PENTECOST SUNDAY
Introduction: Today the
Church celebrates the Father’s gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is given to
the Church to communicate to us the things of Jesus (John 1, 15). He makes
Jesus known to us (1 Cor 12, 13). He communicates to us all the fruits of
salvation that Jesus gained for the human race by his saving death and
life-giving Resurrection. How wonderful that we can receive the power and
fruits of the Spirit from Jesus. Turn to him in faith and receive the Spirit
from him.
Prayer: 1. Jesus, my
Saviour and my Lord, breathe your Spirit into me and fill me with your
forgiveness, salvation, life and peace. Lord, have mercy.
2.
Jesus, my Lord and Saviour, pour into our hearts the Spirit of your promise that
we may be purified and comforted. Christ, have mercy.
3.
Jesus, our Saviour and Lord, may we be your missionaries of reconcilement and
peace n our world where we live and work. Lord, have mercy.
Homily: Usually we associate Pentecost with the founding of
the Church under the action of the Holy Spirit. On the day of the Jewish
Pentecost, the Spirit came down and the Apostles preached the good news of
salvation. The Church was launched upon its work.
The question is, why
the gap of 50 days between Easter and Pentecost? Wasn’t the Spirit given on
Easter itself by Jesus, as today’s Gospel has it? Didn’t Jesus already give his
apostles the mission immediately after his own resurrection? Pentecost
was not invented by the Catholic Church. It was originally a harvest festival
of the Jews. They brought in the barley harvest at Pentecost. It was then a
time of abundance when the people were in a mood of joy and thanksgiving. Now
this feast of Pentecost came 50 days after the Passover. The Passover, as you
know, was to commemorate the liberation of the Jews from Egypt. And 50 days
after the Jews left Egypt they entered into the Covenant with God on Mt. Sinai.
Easter is our Passover, and Pentecost is the New Covenant. Earlier on, the Prophets had spoken about the New Covenant in which the Spirit of Yahweh would be spread abundantly over all flesh. Hearts would be transformed and the New Law would be written on them. People would not have to depend upon outside sources for divine precepts. Creation itself would be renewed. This new age would be brought about by the fidelity of the Messiah, the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit was always at work in the life of Jesus Christ. In fact, at the Annunciation the Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary, making her the Mother of the Saviour. The young Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and during his ministry cast out devils by the Spirit's power. After his death it is again the Spirit who brings about the marvel of the Resurrection.
Jesus, in turn, after his Resurrection, breathed into his disciples the Holy Spirit and gave them the power to forgive sins. The solidarity of all the people in sin from then on became the solidarity of all in love. "I believe in the Holy Spirit", we profess in the Apostles' Creed. But what does He do? What are his works? The answer that is contained in the remaining and last paragraph of the Profession of Faith: "The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting." These are precisely the activities and fruit of the Holy Spirit. And may we not hinder his work but join ourselves to his action.
The New Covenant has been established in the Spirit. To each one of us it is an offer. We can accept it or we can reject it. A covenant requires us to act as God's partners in his working out of the plan of salvation. Each one of us is summoned to fill a role in the building of the Kingdom, an irreplaceable role. That is the mandate we received at Baptism. The time of the Spirit begins definitely with the Resurrection-Ascension of the Lord. And it was made possible by Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. In the 19th. chapter of St. John's Gospel, vs. 30, the account reads: "When Jesus took the wine, he said, 'Now it is consummated'. Then he bowed his head and delivered over his spirit." This was Jesus' passing on of the Spirit to the first two members of the new community, namely, the church, Mary, the Mother of Jesus and John the disciple. The new community was inaugurated already under the Cross.
When Jesus, at his Resurrection, said to his disciples, "Receive the Holy Spirit," he was telling them in effect, "In you has dawned the age of the Spirit that I have earned for you by my death and resurrection."
So, to come back to my original question: Why this 50 day gap between Easter and Pentecost ? If you look at it from the point of view of Christ, the Church is born at the great moment of the Cross. And from the very moment of the first appearance of the Risen Lord, all that Pentecost means is expressed: "As the Father has sent me, I also send you...receive the Holy Spirit."
Now if you look at it from the point of view of the Apostles, 50 days elapsed after the Resurrection and before the Spirit was poured out on the first assembled community. It is understandable that time would have to elapse before the Apostles could fully grasp the meaning of all that had taken place: the death of Christ, the Easter happenings and appearances, and the Ascension. It was at the Ascension that the Apostles understood that the Kingdom would not be of this world, though it would begin to grow in this world. They got themselves ready to witness to this fact. In concrete, it was this witnessing and this preaching that founded the new community. The Spirit of Jesus was really poured out and was abroad.
The New Covenant has been sealed in the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Let us be single-hearted in the acceptance of the New Covenant. Covenant is a partnership, a partnership with God. Our share in the partnership must be faithful, and it must be active. It must be faithful, i.e. we must not cheat God in our service, not play him false, do the dirty on him. St. Paul advises us, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit."
Jesus, in turn, after his Resurrection, breathed into his disciples the Holy Spirit and gave them the power to forgive sins. The solidarity of all the people in sin from then on became the solidarity of all in love. "I believe in the Holy Spirit", we profess in the Apostles' Creed. But what does He do? What are his works? The answer that is contained in the remaining and last paragraph of the Profession of Faith: "The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting." These are precisely the activities and fruit of the Holy Spirit. And may we not hinder his work but join ourselves to his action.
The New Covenant has been established in the Spirit. To each one of us it is an offer. We can accept it or we can reject it. A covenant requires us to act as God's partners in his working out of the plan of salvation. Each one of us is summoned to fill a role in the building of the Kingdom, an irreplaceable role. That is the mandate we received at Baptism. The time of the Spirit begins definitely with the Resurrection-Ascension of the Lord. And it was made possible by Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. In the 19th. chapter of St. John's Gospel, vs. 30, the account reads: "When Jesus took the wine, he said, 'Now it is consummated'. Then he bowed his head and delivered over his spirit." This was Jesus' passing on of the Spirit to the first two members of the new community, namely, the church, Mary, the Mother of Jesus and John the disciple. The new community was inaugurated already under the Cross.
When Jesus, at his Resurrection, said to his disciples, "Receive the Holy Spirit," he was telling them in effect, "In you has dawned the age of the Spirit that I have earned for you by my death and resurrection."
So, to come back to my original question: Why this 50 day gap between Easter and Pentecost ? If you look at it from the point of view of Christ, the Church is born at the great moment of the Cross. And from the very moment of the first appearance of the Risen Lord, all that Pentecost means is expressed: "As the Father has sent me, I also send you...receive the Holy Spirit."
Now if you look at it from the point of view of the Apostles, 50 days elapsed after the Resurrection and before the Spirit was poured out on the first assembled community. It is understandable that time would have to elapse before the Apostles could fully grasp the meaning of all that had taken place: the death of Christ, the Easter happenings and appearances, and the Ascension. It was at the Ascension that the Apostles understood that the Kingdom would not be of this world, though it would begin to grow in this world. They got themselves ready to witness to this fact. In concrete, it was this witnessing and this preaching that founded the new community. The Spirit of Jesus was really poured out and was abroad.
The New Covenant has been sealed in the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Let us be single-hearted in the acceptance of the New Covenant. Covenant is a partnership, a partnership with God. Our share in the partnership must be faithful, and it must be active. It must be faithful, i.e. we must not cheat God in our service, not play him false, do the dirty on him. St. Paul advises us, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit."
PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
O Holy Spirit of God,
Come into my heart and
fill me:
I open the window of my
soul to let you in.
I surrender my whole
life to you.
Come and possess me,
fill me with light and truth.
I offer to you the one
thing I really possess –
My capacity of being
filled by you.
Of myself I am an empty
vessel.
Fill me so that I may
live the life of the Spirit,
The life of Truth and
Goodness,
The life of Beauty and
Love,
The life of Wisdom and
Strength.
But, above all, make
Christ to be formed in me,
That I may dethrone self
in my heart
And make him King,
So that he is in me, and
I in him,
Today and forever.
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