THE SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST

[cappie]

The Season of Easter concludes with today’s celebration, the Feast of Pentecost. On Pentecost, we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem; this event marks the beginning of the Church. The story of Pentecost is found in the Acts of the Apostles, today’s first reading. 

The account in today’s Gospel, John 20:19-23, also recounts how Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples. We already heard today’s Gospel proclaimed on the Second Sunday of Easter this year. In the context of the Feast of Pentecost, John 20:19-23 reminds us about the integral connection between the gifts of peace and forgiveness and the action of the Holy Spirit.

The disciples were afraid! Their world had end abruptly on a Friday afternoon as their teacher, leader, and friend had died in shame outside the city walls. There was no good news as they scattered from the city in search of safety, security, and something that resembled sanity. The preaching and teaching, traveling and telling seemed for nothing. The miraculous healings and even the raising of Lazarus were distant memories. The peaceful kingdom Jesus preached now lay in ruin, like his body on the cross. The blessing of the poor, the meek, the persecuted, the mournful felt like empty words. The disciples were heartbroken.

Early the morning of that first Pentecost, the Archangel Michael stood beside the Risen Jesus in the heavenly court. They watched the folks gathered in the upper room, all 120 of them at prayer. "Lord, what's plan B?" "There is no plan B, Michael." "Look at those people, they are afraid, they cower at the sound of footsteps outside their door. They are afraid to speak, they afraid they will be arrested and killed even as you were. They don't have the stuff to carry out the mission you have for them." "I know. We are sending our Holy Spirit to empower them. Watch, Michael and learn. Humans are much tougher and better than even they know." 

Of all the persons of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the most abstract—God the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. The Holy Spirit is more difficult to describe—who proceeds from the Father and the Son and with the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified. Yet on that day, that first Pentecost, the Spirit’s impact was undeniable. The door flew open, the wind of the Spirit blew through the room and tongues of fire appeared over every head, everyone received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The timid people knelt to pray, bold saints rose up to carry the Good News to others. The disciples became different people in a new kind of community with gifts and capabilities they never had—barriers were broken, fear vanquished, and new beginnings started. The once weak, timid, and shallow were transformed into the bold and wise and all were proclaiming Jesus while all around them exclaimed, “Who are these people?”

Today we are gathered in one place, as diverse a group as the disciples in that upper room, bringing with us our own challenges, fears and joys. Many of us are struggling to cope with all that is happening—excited and worried as our children move on from primary school to high school to TAFE, or Uni, to new careers and lives; afraid about unresolved health issues that grow more complicated with each passing day; and a host of countless other anxieties and depressions about growing older while grieving the things we once did with ease and now can no longer do. And for this time, we acknowledge our needs, and with outstretched arms we wait for Holy Spirit to descend upon us because we know we can’t do it on our own.

But, to be truthful, most of us are skeptics and we sell the Holy Spirit short unsure and unconvinced that the Spirit still acts in that same dramatic and profound way as he did on that first Pentecost morning. We want to feel the Spirit blowing through our lives; we want to be infused with new faith and conviction with tongues of fire hanging over our heads; we want our own Pentecost experience. But we wonder and we doubt and convince ourselves that it may be easier to just remain behind locked doors.

However, the Holy Spirit still breathes upon us. The Holy Spirit is here revamping and rearranging our lives, just as Jesus promised, inspiring us to do what we cannot do on our own—taking risks we thought we did not have the courage to take; speaking up when we could not find the right words to say; stepping forward to minister and help convinced our gifts were inadequate and our capabilities insufficient; reaching out to help when it would be so much easier just to take care of our own problems; trusting that if we turn it over to the Holy Spirit that we’ll get what we need and what we’re asking for.