"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . ."
Acts 2:
1-11
1 Cor 12:
3b – 7, 12-13
Jn 20:
19-23
About two
weeks ago, Pope Francis met in Genoa, Italy as part of his visit, with a group
of priests, sisters, and seminarians for that local Diocese. He was asked about
his feelings on the state of the Church and positions that are labeled “right”
and “left” leaning, in the same way we take political positions that we might
say are more conservative or progressive, which frankly should not be used in
the case of the Church.
The Holy
Father used what I though was a wonderful metaphor for the Church. He said: “The Church is like a river: the
important thing is to be in the river.
If you are in the center or more to the right or to the left, but within
the river, this is a legitimate variety.
Many times we want the river to narrow only on our side and condemn
others. This is not fraternity. Everyone inside the river. All.”
Where do
you stand in the “river” of the Church? While differing opinions and emphasis
about important focus for ministry is understandable, to be genuine members of
the Church, faithful to the Gospel, we need to be standing side by side,
together, in the flow of grace called the Holy Spirit that gives life to the
Church. As long as everyone is standing
in the river, we are of the Church and all have a place.
What holds us together and avoids extreme positions? The breath of forgiveness and mercy we extend from Christ to one another. In the Gospel we hear Jesus breaths on the Apostles and says: "Receive the Holy Spirit, Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them . . ." Not only in the sacrament of Reconciliation do we find the breath of the Spirit's healing through God's mercy but we must always extend that gift to one another.
Sometimes
we may find those who are far to the right or left who stand on the shore and
hope the river will come over to their side.
Yet, the measure of the Spirit is the gift of unity that the Spirit
brought that first, explosive and windy day when the Apostles were at prayer
along with Mary the mother of Jesus. In
diverse languages the Apostles were energized and went out to proclaim the good
news of Jesus and the gift of salvation for all. They were heard by the multi-language crowd
of various cultural diversity assembled outside who were “astounded” by what
they heard: “Are not all these people who
are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?”
This was not a time when God was silent like the whispering sound to the
prophet Elijah. But God comes with
energy and force that catches attention and profoundly changes hearts and
lives. Despite the barrier that varied language can cause between people, that
wall was now removed as all heard the same message about the “mighty acts of God.”
This unity
within diversity is, I think, the genius of Catholic Christianity. When the tall, large door barring
relationships between Jew and Gentile was finally lifted through the ministry
of Paul, at the sign of the Spirit, the Church was forever changed and the
fresh wind of the Spirit could blow. So
it is this inclusiveness of Catholic Christianity that is a powerful sign of
the Holy Spirit within the Church.
When the
Apostles, as we read in the Book of Acts, opened the door to the Gentile
communities who embraced the message of the Gospel preached to them, and the
Spirit showed itself among them, the very Christ centered mission of the Church
became apparent.
From 1
Corinthians 12, our second reading, we read: “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
different forms of service but the same Lord . . . the same God . . . as a body
is one through it has many parts . . . are one body.”
What is
the point of these verses? - Unity in
diversity. From a broken and fractured
and alienated world, the power of the Spirit brings together as one: all in one
place . . . gathered in a large crowd . . . we hear in our own tongues . . .
different gifts but same Spirit . .. one Lord, one God, many parts but one
body. This unity among diversity is God’s intent for his Church.
The Second
Vatican Council through Pope St. John XXIII who sensed the call of the Spirit,
challenged the Church to open the window to fresh air and to reassess the place
of the Church in the world. Post Vatican
II experience showed that to be a moment of chaos for some and a new creative
freedom for others. It has taken time to
restructure and renew our lives accordingly because it really is more about a
new perspective and review of purpose for the Church. The fresh breath of the Spirit has brought us
to see an explosion of lay ministries for example and a new understanding,
which is really a return to a more ancient understanding of the role of
authority in the Church and the purpose of its mission.
Rather
than seeing differences as a point of separation, the Spirit of God sees them
as a reason for union. This truth
reveals to us that in spite of differences we are all loved by the same God; we
are all his children each made in his image and likeness as the Book of Genesis
reminds us. We all have a meaning and purpose to contribute to the whole.
The beauty
of creation and of human life is expressed in a kind of kaleidoscopic way like
bits of colored glass that by themselves have no useful purpose but put
together in a pattern they become parts of the whole. It is the Spirit of truth which we all were
born into through baptism and confirmation that makes us one; each in its own
giftedness.
When we
gather for word and sacrament we do so not as individual isolated families or
couples or singles. We gather in one
place to welcome the risen Christ among us who feeds us with himself as we
continue this journey of life in service to him and one another. It is during
the celebration of Mass that we see the gift of the Spirit’s unity among
diversity most beautifully displayed.
So, we
have a choice to respond to the proposition God has made to humanity: to embrace the power of unity and peace or to
remain in division and our own arrogance of self-superiority. There is much that could divide us from
politics to culture to economics and education.
But today’s Feast is a reminder that God has created a family of the
Spirit and a place to enter with Christ himself as shepherd. The Spirit guards
the truth among us so we have a direction to follow in confidence. May the noisy wind of the Spirit keep us in
the river of the Church where we all find grace and peace.
O God, who by the mystery of today's great feast
sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation,
pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit
across the face of the earth
and, with the divine grace that was at work
when the Gospel was first proclaimed,
fill now once more the hearts of believers.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
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