Today is Pentecost Sunday, our festival celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus after his Ascension. In our First Reading, the disciples are gathered in Jerusalem for the Festival of Weeks, which celebrates the revelation of the five books of the Torah by God to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai (thanks Google!). Certainly, this is an important festival in the Jewish faith, so many people are gathered all throughout Jerusalem. I imagine it would be similar to other big events that I’m sure you can relate to even now. The disciples are gathered in one place when suddenly there is a loud sound of rushing wind and tongues of fire appear above the disciples’ heads. How amazed they all must have been! Filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples went out into the streets to preach the Good News, when suddenly it was as if they could speak the same language as everyone from every nation and country; truly amazing! Can you picture experiencing this? How does this make you reflect on the Holy Spirit?
We consistently see the reoccurrence of gathering together for a feast. That is not a coincidence, but is reminds me of the importance of gathering family to eat and how much fun it is to spend time with those we love. What event in your life do you relate to this reading? What feast or meal do you gather with for?
Our Psalm recalls over and over: “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” I cannot help but continue to think of the sound of the rushing wind those disciples experienced. Truly that was the Holy Spirit. I can recall the fact that I am of this world (dust returning to dust) and it is only through His sending the Holy Spirit to me that we are ‘created’ in Him. We may be of any age, from any country on this globe, but when we receive Him, THAT is when we start to live. That is when we are truly created in Him as members and part of the Church.
This second reading really makes me pause on the first line: “No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” I am not sure I ever really thought about that quite that way, but it is so true. That is a simplistic sentence, but impactful also. Have you ever truly thought of this divine intervention in how the Holy Spirit allows you to say Jesus is Lord? Instantly I feel more integrated into the Church and specifically this parish. Does this make you feel more connected? How could you share that new feeling?
Today’s Gospel has Jesus appearing to the disciples who were in hiding from the Jews. If you recall, just a few weeks ago we had a similar Gospel. Can you imagine how scary that time was for them? We do not live in that kind of fear, but their faith was truly put to the test just days before watching Jesus crucified. They did not understand then but had faith in continuing His teachings after He was gone. Now He appears to them again! The complete and overwhelming joy, surprise, and elation must have been wonderful! How does this make you feel? How has this Lenten and Easter season changed you?
After showing his friends the marks in his hands and side as proof of the living God, Jesus gave them yet another gift in the Holy Spirit to proclaim “Jesus is Lord” because without it we would still be simply dust of this world. This gift of the Holy Spirit is also a revelation of sorts. Jesus is telling the disciples that He was sent by the Father and so Jesus sends the disciples [out], specifically giving them the authority to forgive or hold the sins of others. This authority is very powerful to bind someone’s sins to them, but that seems so contradictory to all of Jesus’ teachings. It is my humble opinion here that Jesus is illustrating the freedom of choice in this gift of the Holy Spirit. Of course, He wants us to forgive others, but He will not force us to do so. Just like he does not force us to choose Him. We must turn willingly to the Lord. We need to struggle in our daily lives to be able to
understand the suffering and sacrifice to be made pure for His will to be done. How does this Gospel speak to you? What do you see differently in today’s readings that you didn’t think of before?