Pentecost: Acts 2:1-11; I Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13; Jn 20:19-23

With today’s feast of Pentecost we conclude the Easter Time. Originally, Pentecost was a Jewish Feast. The word “Pentecost” means “fiftieth”. For the Jews the 50th day after their Passover, and for Christians the 50th day after Easter. There were three main events in the history of Israel which the Jews remembered on the feast of Pentecost. The establishment of the covenant between God and Israel on Mount Sinai; the proclamation of Ten Commandments; and the completion of the grain harvest. On the Pentecost day we too celebrate the establishment of a new covenant; the proclamation of the new law - the command of love; and the pouring down of the fruits of The Holy Spirit.

The Jews who listened to the Apostles were aware of the gifts of the Holy Spirit found in the Book Isaiah (11:1-2). Now they saw them manifested in the Apostles. They saw great wisdom in the Apostles. No one in the group dared to question their wisdom. It illuminated their understanding of Sacred Scriptures. It gave them a profound appreciation for God’s providence. They recalled the teaching of Jesus and boldly proclaimed it. That boldness showed by the apostles was not familiar to the crowd. When Jesus was arrested they ran way. Peter denied Jesus three times during his trial. When Jesus was crucified they went into hiding. When the risen Lord appeared to them, some of them refused to believe it. But now with extraordinary fortitude they stood boldly before the Roman authorities, before the Jewish leaders, and before the crowd, proclaiming Jesus as the Lord.

Those who heard the disciples witnessed them speaking in all languages to the extent that no matter what language anyone spoke, they could understand the disciples preaching about God's deeds of power. Everyone saw something in them beyond description.

A woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without any hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this precious stone.

This is the gift that the Apostles received on the day of Pentecost. The coming of the Holy Spirit enabled them to give up everything, their family, their possessions, their self and keep them focused only on Jesus. Their outlook changed. While with Jesus they thought what they would get from Jesus. Who would be the first in the Kingdom of heaven. Who would be privileged to sit on the right and left of Jesus? Once they received the Spirit there was a total change in their attitude. Their concentration changed to what they could give to others. Even to the point of giving up their very life.

Today it is our turn to receive the Spirit, and accept the gifts the Spirit pours on us. Saint Paul reminds the Corinthian community that, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (I Cor 3:16).  It is the Holy Spirit who develops our intimacy with God.  “God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba!‘ (‘Father!’)” (Gal 4:6).  “God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5). “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (I Cor 12:3).  Moreover, we know that the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray (Rom 8:26). 

Today’s Gospel passage also tells us how Jesus gave to the Apostles the power and authority to forgive sins.  “Receive the Holy Spirit.  For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.”  These wonderful words, which bind together inseparably the presence of the Holy Spirit and the gift of forgiveness, are referred to directly in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  But they have a much wider meaning.  Those words remind us of the Christian vocation we all have, to love and forgive as we have been loved and forgiven, in the world of today, which is often fiercely judgmental and vengeful.

Pentecost is not just one day, but every day.  Without breath, there is no life.  Without the Spirit, the Church is a field of dry, dead bones. The Venerable Fulton J. Sheen once said about the Church, “Even though we are God’s chosen people, we often behave more like God’s frozen people–frozen in our prayer life, frozen in the way we relate with one another, frozen in the way we celebrate our Faith.”  Today is a great day to ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle in us the spirit of new life and enthusiasm, the fire of God’s love. 

The poet William Blake wrote a poem about Pentecost. Part of the poem says:

Unless the eye catches fire, God will not be seen.
Unless the ear catches fire, God will not be heard.
Unless the tongue catches fire, God will not be named.
Unless the Heart catches fire, God will not be loved.
Unless the mind catches fire, God will not be known

And in the same tone Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman prayed:

“Come Holy Spirit
Make our ears to hear
Make our eyes to see
Make our mouths to speak
Make our hearts to seek
Make our hands to reach out
And touch the world with your love.  AMEN.”