Ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος

Anthony Bloom (Metropolitan of Sourozh (1914- 2003))

Σήμερα γιορτάζουμε τὴν ἡμέρα τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος. Τί γνωρίζουμε γι’ αὐτό; Ἀκούσαμε ὑπέροχες προσευχές χθὲς τήν Κυριακὴ τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς, ἀλλὰ ἄς σκεφτοῦμε τὸ ὄνομα ποὺ τοῦ ἔχει δοθεῖ στὸ Εὐαγγέλιο, τὸ ὁποῖο στὰ Ἀγγλικὰ μεταφράζεται ὡς «ὁ Παράκλητος», ἐνῶ σὲ ἄλλες γλῶσσες ὡς «ὁ Μεσολαβητής».

Πράγματι Αὐτὸ εἶναι ὁ μόνος Παρηγορητής ποὺ μᾶς παρηγορεῖ γιὰ τὸν χωρισμό μας ἀπὸ τὸν Χριστό, Αὐτὸ παρηγορεῖ ἐμᾶς ποὺ εἴμαστε σὰν ὀρφανά, ποὺ ἀνυπομονοῦμε νὰ βρεθοῦμε μὲ τὸν Θεὸ μας, τὸν Σωτήρα μας καὶ ποὺ γνωρίζουμε ὅτι ὅσο εἴμαστε δέσμιοι τῆς σάρκας – καὶ αὐτὰ εἶναι λόγια τοῦ Ἀποστόλου Παύλου – εἴμαστε χωρισμένοι ἀπὸ Ἐκεῖνον. Ἀλλὰ γιὰ νὰ νοιώσουμε τὶ εἶναι γιά μᾶς ἡ παρηγοριά καί ὁ Παράκλητος, πρέπει πρῶτα νὰ συνειδητοποιήσουμε ὅτι ζοῦμε χώρια του καὶ αὐτὸ εἶναι τὸ πρῶτο ἐρώτημα ποὺ πρέπει νὰ κάνουμε στὸν ἑαυτό μας: τὸ ἔχουμε συνειδητοποιήσει, ἤ ζοῦμε τὴν ψευδαίσθηση ὅτι ζοῦμε κατὰ Θεὸ καὶ ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ζεῖ μέσα ἀπὸ ἐμᾶς,καὶ ὅτι τίποτα περισσότερο δὲν χρειαζόμαστε; Τὶ περισσότερο χρειαζόμαστε!

Ἐπειδὴ εἶναι ὁ Παράκλητος, μᾶς δίνει δύναμη, δύναμη νὰ ζοῦμε, παρὰ τὸν χωρισμό μας, τὴν δύναμη νὰ ὑπομένομε καὶ νὰ γινόμαστε οἱ λειτουργοί τοῦ Καλοῦ, ποὺ μέσα ἀπὸ ἐμᾶς ἐκπληρώνονται οἱ Ἐντολές τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ Μόνου ποὺ μπορεῖ νὰ δώσει στὴν ψυχή μας ρώμη και σθένος, θέληση, δύναμη γιὰ νὰ ἐνεργοῦμε. Αὐτό ὅμως, ἐάν στραφοῦμε καὶ τοῦ ποῦμε : Ἔλα! ἔλα καὶ κατοίκησε μέσα μας! Ἔλα καὶ λεύκανε τὴν ψυχή μας! Γίνε ὄχι μόνο ὁ Παρηγορητής μας ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ δύναμη μας.

Ἐν τέλει εἶναι Αὐτὸ ποὺ μᾶς δίνει, ἤδη ἀπὸ τώρα, τὴ χαρὰ νὰ γνωρίζουμε πόσο κοντὰ βρισκόμαστε, πέρα ἀπὸ αὐτὸ ποὺ μοιάζει νὰ εἶναι μιὰ μεγάλη ἀπόσταση ποὺ μᾶς χωρίζει ἀπὸ τὸν Θεό, ποὺ μὲ ἀνεκλάλητους ἀναστεναγμούς, μιλάει στὸν Θεὸ ἀπὸ τὰ βάθη τῆς ὕπαρξής μας· εἶναι τὸ μόνο ποὺ, ἐπειδὴ εἴμαστε ὁ λαὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὰ ἀδέλφια καὶ οἱ ἀδελφές του – καὶ τοῦτα εἶναι τὰ δικά Του λόγια – μαρτυρα ὅτι εἴμαστε παιδιὰ τοῦ Πατέρα. Ἡ χαρὰ, τὸ θαῦμα, ἡ ἀξιοπρέπεια ποὺ φέρνει στην ζωή μας! Ἐπίσης ἡ εὐθύνη.

Ἐὰν θυμηθοῦμε τὸν κόσμο μας, ποὺ σὲ μιὰ τέτοια ἔκταση εἶναι σύμμαχος τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸ Πνεῦμα εἶναι ἤδη ἡ ἀπαρχὴ τῆς αἰώνιας ζωῆς. Ἡ παρουσία του ἀποτελεῖ ἕνα γεγονὸς ἀποφασιστικῆς σημασίας. Εἶναι Ἐκεῖνο ποὺ χτυπιέται, ὅπως ἡ θάλασσα πάνω στὰ βράχια, σπάει ὅ,τι Τοῦ ἀντιστέκεται, εἶναι ἡ χαρὰ τῆς αἰώνιας ζωῆς ποὺ κρούει τὴν θύρα τῆς ψυχῆς μας, ποὺ μὲ τὴ βία θέλει νὰ μετέχει στὴ ζωή μας, ποὺ μᾶς θυμίζει τὸν Θεὸ ποὺ εἶναι ὁ Πατέρας μας, τὸν Σωτήρα μας Χριστὸ καὶ τὴν ἀξιοπρέπεια καὶ ὑπεροχὴ ποὺ ἔχουμε ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, δείχνοντάς μας ὅτι ὅλα εἶναι δυνατὰ μὲ τὴ δύναμη τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποὺ μᾶς στηρίζει.

Ἄς κρατήσουμε στὴν ψυχὴ μας τὴν σημερινὴ ἑορτὴ μὲ εὐγνωμοσύνη καὶ ὑπευθυνότητα, καὶ μπορεῖ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ποὺ κατῆλθε μὲ τὴ μορφὴ πυρίνων γλωσσῶν στοὺς Ἀποστόλους, - νὰ ἐπισκεφτεῖ καὶ ἐμᾶς – ἴσως σὰν μιὰ πυρκαγιὰ ποὺ θὰ μᾶς καταυγάσει, ὅπως τὴν Φλεγόμενη Βάτο, ἤ θὰ μᾶς ἀγγίξει σὰν τὴ γαλήνια, ἁπαλὴ φωνὴ ποὺ ἄκουσε ὁ Προφήτης στην ἐρημιὰ ὅπου βρισκόταν ὁ Θεός, μέσα ἀπὸ τὴν ταπείνωσή Του, τὴν παράδοση Του σὲ μᾶς, τὴν ἀγάπη Του. Ἀμήν.



Ἀπόδοση κειμένου: www.agiazoni.gr



Πρωτότυπο κείμενο

DAY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1989, 19 JUNE

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Today we are keeping the Feast of the Holy Spirit. What do we know about Him? We heard wonderful words of prayer about Him yesterday on Trinity Sunday, but let us think of Him, of the name He is given in the Gospel, which is translated ‘The Comforter’ in English, in other translations ‘The Advocate’. He is the One Who is the Comforter indeed, the One Who consoles us for our separation from Christ, Who consoles us who are like orphans, who long to be with Christ our God, our Saviour, and who know that as long as we are in the flesh - and these are the words of St. Paul - we are separated from Him. But for Him to be our Comforter, to be our consolation, we must first be aware of the fact that we are separated and this is the first question we must ask ourselves: are we aware of it, or do we live in the delusion that we are in God and God in us, and that nothing more is needed? How much more is needed!

He is also the One Who, as the Comforter, gives us strength, strength to live despite the separation, strength to stand fast and to be the doers of the Will, the fulfillers of the Commandments of God, the One Who can give us vigour of soul, determination, power to act. But this, again, only if we turn to Him and say, Come! Come and abide in us! Cleanse us! Be not only our Comforter but our strength also.

Lastly, He is the One Who gives us, already now, the joy of knowing how close we are despite what seems to be an infinite distance between God and us, the One Who, in unutterable groanings, speaks to God from the depths of our being; the One Who, because we are Christ's own people, His brothers and sisters in humanity - and these are His own words - that we are the children of the Father. The joy of this, the wonder of this, the dignity of this! Indeed also, the responsibility of this...

If we think of our world which is to such a great extent alien to God, the Spirit is already the beginning of eternal life. His presence is a decisive fact. He beats against the rocks like the sea, He breaks resistances. He is the joy of eternity knocking at our door, forcing Himself into our lives, reminding us of God our Father, of Christ our Saviour and of our greatness and dignity before God, showing us that all things are possible in the power of Christ Who sustains us.

Let us therefore responsibly and gratefully keep this Feast. And may the Spirit of God Who came in tongues of fire upon the Apostles, come to us also - perhaps like a fire that sets us aglow and makes us like a Burning Bush, or touches us like the still, small voice which the Prophet heard in the wilderness in which God was, in His quiet humility, in His surrender to us, in His love for us. Amen.