"We hear them speaking . . . of the mighty acts of God."
John 20: 19 - 23
In the beautiful second reading from Corinthians this Sunday,
among other varied choices, we hear: “There
are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different
forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same
God who produces all of them in everyone . . .”
These words of Paul reflect the earliest of Christian
communities that Paul had established. It
gives us a window into what Christian communities may have been like, yet
certainly not without tension. Yet, aren’t we very much the same. In the
experience of their diverse forms of spiritual gifts, varied forms of service,
and different works Paul and these enriched communities saw for themselves how
and where the Holy Spirit had become concretely obvious to their communities
and beyond.
However, one might say that such diversity is a recipe for
chaos that might breed competition, jealously, greed, arrogance, create
factions and spawn selfishness. Ordinarily, without some common purpose or some
shared vision, that might be the case.
Yet, for Paul and for us still today what is the barrier that prevents
such from happening? It is our common
belief that what holds us together and is always a check on our tendency to
think of “Me first,” is the power of the Holy Spirit that reminds us that we
are sharers in the mission of Christ, something far beyond our selves, yet a
very active part of it. Whether our
varied works may be small or more noticed they all contribute to the common
good of the community each in their own way.
Some may be obvious like music, liturgical ministries,
teaching, and charitable works and others more behind the scenes like washing
dishes, cleaning altar linens, arranging flowers in typical parish life but all
are part of a whole and all are needed to build up the Body of Christ, the
Church, and to carry that mission beyond our own individual worlds. To know this and to see that as our common
point of focus and source of life is to live in the Spirit. We all share one
baptism, one faith, and drink from the same Spirit, where all come together
around the altar of sacrifice each Sunday with Christ our Head and our food for
this journey.
The second reading choice from Galatians reminds us to seek the
fruits, the signs, of the Spirit’s presence among us: love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. If we see these things expressed in the unity
of our community, then the Holy Spirit is alive in our midst.
The story of the Spirit’s presence through wind, fire, and
diverse languages that we hear of in the first reading from Acts, is one that
caught the Apostles, gathered with Mary, unaware yet hopeful as they
prayed. It reminds us that the Christian
message of salvation in Jesus Christ, the Kerygma as it is called, is meant for
a much wider community than the small one gathered in Jerusalem that day. The diverse language of ancient people spoken
by the Apostles unifies the varied crowd gathered outside the room as they all
heard of “the mighty acts of God” in
one common, united message of hope and salvation in Christ. And so the mission
of the Church and the Church itself is born.
We can see the connection with ourselves today. All one need do is take a look around at the
many gathered on any weekend for Mass.
There may be nothing more expressive of our unity in diversity, our
Catholic nature of Christianity, than to be present for a public audience with
the Holy Father at the Vatican. Or to
travel to other countries of the world and hear there an unfamiliar language
and culture but to see that common form of our Mass which brings us home to one
another. Or to see the multiple forms of
Christian service, ministries as they may be called, in any parish, yet to know
that unity in Christ Jesus is always our common bond. To live in the Spirit is to remain connected
to the branches of the vine and to follow one Shepherd whose voice we
hear.
Is there any comparison in the world these days to the united
diversity of the Catholic Church? Yes,
the Church has been through much, has caused scandal and not behaved the best
over the centuries but that is because it is composed of flawed human
beings. As the Second Vatican Council
wisely admitted, the Church is constantly in need of reform. And that constant
reform has produced saints, scholars, theologians, and holy people literally
everywhere across this globe. It is
remarkable and owes it existence to the Spirit's constant presence.
And so the Church and its varied members constituting hundreds
of millions all across the globe are all missionary disciples as Pope Francis
has said. We all share in that common mission
given to the Church thousands of years ago at Pentecost. Let the Spirit blow strong in our lives to
bring, as the Gospel from John reminds us, Jesus’ mission of forgiveness and
healing to a world broken by sin. We can
stifle, block, or resist the work of God’s grace in our lives for sure but the
Holy Spirit’s presence is a life force that will forever be present moving and
forming us as the People of God.
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