Sunday 19 May 2024 –Solemnity of the Pentecost (year B)
Mass Readings: Acts 2:1-11 Ps 103
Gal 5:16-25 Jn 15:26-27;
16:12-15
Key Verse to Meditate: "When the
Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth
who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf (Jn 15:26).
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Today, the Church solemnizes the feast of Pentecost, also known as the outpouring of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit represents God’s love, and is the life and love within the Church and humanity. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and the divine Person who spreads the possibility of imitating Christ in the world, giving Christ to the world, and making Him live in us. This Sunday's feast reminds us of another way in which God is with us and sustains our life and mission: the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, bestowed by the Father and the risen Jesus, guides us to the truth. The Easter season concludes today with the solemnity of Pentecost, a period of fifty days during which the risen Jesus assisted the disciples in understanding and living their mission among the people. They were sent to "tell" everyone about what they had seen and heard from their Master.
In last
Sunday's gospel, Jesus, before ascending to heaven, sent his disciples into the
world, assuring them of his perpetual presence. On this day of Pentecost, we
witness the fulfilment of this promise as the Helper arrives upon the apostles.
The
First Reading: Today's first reading is from the
Acts of the Apostles, which narrates the events of the first Pentecost. As
Jesus commanded the disciples to wait for the outpouring of the Spirit, all of
them were in Jerusalem, united with Mother Mary in prayer, awaiting the
Spirit's arrival (Acts 1:13-14). On the day of Pentecost, they were all filled
with the power of the Holy Spirit: Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among
them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them
ability (Acts 2:3-4).
The
Apostles were Filled with the Holy Spirit: What does it mean that they were "filled with the Holy
Spirit"? (Acts 2:4). How did the apostles feel at that time? They had an
overwhelming experience of God's love at the outpouring of the Spirit, and they
felt flooded with love, like an ocean. The uneducated apostles speaking in the
elite languages of the people was unbelievable for the Jews who had gathered in
Jerusalem from various parts of the world to hear them speak different
languages.
The
Spirit Transforms: St. Paul
assures us of this when he says that "the love of God has been poured out
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (cf. Rom
5:5). The first effect that the Holy Spirit produces when it comes upon a
person is to make them feel loved by God with a very tender love. Everything
else, such as the forgiveness of sins, grace, and the theological virtues, is
contained in this love. Therefore, in the presence of the Holy Spirit,
communication between God and man reopens, sounding like a new beginning of
everything.
The
Story of Babel: The descent of the Spirit upon the
apostles and their ability to speak different languages brings to mind the
story of Babel in the Old Testament (Gen 11:4). At Babel, everyone spoke the
same language, but eventually, a point was reached where no one understood each
other anymore, leading to the confusion of languages. At Pentecost, however,
everyone spoke different languages, yet they all understood each other. Babel
and Pentecost are two ongoing construction sites in history. According to St.
Augustine, the former builds Babylon, the "city of Satan," while the
latter builds Jerusalem, the "city of God." Each of our civil or
religious initiatives, whether private or public, faces a choice: to be like
Babel or like Pentecost. It becomes Babel if our intention is to make a name
for ourselves, to assert ourselves; it becomes Pentecost if, through it, we
also affirm others and, above all, God. Where there is selfishness and
manipulation of others, it is Babel; whereas, where there is love and respect,
it is Pentecost.
Speaking
in Tongues: This was the gift of the Holy
Spirit, the gift of speaking in languages: "And at this sound the crowd
gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native
language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, 'Are not all these who are
speaking Galileans?'" (Act 2:6-7). Thus began the bold preaching of the
Word of God by the apostles. But why were the people of Jerusalem so amazed at
the knowledge of the uneducated apostles? Firstly, they perceived that the
apostles were different, and their proclamation centered on the mighty works of
God completed in Jesus, the crucified and risen. At Pentecost, the apostles proclaimed,
"the great works of God." They did not seek to make a name for
themselves, but to glorify God. That is why everyone understood them. God had
returned to being at the center of the disciples' lives. The desire for power
had been replaced by the desire to serve; the law of selfishness had given way
to the law of love.
The descent of
the Spirit of God occurred because of the promise of Jesus, who said that once
he ascended into heaven, he would send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom
and truth. Wherever the Spirit of God descended, people received power and
grace to accept the word of Christ and embrace new life in the Spirit. Filled
with the power of the Holy Spirit, they were given the gift of invoking the
outpouring of the Spirit upon others.
The
Holy Spirit in the Acts: In the Acts,
we see that when Peter and John laid hands on the people of Samaria, they
received the Holy Spirit: "Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that
Samaria had accepted the word of God (from Philip), they sent Peter and John to
them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy
Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands
on them, and they received the Holy Spirit" (Act 8:14-17).
The
Second Reading: In today's second letter, St. Paul
contrasts the fruits of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - Gal 5:22-23) with the
works of the flesh (fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery,
enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy,
drunkenness, carousing - Gal 5:19-21). By highlighting these differences, he
exhorts Christians to be led by the Spirit and not to gratify the desires of
the flesh (Gal 5:16). He insists that we should be led and guided by the
Spirit: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the
Spirit" (Gal 5:25).
Jesus was Led by the Spirit: Jesus' life was filled and guided by the Spirit of God. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit right from the beginning of His life and active ministry in Galilee: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness" (Lk 4:1). After the temptation in the desert, we see Jesus coming out of the desert filled with the Holy Spirit: "Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about Him spread through all the surrounding country" (Lk 4:14). In the Nazareth proclamation, He said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Lk 4:18-19). At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, at His baptism, St. John the Baptist testified to the presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus: "And John testified, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. I myself did not know Him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (Jn 1:32-33). Yes, Jesus was anointed by the Spirit at the beginning of His ministry.
Breathing into the Nostrils: In the creation account, we read that when God breathed into the nostrils of Adam, he became a living being (Gen 2:7). Similarly, in the vision of the valley of dry bones (cf. Ezek 37:1-10), the prophet Ezekiel was told to inform the bones that God would make breath enter them and that they would come to life. Putting "breath" by God’s Spirit into the bones showed that God would not only restore them physically but also spiritually. The vision of the valley of dry bones emphasizes the spiritual lesson that Israel’s new life depended on God’s power and not the circumstances of the people.
Jesus "Breathed" on Them: One of the greatest gifts of the Holy Spirit is to receive the forgiveness of sins. After greeting the fear-stricken Apostles with peace, Jesus imparted to them the ministry of forgiving people's sins with the power of the Holy Spirit: "He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.'" (Jn 20:22-23). Firstly, the act of Jesus breathing on them and imparting the Spirit stands as a symbol of empowerment for ministry. It is the Spirit of God that empowers the Apostles for the ministry of forgiveness. In Acts, Luke assigns the experience of receiving the Spirit to Pentecost or fifty days after the Passover (Acts 2:1-3), while John in this verse (20:22) links the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Easter events. When Jesus breathed the Spirit on the apostles, He gave them the authority to forgive the sins of the people. This act of breathing the Spirit onto the Apostles not only marked a new birth of the apostles into the Ministry of preaching and reconciling people to God but also served as preparation for the event of Pentecost.
The
Unconditional Forgiveness of Jesus: In the
teaching and work of Christ, nothing is more essential than forgiveness. The
unconditional forgiveness of God, offered by Jesus towards sinners, brought
with it great resistance and condemnation from the educated elite of Jewish
society. Jesus portrayed the merciful face of the Father. He proclaimed the
future kingdom of the Father as the kingdom of merciful love. On the cross,
with his perfect sacrifice, he atoned for our sins, thus making mercy and love
triumph through - and not against - justice and order. In his paschal victory,
Jesus brought everything to completion. For this reason, the Father is pleased
to pour out, through the Son, the Spirit of forgiveness. In the Church of the
Apostles, forgiveness is offered through the sacraments of baptism and
reconciliation and in the gestures of Christian life.
Points
for Personal Reflection: Today, we
celebrate Pentecost, a feast that changed the lives of the disciples and
invites us to pray to the Holy Spirit, who is like the wind. We don't see Him,
but it is this Spirit that moves all things. Even when we pray to Him, it is
possible because He has aroused in us the desire to pray. The Holy Spirit is
our help and prompter, who comes to enlighten us. As disciples of the Lord, we
are to rejoice because Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit (Lk 10:21). It is the
Spirit of God that brings spiritual renewal and new life through the
life-giving death and resurrection of Jesus. The act of “breathing” holds great
significance for our spiritual renewal. May God breathe His sanctifying Spirit
upon us so that we too may be spiritually renewed.
Have I experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in my life? Just like
the disciples of Jesus, do I also feel the need for the Spirit in my life? We
all need power from on high to renew ourselves, for every renewal flowers as
the result of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the love
of God (Rom 5:7). Do I ask Him to fill my life with the love of God? The Lord
Jesus offers each one of us the gift and the power of His Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit gives us the power to live a new life and strengthens our faith. Do I
desire and seek to live a holy life, as the Spirit of God is the giver of all
holiness?
Let us always
invoke the Spirit of God because He is the one who enlightens and sustains our
faith. As Jesus promises in today’s gospel, may the Spirit of truth always
guide and strengthen us in our spiritual journey (Jn 15:26).
