We have recently celebrated the great solemnity of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is identified as the power source of the Church for all generations. We know this event ripples outward through space and time, impacting each of us who are disciples of Jesus, and the world through us. It is appropriate and necessary, then, to consider the full implication of this gift, pondering the ways our lives are impacted and transformed many centuries later.
As we make this consideration, we begin by recognizing that the Gift of the Holy Spirit is preceded by the ministry and work of Jesus Christ. One of Jesus’ most perplexing teachings helps us understand the effect of the Holy Spirit most fully. While He was being questioned by scribes and Pharisees about the application of the old law, Our Lord remarked:
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, “The old is good.” (Lk. 5:37-39)
The basic spiritual truth at play is quite easy to discern in Jesus’ words. One biblical scholar states it succinctly as he concludes his commentary on this passage. The point of Jesus’ words, he writes, “is that people, such as the Pharisees, who are satisfied with the good things of the old, such as the law, are not very willing to accept the fulfillment of those things in the New Covenant that Jesus establishes” (Gadenz, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Luke, 121). The explanation he provides is satisfying in regards to the old and new covenants. But what about the connection to the Holy Spirit and Pentecost?
That connection is found in the homilies and commentaries of the Church Fathers, the great Christian teachers of antiquity. Among these ancient teachers was St. Cyril of Alexandria, who made the connection as he preached a homily on this portion of St. Luke’s Gospel. He taught:
Those who live according to the law cannot receive the institutions of Christ. These institutions cannot be admitted into the hearts of such as have not yet received the renewing by the Holy Spirit. …Those, therefore, who adhere to it and keep at heart the antiquated commandment have no share in the new order of things… (from Ancient Christian Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Luke, 97)
This sheds more light on Jesus’ comment about the lack of desire for new wine because of the affinity for the old. What Jesus meant, and what St. Cyril expounded, is that the old law—like old wineskins—has reached its full measure and served its purpose. It still has value, but it cannot serve as the repository for the “new thing” the Heavenly Father is doing through Jesus Christ prophesied by Isaiah. This new reality “springs forth” without being perceived by those who are intently focused on the letter of the law rather than its spirit (Is. 43:18-19).
After St. Cyril, an unidentified preacher in sixth-century Africa made the connection even more specific. His sermon (included in the Office of Readings for Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter, the day immediately before Pentecost) connected the Pentecost event to this Gospel passage.
So when the disciples were heard speaking in all kinds of languages, some people were not far wrong in saying: They have been drinking too much new wine. The truth is that the disciples has now become fresh wineskins renewed and made holy by grace. The new wine of the Holy Spirit filled them, so that their fervor brimmed over and they spoke in manifold tongues.
The connection is now full and solid. The Holy Spirit—the one who descends to guide the Church through history—is the new wine that will make us ready for the new thing Jesus intends to do. And, Jesus’ disciples must become the new wineskins to contain and carry that new wine to the world.
Thus, we are impelled to consider how this biblical, historical reality impacts our lives. That, of course, is by our personal participation in the Pentecost event, the Sacrament of Confirmation. In that sacramental liturgy, a disciple participates, substantially, in the original Pentecost in Jerusalem in A.D. 33. This is the moment each of us is filled with the new wine of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:13; Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1288).
Following the grace of Pentecost and Confirmation, the question becomes whether or not any of us, individually, will be transformed from old skins to new by this outpouring. There are at least a couple specific ways we can facilitate such transformation. First, it is only possible by remaining rooted in the Eucharist and Reconciliation. Second, coupled with sacraments, we need to pray for this ongoing transformation.
The Prayer to the Holy Spirit (the one all of us seem to know in a different version…) is just one way to pray for such transformation. “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,” just as you filled the hearts of the Apostles on Pentecost, and just as wine is poured into skins. “Lord, send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.” The Holy Spirit comes to bring re-creation and renewal, which all of us need to become fit receptacles of God’s “new thing.” “…and ever rejoice in His consolation.” Consolation is a palpable experience of joy and fulfillment that often carries euphoric feelings akin to imbibing wine in a convivial environment. No wonder the bystanders at Pentecost thought the disciples were tipsy.
Finally, we ought to recognize that the new wine poured into us will transform us over time, in a way similar to wine made from grapes does. Indeed, like great wine, we need that process of development to become really exceptional. As each of us responds to grace and grows over time, we really are able to notice the Gifts of the Holy Spirit working on us. These are the completion and perfection of the virtues that bring us to perfection as disciples. They are the loftiest virtues we exhibit in our daily lives (see CCC 1831). We also notice the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are “first fruits of eternal glory” (CCC 1832). These fruits are the good qualities we pour out into the world, like the qualities of good wine being poured out into a glass. As a wine drinker first notices the “nose” of a particular vintage poured into a glass, so the world notices the fragrance of eternal life already being spread in this life.
All this might bring us to a greater appreciation for good wine. More importantly, it should bring us to a greater appreciation for our own Confirmations; and it should excite us for being transformed into new wineskins that can convey the newness, power, richness, and beauty of the Holy Spirit to a world that may not even realize its need. Just be aware that, along the way, people on the outside may think us a little crazy.
Photo by Joëlle B Vasseur on Unsplash
