NO … NOT FROM ALADDIN’S

I suppose it was every child’s dream: to find Aladdin’s Lamp, though rusty and dirty, and covered in dust. I remember looking up every item in an old curio shop, trying to make my day, but I never realised my dream. After all, that was just a childhood dream. Now, unfortunately, we have grown out of that age. But in our culture you still find certain people who tempt you to take part in a ‘special lottery’, or offer you the dream of your life (always at a cost). But what would I choose, if I were the lucky one?

Would it be a ‘Dream Villa’ on the Hawaiian Islands? Or rather choose a super sports car, which makes James Bond’s look cheap? They might offer me a trip round the world on a super yacht … which I would later own? Whilst trying to decide what to choose, I had another childhood recollection, I recalled Shakespeare’s Play, The Tempest. In it Prospero says: “The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself, yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, and, like this insubstantial pageant faded, leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff as dreams are made of; and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

Good-bye to day-dreaming. I’d rather own something more fulfilling, more everlasting, like the ‘breath of life’ (Genesis); the power to change deserts into luscious gardens (Isaiah); a force that restores life (Exodus); something that causes radical upheavel and transformation. And all these gifts are found in the Holy Scripture, they are the fruit of the Lord’s Spirit, and not wishes granted only in stories, nor prizes made by expensive lotteries. Francis of Assisi, stopped day-dreaming, of becoming a famous knight-at-arms and started looking for his ‘Lady Love’, which surprised many when they got to know that her name was Lady Poverty. The Spirit took over Francis.

Where the Spirit comes transformation always happens: barriers disappear, doors are opened wide or become non-existing; all man-made structures and designed by sophisticated computer-aided programmes, disappear. Fear, crouching and hiding disappear. The New Life brings unheard of initiatives, and courageous decisions are made. Who is dissatisfied and aspires the renewal of the world and of man can count on the Spirit: nothing can resist its power. No politician, the world over, no round table conference, no agendas can bring peace. ONLY the Spirit can. And because the Spirit comes with such force, and because the result obtained is so dramatic, in the Bible it is likened to a ‘natural phenomena’ which lights up man’s imagination: hurricane, thunder, lightning, earthquake, fire and strong wind.

Imagine the Apostles, when they realized that the Master was about to leave them, how troubled they felt. But HE assured them that the Father will send them the “Comforter” to accomplish Christ’s Mission. The Israelites always believed that the place of God’s presence was the temple in Jerusalem. However, since Solomon’s times, they started doubting that a house made by man’s hand could hold the Lord of the universe. God had promised that He would come to live among his people: “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for I am about to come. I shall dwell among you” (Zec 2:14).

He was not referring to a church, a temple, a sanctuary or a basilica built of marble, gold or precious gems, in John’s words: “It is in the man Jesus that God fulfilled the promise and has made himself present (Jn. 1:14). Now, Jesus gives us His assurance, God dwells and is made visible in the disciple who loves as He loved. For this is not difficult to recognize. But if any man prefers to open the door to the devil to enter the room, he takes the place of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And the devil acts in that person.

The Spirit of God continues to teach, to upgrade according to new situations, and He will always find the appropriate answer to everything, to every problem, as long as we remain tuned in, and His action is always ‘dynamic’; He irresistibly pushes us in the right direction and leads us to make choices consistent with the Gospel. His anointing teaches you all things, it speaks the truth and does not lie to you; so remain in him and keep what he has taught you” (1 Jn. 2:27-28).

Yes, I have found ‘Aladdin’s Lamp’, not in the Curio’s Shop, but in the Teachings of the Church. Yes, I have won the expensive Lottery, my ‘Dream Villa’ is in the New Jerusalem. Would that ‘all believers’ realise what is offered to us in Baptism, when we received the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let us celebrate for we are ‘The Pentecost People’.