In Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, there’s a slum known as Katwe. The desperate conditions there are tragically familiar—no sewers or running water, rampant hunger and illness, and the constant threat of violence, especially for women. Phiona Mutesi was born in Katwe in 1996. Three years later, she lost her father to AIDS. Her mother and siblings spent time living on the streets, and when she was nine years old, Phiona had to drop out of school so she could work to help support her family.
One day Phiona secretly followed her brother to a church, where missionaries were offering chess lessons. Phiona was immediately fascinated by the game, and began to learn and play it. What happened next was extraordinary. She was quickly able to beat the more experienced players, mostly boys, and by the end of her first year playing, she could beat her coach. Within a few more years she was representing Uganda at chess tournaments all over the world, and earning enough money to give her family some relative security. Her story was eventually told in the 2016 film The Queen of Katwe.
In one sense, the game of chess was obviously a gift to Phiona, one that transformed her life. But in another sense, chess was something Phiona always had. The game was already within her, in the form of raw natural talent, just waiting to be drawn out.
At the Feast of Pentecost, the Church celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. This event is dramatized in our reading from Acts this morning. The Apostles are staying together in a house in Jerusalem. We can imagine them shaken and stirred, still trying to understand the meaning of the incredible events of the past several weeks. They’ve seen Jesus arrested, tortured, tried and crucified. Three days after his death, they experienced his resurrection. And forty days after that, they witnessed Jesus’ ascension into heaven.
But God wasn’t quite done yet. The Apostles hear the sound of a whirlwind, and experience a vision of flaming tongues, one resting on each of them. And then they begin to speak in foreign languages, proclaiming the gospel to a crowd that’s assembled, a gathering of Jews from all over the known world, who are able to understand them perfectly. The whole spectacle is so astounding that the onlookers who aren’t completely confused by it are convinced that the Apostles have been doing some day-drinking.
In their defense, Peter explains that all of this is foretold in Scripture, and quotes the words of the prophet Joel as evidence. And of course this promise of the coming Holy Spirit is echoed throughout the New Testament as well. John the Baptist tells his followers that the one who follows him will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And as we heard in John’s gospel, Jesus promises to send the Advocate—another name for the Holy Spirit—who will glorify Jesus and guide his followers into truth.
Pentecost, then, is traditionally seen as the fulfillment of this promise, the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and the birth of the Church. It’s the day that the Apostles are given the same power as Jesus—the power to heal the sick, to raise the dead, and to forgive sins, and to do those things across every known boundary, of race, class, sex and ability. And Acts tells the story of how the earliest Christians, newly empowered by the Holy Spirit, began to spread the Gospel to the whole world, inviting everyone—Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich and poor—into membership in Christ’s Body the Church. The primary sign of that membership has always been the sacrament of baptism. And I’m so excited that this morning, we have the privilege of welcoming the Church’s two newest members: Cate and Anne.
Baptism and the Holy Spirit have been very hot topics recently at Lectionary Brunch, our Thursday morning Bible Study. In particular, we’ve been pondering together this question: is the Holy Spirit something we’re given, or is it already with us? I hope I’ve trained you well enough by now to know that, as Anglicans, our answer to that question should be: “Yes.” The Holy Spirit is both something we’re given and something we’ve always had. But how does that make sense?
Well, it wouldn’t make sense if the Holy Spirit was just a warm, fuzzy feeling, an impersonal force, like in Stars Wars, or a vague supernatural power that possesses and controls us. The reason we can say that the Holy Spirit is something we both receive and already have is because the Holy Spirit is a person, a member of the Trinity, someone we’re in relationship with. And relationships are dynamic and ongoing. To be in a relationship is to be an active participant, not a passive recipient. The Holy Spirit has always been within us, active in our lives, but it’s up to us as free beings to accept that friendship, to respond, to acknowledge and grow the relationship.
So the language the Church uses, about the “receiving” of the Holy Spirit, might be better understood as the awakening in us of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power; the realization that the “gift” has always been in our possession, that the Advocate has always been by our side. And that’s actually a pretty good description of the Christian life—the constant reawakening of the Holy Spirit within us; the recognition that whenever we see gratuitous love bursting into the world—which is what the Church calls grace—we know the Holy Spirit is at work, making Christ present in our lives, and empowering us for ministry, just like the first apostles were.
Phiona Mutesi was given a true gift—the opportunity to play chess. But the real miracle is that something that was already within her was given full expression. I see a similar thing happening here at St. Mary’s. People have very kindly tried to give me credit for the burst of new life we’re experiencing. And I’m humbled and flattered by that, but I will continue to insist that I’m not doing anything, except my job—which is to stay out of the way, to create space so that the Holy Spirit—which was always, already here—can go to work. It’s the same role I’ll play in these baptisms. I’m not going to be giving these precious children something they don’t already have. I’ll simply be revealing to the Church and to the world what was always there: the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
And so as we renew our own baptismal vows this morning, we too can rejoice in receiving again the gift we’ve always possessed; and recognize the grace that makes each of our lives a blessed sacrament, and each of our days a potential Pentecost.
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Chappaqua, NY
The Day of Pentecost, May 19th , 2024