living under the influence

Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104 Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth;  Galatians 5:16-25; John 20:19-23

Today we celebrate Pentecost.  The experience of the one, holy, catholic, apostolic church enters history as the tongues of fire fall upon the apostles and the mission of Christ is proclaimed.

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim."

The response of the crowd, "yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God."

When is the last time we spoke about the mighty acts of God?

St. Paul in the 2nd reading gives us a recipe for living under the influence of the Spirit.  In Galatians chapter 5 we get the fruit of the Spirit; it is how we are meant to be transformed as we live our life.

Notice that St. Paul calls it the fruit of the Spirit not fruits of the Spirit.  It is one fruit, one reality. They all come together.  When we live under the influence of the Spirit, we get the whole package. 

Here is a look at the fruit of the Spirit as outlined by St. Paul

1)Agape/love: It signifies that power which enables the believer no matter what to always seek the highest good for the other; it is a deliberate effort to seek the best and to live with an active good will.  Here we should remember the song of the angels when they announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds, "glory to God in the highest and peace to people of good will."  Th birth of Christ enables us to see what love looks like in the flesh.  

2)Chara/Joy: the rough translation of the greek is to be grace-filled: it is a life of rejoicing; joy is proportional to the gift received; we have been given heaven  thus we have heaven's joy within us. Joy is not a feeling but rather a realization of the gift we have received in Christ.

3)Eirene/Peace: good order; relationship and wellness; peace is centered on our relationship with God.  Knowing where we stand with God creates that peace that strengthens us.  Here in lies true wellness.  The power of the Spirit enables us to  continually stand before God as his child.

4)Makrothumia/ long suffering or conquering patience; It is the power that enables us to never seek retaliation; it is often associated with God’s attitude toward men; long tempered verse short tempered: it involves a refusal to retaliate or get even, get back; it is not about saving face but keeping one's eye on the face of Christ no matter the trials or sufferings.

5)Chrestotes/Kindness: doesn’t chafe; we are empowered not to create undo friction in life; we put people at ease.  It is attribute that includes being charming without actually trying to be charming.  Treating others as God treats us.

6)Agathosune/Goodness: generosity; go beyond the required ; do more because we are more; go beyond the call of duty.  We are empowered to give and thus rejoice in the goodness of others.  

7)pistis/Faithful: we are  trust worthy, reliable, dependable, loyal.  

8)Prautes/meekness: gentleness: tame domesticated; the ability know who our master is;  implies a courteousness or a polished or refined demeanor.

9) engkrateia/Self-control: self-possessed, we have the  freedom to say no so that we can say yes to God fully in every aspect of our life.  To be self-possessed is to be able to make a gift of your life.  

Together we have composure and full use of our faculties: intellect, will, appetites, feelings and emotions. Our life is geared toward bearing the message and thus proclaiming the kingdom. 

This is what it looks like to live under the influence, to be drunk with the spirit of God.