Aquire The Holy Spirit! How?

As we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, we Orthodox must take seriously the call of God to acquire the Holy Spirit and be changed by that intimate connection with God!

This famous conversation between St. Seraphim of Sarov and a young, Russian nobleman is a true treasure for us today:

Movilof asked: “What does it mean, acquiring the Holy Spirit?” Abba Seraphim replied: “When you acquire something, you own it, like owning money. The Holy Spirit is your heavenly capital. Let us pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and let us be silent in His presence in order to hear what he wants us to know.” Movilof asked again: “What other methods apart from prayer can fill us with the Holy Spirit?”

Abba Seraphim replied: “By using your gifts and in that way you make a profit for your eternity. The candle can light many other candles without losing its light. When you give to others, you do not lose.”

“How can I be sure that the Holy Spirit is within me? After all, the Spirit is unseen.”

The following amazing revelation happened as Abba Seraphim spoke: “Listen, my friend. We are both in the presence of the Holy Spirit now, look at me.” The rest of the story is wonderful, but time escapes us!

During this Pentecostal season, we are invited by the Church to confront the invitation of Normal Orthodox Christianity to have a real, intimate relationship with God, through the work of the Holy Spirit right here and right now!

Look at our lesson today in Acts 11:19-30:

In those days, those apostles who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians. Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabos stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world; and this took place in the days of Claudius. And the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea, and they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

We encounter the prophet Agabos again in today’s lesson, and he is given insight into a famine that will affect Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. We also discover that the Message of the Faith has broken outside the Jewish world and is now reaching “the Greeks,” the Gentiles.

And when the news reached headquarters that Gentiles were becoming Christians, the Apostles sent Barnabas to verify this information. And when Barnabas saw how the Holy Spirit was transforming so many lives, even among Gentiles, he went and got “Saul,” who would later become “Paul,” to help these new Gentile converts in catechizing them with the whole story of God's work from creation to Abraham to Christ.

And all of this is a consequence of the Church being empowered at Pentecost with the Holy Spirit.

Look what happened once the Church was empowered to fulfill the Lord’s last command to them to “make disciples” of every nation.

First, Persecution didn’t destroy them.

It just spread the message further! Next, the Faith breaks out and starts reaching everybody, not just the “chosen few!” Then, the people reoriented their everyday living so that when Barnabas came to see what was happening, he could tell the difference in how the Christians lived!

Next, the intimacy with God in the people’s lives led Agabos to warn of a serious problem approaching the area, in the form of a famine. This is what intimacy with God produces in the Community of the Church. Being in a relationship with God fosters discernment and insight into everyday life, enabling individuals to navigate their daily lives more effectively.

And finally, that very same Spirit moved everyone to start doing what they could to gather money and supplies for the suffering that was to come to the people! That’s what intimacy with God produces in the faithful: compassion. This is a powerful witness to what the Holy Spirit is sent to do in the first place: to create the character of Jesus Christ in us.

St. Barnabas is my patron, and today is his day. St. Barnabas was part of the 70 disciples who followed Christ through His ministry and witnessed His resurrection. He was from Cyprus and was, early on, a great supporter of the early Church. He owned a field that he sold and gave the proceeds to support the Church in Jerusalem. He was the chief of the 70 Apostles and was known as a great and effective preacher. He was also the one who found St. Paul right after his conversion and brought Paul, the former persecutor of Christians, to the other apostles, promoting him as a preacher of the message as well. He and Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire, preaching the Gospel and planting churches all around the region. He was eventually stoned to death by the Jews on his island of Cyprus and is buried there today. Sadly, his burial ground is currently in the Turkish-occupied area of Cyprus, and we pray that his divided island can once again be united under the patronage of St. Barnabas.

Today, are you “full of the Spirit?” Has your daily practice of the Faith in prayer, fasting, and generosity produced an intimacy with God that empowers you to be what you were created to be? It is by this timeless wisdom that we can and should be Normal Orthodox Christians filled with the holy Spirit!