The Feast of Pentecost
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 31, 2026
If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water and this he said about the Spirit...
Again Jesus said to them, I am the Light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
Light that illumines all things from the inside and from the outside and Life that flows like water, like electrical energy, flowing through and nourishing every atom in creation.
St. Seraphim of Sarov and his disciple Nicholas walked into the dark, wintery forest and discovered that each was glowing with the Uncreated light of the Holy Spirit, "The Light of Life." The metaphor of the Light of Life appears in a multitude of the World's sacred literature all meant to convey the message that God is With Us through the Spirit more than we even dare to dream.
We are all shining with divine light although we do not know it or often see it. Unsurprisingly, Seraphim was, but so was Nicholas. So apart from seeing the Light physically, how do we know this Living Water is flowing through us? Here a is one way.
When we choose forgiveness over anger.
When we choose charity over greed.
When we choose love over indifference.
When we choose tolerance over hatred.
When we choose peace over strife.
When we choose weakness over power.
When we choose humility over pride....
Then we know the Holy Spirit is at work in us and we are living in him.
What are the fruits of the Spirit according to St. Paul. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Without these we cannot possibly claim to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We must watch carefully lest some other spirit, a dark one, a prideful, ungenerous, and divisive one, might come take over the reigns of our lives and make our choices for us.
We must always watch that the choices we make at every moment of our day reflect the goodness of God. We were created to be vessels of God's grace, mercy, and love without prejudice. So, let's commit ourselves to allow only rivers of living water to flow through and from us.