1st Reading: Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11. 2nd Reading: Corinthians 12:3b-7,12-13. Gospel: John 20:19-23.
Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11.
This Sunday we reflect on the readings for Pentecost. Pentecost Sunday celebrates the Holy Spirit coming to the apostles. With Jesus now being ascended to the father, the apostles (disciples) find themselves alone yet again in a dangerous world. Jesus told them that they would receive a helper, which will be the holy spirit. Pentecost has its roots in a Jewish holiday tradition. Shavuot was celebrated fifty days after Passover. It was an offering during the Festival of Weeks. They celebrated their “first fruits” of the new harvest to God. The people do so in remembrance of the Mt. Sinai event.
The Apostles are huddled together behind the locked door when the Holy Spirit bursts into their lives. They hear and feel a strong wind, see tongues of fire and speak in tongues (other languages) as do other believers outside. The similarities to the Mt. Sinai event are evident. At Sinai the people experienced loud thunder, fire, wind and clouds of smoke. God’s voice was experienced through the wind and flames. Pentecost is becoming the new Sinai.
In the Acts of Apostles reading we see the apostles undergo a transformation when receiving the Holy Spirit. Giving them power, strength, and a sense of mission and purpose. The Holy Spirit will infuse everyone who believes in the risen Jesus Christ. Jesus’ promise is now fulfilled as the disciples will go out into the world without fear and proclaim the good news to all people in all languages. They will do as Jesus did giving, serving, and saving God’s people. In effect this is the birth of the new church.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7,12-13. St. Paul is writing to the people at Corinth who are having disagreements among themselves. St. Paul stresses that the Spirit is the unifying aspect of the church not the divider. St. Paul is teaching that as a believer when we declare Jesus as Lord we are doing so endowed with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit empowers us to communicate it. The entire world will benefit from the Spirit gifts. There are many forms of service and many “workings” of the spirit. Through service and giving of themselves they are joined to others for a good purpose. St. Paul then links the image of the body and many parts. That the spirit is the source of unity between all of the parts, though they are many. One baptism one Spirit. One Eucharist one Spirit. The Spirit transforms them.
Gospel: John 20:19-23. In John’s Gospel the disciples are clearly afraid and have locked the door to the room in which they are gathered. Their number is now back to twelve with the addition of Matthias, who replaced Judas as the twelfth disciple. Together they will support each other in ways they could never have imagined. Jesus appears to them, penetrating their locked room, minds, and hearts. Unlike the previous reading Jesus simply offers them peace. He shows himself to them and reveals his wounds. They are overcome with happiness and joy. He breathes on them (like the strong wind), and infuses them with the Holy Spirit. They are transformed.
The fear is gone. Jesus offers them an important assignment. A real life job that is a new ministry. Go out to the people and do what he did. To share, serve, forgive or retain, teach, heal, and minister hope to the people. To do God’s work as he did. Now they have the opportunity to choose a path that will lead to true happiness. To do their work in the Spirit with focus and conviction. To do so without fear as Jesus did. The Holy Spirit is now sustaining them.
Reflection: Here we are as a faith people celebrating Pentecost. I have to admit I never gave real in-depth thought to the lessons of Pentecost Sunday. I suppose I took it for granted. I always felt it was the next logical step in our church’s faith journey. Jesus going to the Father as he said he would. The apostles would receive a helper while Jesus was gone. How can it fit in our everyday life as we navigate this world? What can I do to make this transformative in my life as the disciples did? With jobs, deadlines, schedules, obligations, families, and distractions of all kinds?
What is there to ponder about Pentecost? Tongues of fire, explosive wind, people speaking in different languages. Obviously, when God wanted the people’s attention fire, wind, and explosive energy commanded them to react. Even today it would force us to take some type of action. What do we do? We become alert, run toward or away from it, become confused, freeze, or just ask, “Hey did you hear or see that? I wonder what that was?” Then continue to worry, analyze, of assume until we can make sense of it. We may just think it is a coincidence. We may wonder what the purpose of it is.
The way of Jesus: We see in the Gospel account that when Jesus appeared he did so quietly. He didn’t kick the door in or the wind didn’t blow the door off of its hinges. Not a loud clap of thunder or flames. No grand entrance. Jesus simply manifested his presence calmly. He said, “peace be with you”. Jesus breathed gently on them. He said, “As the Father sent me, so I send you…receive the Holy Spirit”. Jesus is providing the path to bring us closer to God. To pursue a happy and fulfilled life through bringing the good news to everyone we meet, through the strength of the Holy Spirit. You might say they have a new career path, a new job, a new mission for their life. Not just sitting back and being fearful and confused trying to make sense of the brutal world they live in. But a real purpose to go out with courage with the Holy Spirit as their helper.
Questions: What if we in our everyday lives, find that maybe we are asking the wrong questions? With all of the things the risen Jesus could have said to the disciples he chose to offer his peace and direct them to a path to true happiness and fellowship. He was giving the disciples (and us) a blueprint for a peaceful (happy) and fulfilling (significant or meaningful) life. Consider what questions we ask? What’s our purpose in life? When will we be happy? When will they be happy? Will I be happy? Will we be happy when we get this or that? Why aren’t you happy? And on and on it goes.
Consider this: Jesus didn’t ask the disciples if they were happy. He didn’t say, “I am here to make you happy or you must go out and make everyone happy”. I think we may have a fuzzy picture of what happiness is. Pain, suffering, and worldly pressures are said to “rob” us of happiness. But what if we need to challenge what we think? Jesus told the disciples to go out and do what he did. The disciples still had the personal choice whether or not they would go out and do it. In going out to the people far and wide the disciples will find a fellowship, love, joy, happiness, and fulfillment that they would never had found before. It will spread to all people who in turn will give it to others. They are being pushed out of their comfort zone to go among the people who are lost and hurting. For me this is a pivotal thought. That happiness and fulfillment are elusive terms. They are not something we always possess. Rather, they are the result of some action we have taken. Why is Jesus empowering them with the Holy Spirit? Because he knows this is going to be hard work. It may be the hardest thing they will ever do. Remember he was crucified for it. We are also being called to do the same work. How do we respond?
Pentecost for Us: Taking care of a loved one, friend, or stranger. The result of pouring ourselves out for others. The Holy Spirit will empower, comfort, and motivate us. Maybe even push us to get out of our comfortable place, mentally or physically. What is the result? Some may say it doesn’t matter no one cares. For us it can be happiness with staying power. Someone thanking God that we were in their life, helped someone navigate a problem, helped a younger or older person through a crisis, showing respect to someone who doesn’t deserve it, deciding not to join in the gossip session, walking away from a negative conversation, trying to be and set a good example.
Often we are searching for the happy “feeling”. Jesus provided the disciples with the Holy Spirit gifts. The gifts of the Holy Spirit which are immeasurable, will be the result of the disciples pouring themselves out. Preaching, teaching, healing, and giving as Jesus did. The twelve will stick together helping each other in their faith journey. They will create our church in the process. We can stick together as a church community as well
Questions - Transformed: So for me the questions are, Am I trying to understand others? Is my speech kind so as to lift someone up? Am I being compassionate enough to listen? Am I blessing others? Am I being grateful for others? Am I doing enough for others? Do I model respect for others? Do my actions help make someone else’s life happy and fulfilling? Am I bringing Jesus life and love to others? This is not to be confused with people pleasing. In the process we can lean on each other and the Holy Spirit. We can be patient, supportive, like Jesus and understand that people are on their search for purpose and meaning in life.
Where do we go from here? I/we may just feel happy when we experience the Holy Spirit’s gifts. As life unfolds we will handle whatever comes our way with power and grace. Do we ever stop to wonder where we got all of the strength to endure the problems and challenges we went through? The Spirit is helping us to achieve our meaning and purpose. The spirit is helping us to reflect Jesus presence and goodness in the world. It’s Pentecost – Let’s receive the help that the Holy Spirit offers. It was one of Jesus’s promises. Are we strong enough in the spirit? Acknowledge its hard work. Then…..Smile.