Preached on June 4, 2017.
38 years ago, a movie sequel came out that was a Box-office smash … Rocky II!
I saw it when it came out in 1979 and I’ve seen it a couple of times since then.
It’s a great movie with some important messages about life …
and about achieving our goals.
The first movie, Rocky, was about an amateur Boxer in Philadelphia named Rocky, played by Sylvester Stallone, who almost beats a professional Boxer, named Apollo Creed. So close was their bout that Apollo challenges Rocky to a rematch.
And that’s the storyline of Rocky II … Rocky getting ready for the rematch.
But, in the meantime, Rocky has married his girlfriend Adrian and they’re expecting their first baby and as Rocky goes off each day to train at the gym, Adrian is letting him know that she doesn’t think he should be boxing any more since it’s dangerous and low paying and now they have a family to take care of.
Well her discontent makes Rocky very distracted and lethargic in his efforts to train for his upcoming fight … to the degree that his Coach, Mick, leaves him.
Then one day, Adrian is rushed to the hospital to give birth to her first baby ...
but she slips into a coma. Well, Rocky is beside himself with concern for Adrian and decides that he won’t even see the newborn baby until his wife is OK.
In the movie we see him keeping vigil ... praying in the Hospital Chapel and reading to her at her bedside day after day even though she doesn’t respond.
Fortunately, one day she comes out of her coma and the hospital room is transformed into happiness. Together Rocky and Adrian get to see their new baby for the first time as their friends and Rocky’s coach toast them with Champagne.
Then there’s this great scene where Rocky says to her at her bedside that
maybe he will give up boxing and start looking for another way to make a living.
And Adrian looks up at Rocky and says,
“There’s one thing I want you to do for me.”
He says, “What?”
She says, “Come here.”
And he gets real close to her and she smiles and says, “Win.”
“I want you to win!”
A bell tolls in the background as Rocky looks at her with great surprise ...
and you can just see this sudden release of energy in Rocky!
His coach, Mick, filled with enthusiasm exclaims “What are we waiting for?”
And off they go!
And we see Rocky training like a champion … doing things he’d never done before.
What happened? He’s the same guy … but he’s not the same!
You see, before he had his wife’s support … he was running without power!
He had the muscles … but He didn’t have the motivation to use them.
He needed to have his Spirit awakened to put things in synch for the job at hand.
That happened the moment Adrian affirmed his work, “Win, I want you to win.”
That had to feel like a huge slug of adrenaline flowing through his veins ... as he got her permission and her encouragement to go off and do something great.
And, I can’t help but think that ... what Rocky felt that day in the hospital ...
was very similar to what the Apostles felt on the day of Pentecost!
Rocky was ready to throw in the towel on his profession of boxing …
only to have it miraculously reclaimed by an infusion of enthusiasm.
The Apostles were ready to throw in the towel on their profession of preaching …
only to have it miraculously reclaimed by an infusion of God’s Spirit.
That’s what happened in our Gospel today, as Jesus appears to His Apostles ...
hiding in the Upper Room and breathes on them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit!”
To those fearful and uncertain Apostles, that had to be like God saying to them,
“Win, I want you to win!”
And they had to feel a surge of energy and enthusiasm to receive God’s support.
Just as Rocky experienced a spiritual rush to go and train hard for his next bout …
once he felt his wife’s support,
the Apostles must have experienced a spiritual rush to go and preach the Gospel
once they felt Jesus’ support.
What support did Jesus give them? His Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit of God!
As we heard in our First Reading from Acts, the transformation was immediate.
When the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles,
those timid men were transformed into bold witnesses …
who immediately began to speak …
openly and powerfully about “the mighty acts of God.”
What happened to them? What made the difference?
After 3 years of journeying w/ Jesus, those Apostles knew the mighty acts of God.
So why weren’t they out there proclaiming them to the world?
Because they were scared and unsure and unfocused.
They were like a boxer who had muscles … but no motivation to use them.
What they needed was clarity of purpose and motivation.
And they got both when they received God’s Holy Spirit!
Throughout the Book of Acts we hear the continuous succession of “wins”
that the Apostles achieved after Pentecost!
What did they win?
- They won favor with God.
- They won new souls for God’s family.
- They won Heaven for themselves.
That’s a lot … and it was all made possible w/ the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit!
And here’s more good news!
Their victories ... can be ours ... if we allow God’s Holy Spirit to act in us!
All of us who have been Baptized and Confirmed have received the Holy Spirit.
You probably didn’t see Him as tongues of fire,
but He came upon you just the same … and He made His home in you.
He’s there … inside of you … whispering the word we all need to hear … “Win!”
Once we hear His voice, we’ll be filled with conviction and determination to focus on ... the job at hand … of winning Heaven for ourselves and for many others.
Theologian Karl Rahner said, “The theological problem is to find the art of drawing religion out of people not pumping it into them. The redemption has happened!
The Holy Spirit is in humanity. The art is to help people become what they are!”
You see, it’s not about pumping something into you … for you already have it!
Rather, it’s about drawing something out of you … the power of God within you.
As a recipient of God’s Holy Spirit, you have the Power of God in you!
Do you realize that? It seems like a great many people don’t know it!
To me, it’s similar to going over to Six Flags Theme Park in Atlanta for the day ... and then several days or weeks later ... noticing that some staff member had put a bumper sticker on your car that read, “I’ve been to Six Flaggs”
That means that you’d been driving around for days or weeks ...
labeled in a special way … and you didn’t even know it!
You were unaware that you were carrying something new!
It’s the same way, with the Holy Spirit. So many of us walk around seemingly
unaware that we’ve been labeled by God in a very special way …
that we’re carrying the Holy Spirit!
You know, just as Adrian whispered encouragement to Rocky …
I believe that God whispered encouragement to all of us on the day of our Baptism!
As water was poured over our head, I believe that God whispered in our ear,
“Win, I want you to win!”
And when we get close to Him ... and listen to His voice,
we feel the power that Rocky felt when he heard the support of his wife Adrian.
By having the Holy Spirit, we have God’s support. This should move us to …
train hard to bear fruit in this life ... and ultimately win ... Eternal Life.
This Wednesday, June 7thwill be the anniversary of my Baptism.
Do you know the date of your Baptism?
That’s the day that God whispered to you saying,
“Come here. There’s one thing I want you to do for me. Win!”
Win Heaven … for yourself ... and for as many others as you can!
God continues to whisper this encouragement each time we receive a Sacrament ...
because … in Communion, Confession and Confirmation …
in Marriage, Holy Orders and Anointing ...
His Holy Spirit is there!
At the 11 O’clock Mass today ... Bishop Baker will confer ...
the Sacrament of Confirmation on 65 of our 10th Grade Students.
They’ll receive the very same Holy Spirit that the Apostles received 2000 years ago.
And, throughout their lives, God will continually remind them ...
As He continues to remind us ... of the one thing He wants us to do for Him … win!
Do you know what the word enthusiasm means?
It comes from the Greek “en theos” which means “the God within”!
Now since all of us have ... the God within …
all of us can show ... the God within ...
yes, all of us can show ... enthusiasm.
Let’s show it by the way we live …
being focused and determined on winning Heaven for ourselves and others.
As baptized Catholic Christians, we’ve already got everything we need.
The Great Day of Pentecost that we celebrate today ... has happened!
The Holy Spirit of God is in the world ...
and we the Baptized have Him dwelling within us !
So, let’s ask ourselves the same question that Rocky’s trainer asked in the movie
“Hey, what are we waiting for?”
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