A HOMILY FOR THE MIDFEAST OF PENTECOST
About How Piety Quenches Spiritual Thirst
Christ is Risen!
Brothers and sisters!
Today, on the feast of Mid-Pentecost, we heard the Gospel reading about the Lord’s teaching in the Temple on the Feast of Tabernacles. Like our New Testament feasts, this Old Testament one lasted for several days; only, the chief day of celebration was not one of the first days, as is the case with us, but the last. Today’s lection relates what Jesus said when He arrived in Jerusalem, around the middle of the festal period. A few verses down, Saint John tells us His words on the last day, that great day of the feast. Jesus, it says, stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. To this, the holy Evangelist adds in explanation: This spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.[1]
The Lord’s comparison of the abundant grace to be poured out like water upon the Christians on the day of Pentecost provides the background for the close connection of the feast of Mid-Pentecost with water. This hints as to why the feast takes place between the Sundays of the Paralytic and of the Samaritan Woman, both commemorations tied to water; and it indicates why we bless water on this day. It also explains why there were many references to water in last night’s service.
When, on that last day of the feast, the Lord spoke of thirst, He was not referring to thirst of the body, but to spiritual thirst. As drink is absolutely necessary to sustain the body, so the grace of the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary to sustain our soul. Everyone knows that we must drink, or our body will certainly die; but how many understand that without partaking of divine grace, our soul must just as certainly wither and perish? It is to remind us of this inescapable truth that our Holy Church sings today: “At Mid-feast give Thou my thirsty soul to drink of the waters of piety.”
Dear Christians, we see from the beloved Dismissal Troparion of the feast that “the waters of piety” are nothing other than the grace of the Spirit, for it is piety that enables us to partake of God’s grace.
And so, what specifically are the means by which piety enables this?
The first means is prayer. If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?[2] says Christ. Whatever else, our heavenly Father will never deny us the gift of His grace, so necessary for salvation, if only we beg it insistently. Thus, we must pray often and earnestly, imploring our heavenly Father -- God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- to have mercy on us, which means to bestow His forgiveness and His grace, without which there can be no sanctification, no salvation.
A second means to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit is to read the word of God. Our sacred Scriptures were written by the prophets and apostles, men full of the Holy Spirit. The words they wrote, and especially the words of Christ God Himself which the apostles recorded, they are spirit, they are life.[3] If we read them with living faith, with attention and contrition, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The same applies, to a lesser degree, to the writings of the Holy Fathers, the Lives of the saints, and other soul-saving books.
A third means to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit is to partake of the divine Eucharist. Although we cannot do this daily, or at any time we wish, it is nonetheless an essential and mighty means to attain the Lord’s grace. Jesus Christ says, Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life.[4] God the Word is full of grace and truth,[5] so we who eat His flesh and drink His blood are filled with grace. As it is written, Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.[6] That we may receive this fullness, we should all partake of the Lord’s flesh and blood as often as possible, with serious, sincere preparation.
Fourth, to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, we must participate as frequently as we can in the divine services of the Holy Church, as we have last night and today. Every divine service releases upon us a flood of living water, if only we open our minds to the words of the service, and pray the words of the service with our whole heart.
And so you see, how sacred piety provides for our sanctification and salvation by the grace of the Holy Spirit! And these are only a few of the more important means whereby she offers this…
Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant that we turn to Him more often in prayer, immerse ourselves more deeply in reading the Scriptures and other sacred books, partake more frequently and reverently of His body and blood, become more assiduous in attendance at the divine services, and avail ourselves of every way and means to divine grace, so that out of our belly may flow streams of living water, unto the satisfaction and sanctification and salvation of our souls! Amen.
[1] John 7:37-39
[2] Luke 11:13
[3] John 6:63
[4] John 6:54
[5] John 1:14
[6] John 1:16
