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“Credibility!” This is a word we have become very familiar with in recent months and years. Sadly, the familiarity is the result of the LACK of credibility in many of the institutions that touch our daily lives. Business lost credibility because of financial scandals recently. Our government lost credibility because of the war in Iraq and the recent prisoner abuse scandals. Our Church, and our Catholic Bishops in particular, lost credibility because of the sexual abuse scandals. And all of these scandals had one thing in common, the lack of truth.

Do you remember Pilate’s question to Jesus: “What is truth?” It is a question that is still being asked. Where do we find truth? Whom are we to believe? Where are we to look for guidance in the great questions that face us as Christians and as citizens? Jesus promised to send “the Spirit of Truth.” And it is the fulfillment of that promise that we celebrate today, on Pentecost.

The one person who has absolute credibility is God. And God gives us the Spirit of Truth so that we may be able to discern what is true. And that Spirit is at work in our world, in our Church. There are times when the Spirit is obscured, cannot be heard. And we may very well be living at such a time at present. But the Spirit blows where it wills and cannot be blocked forever. Truth will out, if only we open up our minds and hearts to God’s Spirit. As the prophet Joel says, “ I will pour out, pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy. Your young people shall see visions. Your old shall dream dreams. I will pour out my spirit, and they shall prophesy.”

Scripture itself is telling us that the Spirit is active in the world, active everywhere, and sometimes in unexpected and unlikely people and places. The Spirit cannot be confined, cannot be kept silent. The consequence of this is that if the old institutions have lost credibility, then we must be open to the Spirit speaking in new ways, and open to responding to the Spirit by moving in new directions. Jesus said we cannot put new wine into old wine skins. Sometimes very, very radical solutions are called for.

In the 18th century, the Church in France was in a sorry state. When Napolean came to power, he insisted that the Pope fire every single bishop in France, and then that the Pope would appoint new bishops from a list of good, simple, holy men that Napolean drew up. Was the Spirit at work? Well, the Pope agreed.... Now, I am not suggesting, though it is a tempting thought.....

The Holy Spirit is called “The Advocate.” The word, in Greek meant someone who would go to court with you, sit beside you, give you support and advice, what we today would call an “attorney.” Now we need an attorney when we are in trouble or when we have to make some big important decisions in business or in life. And I would suggest to you that, as citizens and as Christians, we are in deep trouble and have some very important decisions to make. We desperately need an attorney. We need the Great Attorney, the Holy Spirit sent by God. What can the Spirit give us? Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and the Fear of the Lord..... yes, all gifts of the Holy Spirit. We need wisdom and knowledge to find the truth, Understanding to grasp it, Piety and Fear of the Lord to accept it, and Fortitude to live by it. All gifts freely given by the Holy Spirit, if only we open up our minds and hearts.

The truth shall set you free. The lack of credibility in Business, in Government, in the Church can bring with it a feeling of helplessness, of being stuck, a paralyzing fear, a fear such as that which compelled the disciples to lock themselves away in a room. It was the coming of the Spirit that released them from that fear, emboldened them to go out and fearlessly proclaim the truth about Jesus and His message. And that message, that truth, was about a God of love and compassion, a God of forgiveness and reconciliation, a God for whom all people are important and no one is excluded or driven away from the table of the Lord, not even Judas.

The God of Jesus is a God who sets us free, free to serve out of love, not out of fear. Now this is a credible message. This is a message that we can joyfully embrace. This is the truth that we seek in our hearts. This is the truth revealed to us by the great Spirit of Truth. May we today open our minds to this Spirit of Truth and our hearts to the fire of the Spirit of Love that we may continue, in Hope, to spread the Good News in our Church and in our World. Amen.