"In the midst of the feast, give my
thirsty soul to drink of the waters of godliness. For Thou didst cry unto all O Savior: If any man
thirsts, let him come to Me and drink! O Christ our God, wellspring of life, glory
be to Thee".
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| "If any man thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" |
The troparion of Mid-Pentecost renders the meaning of this period beautifully. It perfectly expresses the anguish and longing of the soul, who even when she is attacked from every side by the despondency waging war against the children of this age, turns with all her strength towards the Lord, seeking His mighty help, and the only thing that she desires is the gift of the Holy Spirit, so to be able to hymn the Lord worthily.
Christianity is not something neutral. It promises
nothing less than the union of man, made of earth and bound by time, with the
infinite God. We would be much benefited if we could make words like these our
personal prayer, or if, as preparation to celebrate Pentecost in a manner
well-pleasing to God, we could read slowly and carefully Psalm 118 every day,
allowing its words to pierce our very being. This Psalm expresses and
cultivates the insatiable thirst of man for union with the Holy of Holies, as
it puts in words the confession of the soul who longs "to depart and be
with Christ”(Phil1: 23) the confession of the soul who longs to be transported
from "things very sorrowful unto things most good and full of
delight", from this temporary and vain life to the eternal and abundant
life of the Kingdom of God.
In order that man's expectation for the gift of
Pentecost may remain constant, yet also always increasing, he must keep his
mind fixed on the coming of the Lord and wait upon Him. He must not lose heart
in prayer that he may be vouchsafed to "stand before the Son of man".
The early Christians had great inspiration, because they expected the presence
of the Lord and for them His coming was imminent. This was why they prayed:
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| Serbian Fresco with a wonderful use of the door of Jerusalem which now leads literally outside the Church. |
Let us prepare to approach the great and final feast
of Pentecost trusting that the Lord Jesus Christ will not forget even us, but
will visit us and send us the gifts of His goodness. As He says in His Gospel:
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him?",(Luke11: 13) so as to lead them into "an upright land". With the Lord's
promise and His incorruptible word as "a sure and steadfast anchor of the
soul" ,(Heb6: 19) let us surrender to the earthquake of the energy of His
Spirit, casting off the scales of sin and mortal decay, so we may turn with all
our heart towards the Lord and receive the "fiery and dew-laden" gift
of our Great God, which will convey us away from the ephemeral and illusory so we
may attain to that which is eternal and true. Then we will know that we are
children of the Heavenly Father and that He has prepared a great inheritance
for us, the Kingdom of Heaven. For unto us the promise of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit is given. Amen.
Reference:
https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2021/05/mid-pentecost-stirring-up-our-thirst.html