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and began to speak in different tongues . . . "
John 20: 19-23
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/pentecost-sunday-mass-during-day
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
(From the Sequence for Pentecost)
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One of the most impressive things about
travel with a focus on Catholicism, is the consistent universal experience of
the faith. Wherever you may find yourself outside of this country amid our
Italian, French, German, Irish, Spanish, Mexican, African, Iceland, Christians in Asia such as Singapore, our brothers
and sisters who have embraced Catholicism, you are at home with them. In the shared experience of the Eucharist,
the language may be “foreign” to us but that doesn’t really matter, as such,
since in the Mass we always share a common bond.
In the order of service, we feel a union with
worshipers of another culture. To come away saying “I didn’t understand a
thing,” really is not true. What about
Christ and commonality did you not understand? Were you lost when the bread and
wine was consecrated or confused when you came forward for communion? I distinctly remember during a procession at
the Marian shrine at Lourdes, hearing the Hail Mary’s prayed in Chinese! I
don’t speak a word of Chinese, but I knew what to say as we blended our
languages into one beautiful prayer along with thousands of other pilgrims.
That was a Pentecost moment.
Our Feast of Pentecost this weekend and the
birth of the Church with fire, wind, Spirit and “different tongues” is likewise
the beginning of an adventure filled with drama and danger but with the
assurance of divine direction after the death and resurrection of Jesus and the
Apostles who became the first disciples sent out on mission beyond the confines
of Jerusalem and Galilee. A Pentecost moment.
The story of the Spirit’s presence through
wind, fire, and diverse languages that we hear in the first reading from Acts,
is one that caught the Apostles, gathered with Mary, astonished 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 morning. The diverse languages of ancient people
spoken by the Apostles unifies the varied crowd gathered outside in the streets
and alley ways of a very crowded city. A Pentecost moment.
Something caught the attention of hundreds
“from every nation under heaven “who had journeyed to Jerusalem for the Jewish
feast of Pentecost, as they all heard of “the mighty acts of God” in one
common, united message of hope and salvation in Christ. Multiple ancient
languages were understood from the mouths of Galilean fishermen! And so, the
mission of the Church and the Church itself was born. Like a mighty electric
shock that energized the infant Christian community to move outward! The power
of a Pentecost moment.
In the beautiful second reading from
Corinthians this Pentecost 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 . . .”
So, do we get it yet? The work of God is to unite the nations, not
to divide them. The Holy Spirit, the
breath of God inhaled by the Apostles in that upper room, is now exhaled on the
world to bring peoples together, not in a common language so much but more
importantly in a higher bond of community as beloved sons and daughters in
Christ. The power of Pentecost.
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 in life. Our spirit is nurtured
by the Spirit and we are made friends of God, in this Pentecost moment.
It is our common belief that what holds us
together and is always a check on our tendency to think of “Me first,” in this
age of narcissistic individualism. Where there is peace, unity and love, we
find the Spirit of God present. Where there is selfishness, division, violence,
hatred, etc it is a dark spirit whose subtle lies should be rejected.
God knows how broken and divided our world is
today by politics, ideologies, ruthless power and greed. If ever there was a time for healing, it is
now. The role of the Church, I think, and of every one of us whether lay or
clergy is to accept our call as missionary disciples, a favorite term use by Pope
Francis.
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. We are a continued part of the journey of discovery as the Spirit of the
Lord continues to write the story until the Lord returns!
And so, if you’ve never had a Pentecost
moment, bring that in prayer and lay it before the Lord of all life. Our prayer should be what the Spirit offers us as his gifts:
Love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control
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