how I begin my word on the great day of Pentecost, or the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles of Christ and on all believers, namely, with the greatest possible praise to the Trinity.
And you, brothers and sisters, children of the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, listen to him with attention. The subject of the word is the highest, as the Lord God, without beginning, triune in Persons and one in His Essence, is highest above all His creation.
In common parlance, this day is called Trinity Day, because on this day the Holy Trinity was solemnly revealed - God the Father, who sent the Holy Spirit to the Apostles through the intercession of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and descending through the Son upon the Apostles and making them wise to speak about the great works of God in different languages, which they had learned and which they did not know.
The Holy Spirit enlightened and regenerated the Apostles and the whole assembly in the upper room so that they became new people, cleansed from every sin, from every passion of the flesh and spirit, - they were illuminated and strengthened unshakably in faith, hope and love, with full Divine freedom given to them through Christ by the Holy Spirit; and they became capable of carrying the preaching of Christ the Savior to all ends of the world; and to plant faith in Him, without which it is impossible for anyone to be saved and begin a new life; for "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17).
In order to understand properly the true celebration of Pentecost, or the miraculous descent of the Holy Spirit – the all-good, almighty Creator, Enlightener, Renewer, and Comforter of rational beings – let us recall, guided by the word of God, how man was created by God at the beginning and how he became through his own voluntary fall. Although it is known to everyone a thousand thousand times, let us reiterate what is also known, that man is created in the image and likeness of God, with an immortal soul, with free will, and with two possibilities – to be forever established in holiness and obedience to the Creator through the fulfillment of any commandment, and to never sin or die, – and with the possibility of transgressing the commandment of the Creator and succumbing to sin and death, along with all the countless harmful consequences of self-will, – transforming from a good simple being into a wicked and deceitful one; for only God can never fall or change. The commandment of the Creator was violated: man fell into disobedience and cunning, became divided, began to feel a painful inclination towards every evil and an unnatural indifference and coldness, ingratitude towards God, who has bestowed upon man all kinds of blessings for his soul and body.
Man was meant to temper himself, just as a clay pot is tempered in fire, through the fulfillment of the Creator's commandments and to remain steadfast in his devotion to Him; yet he did not withstand the tempering and trials, though he wished to endure them, and thus he shattered, becoming cunning and mortal, and all of humanity descended from him became likewise. Every person began to feel within themselves the war and pressure of sinful passions, enmity towards God the Creator, resistance to His laws, and a tendency towards all manners of injustice; people began to quarrel and fight amongst themselves, and to prevent evil from becoming universal and to spare humanity from mutual destruction, the Lord confused the languages of men; they could no longer understand one another and were compelled to disperse in different directions. Man fell victim to the crafty deception of the serpent, the murderer of mankind, like a naive and inexperienced child, and thus succumbed to the dreadful calamities of sin, curse, and death.
Out of love for mankind, the Creator Himself wished to be His Redeemer and Savior and to take upon Himself the sin of the human race on condition of man's faith in his Redeemer and obedience to Him. The Lord, as the all-wise Physician of His creation, heals like with like; the Creator takes upon Himself the image of man, remaining God; grows and lives with men - communicates, unites with them, converses with them, enlightens them with the Divine word, teaches them with parables and simple commandments, heals diseases, resurrects the dead; casts out demons; as God commands all the elements of nature, suffers for the sins of men as guilty, being innocent of everything, not a single sin, in order to pay the debt to God's justice; conquers death and rises from the dead, having assured everyone of the future general resurrection, and after a forty-day stay after the resurrection and multiple tangible appearances to the disciples, ascends to heaven and receives, as a human being, power over the whole world. Gloriously and wisely the Lord completed to the end the work of His heavenly Father.
His foremost task was to prepare the disciples as messengers to the world, as enlighteners and teachers of humankind – like the salt of the earth, like the light of the world. For three years, He taught them the great work of His holy mission and the salvation of mankind. After His ascension into heaven, it was necessary to send them the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire, to enlighten them, purify them from sin, strengthen them in truth, deify them, and make them pillars of faith and of His Church. And this greatest miracle took place on the day of Pentecost, that is, fifty days after His glorious resurrection and on the tenth after His ascension into heaven; and from that time, the Holy Spirit abides in the Church of Christ and will remain in it until the end of the age, to powerfully accomplish the salvation of the believers. He indeed performs in all of us, the believers, the wonderful work of salvation according to the measure of each one's faith and zeal.
Who among you does not know this, does not feel it? Who has not experienced the grace of the forgiveness of sins, the comfort in hearts and conscience after heartfelt repentance from sins and after partaking of the holy life-giving mysteries? And this is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. Who has not felt solace and joy in the performance of divine services with piety and reverence, or while listening to and reading the word of God? Who has not experienced the renewing grace? For by the Holy Spirit, every rational creature is renewed. He cleanses from the filth of sin and purifies.
Celebrate in joy this great day of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the Church of Christ, and strive to be worthy members of it. The Holy Spirit gives all-saving grace, and if He breathes upon (inspires) anyone according to their worth, He will quickly lift them up from earthly troubles, restore them, elevate them and prepare them for higher things (antiphon). Amen.
* Delivered in 1907 or 1908. Received by mail from Cherepovets.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
