John 20,19-23.
The feast of Pentecost was one of the three great feasts of ancient Israel mentioned in the first books of the Bible (Ex. 34,22; Lev. 23,15,-21; Nm. Dt. 16,9-12). It is often called the “feast of weeks” because it occurred seven weeks (50 days) after the feast of Unleavened Bread which began the grain harvest. Pentecost marked the completion of the wheat harvest. In late Judaism it also came to mark the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. In the Christian calendar it is the feast of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the apostles and the birthday of the Church. For Luke (Acts 2,1-11 – today’s first reading) Pentecost happened fifty days after the resurrection when the Holy Spirit dramatically descended on the apostles like a mighty wind and in the form of tongues of fire.
For John, Pentecost happened on Easter Sunday. Both authors are primarily interested in the theological meaning of the feast, rather than its chronology. We moderns do the reverse. We get hung up on facts and often miss their meaning. When people heard a story in ancient times the first question they asked was: “What does that story mean? We usually ask “ Is that story true? Did that happen?” If we ask the question: “what does the Pentecost story mean?” then we will find that Luke’s and John’s accounts of Pentecost agree on all the important points. The feast is about the fulfilment of the promise that the risen Jesus would send his Holy Spirit on the apostles after his resurrection. The gift of the Holy Spirit transformed them into new people with a new mission; to become fearless preachers of the good news of the gospel; to announce that the reign of sin has been ended by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the new life of grace he won for them is on offer to all who repent and believe; change their lives and hearts and believe in the Lord and his love for them.
The Spirit breathed into them the breath of new life as God breathed life into Adam at his creation (Gen. 2,7), or as happened in Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones rattling back to life (Ez. 37,9f). The resurrection and the giving of the Spirit mark the beginning of the Church, the new creation of the Spirit. And the work goes on till the end of time.
In Baptism we are reborn as children of God, share in the priesthood of Christ. In Confirmation we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and are, “as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread the faith by word and deed.” (Lumen Gentium 11). How do you fulfil this calling in your life and in your parish?
Let us pray for the grace to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in the Church, in our lives, and to accept and use his gifts to spread the gospel and to help others.
The seven gifts of the Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. (Is. 11,2).
The nine fruits of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Gal. 5,22).
May we have both in abundance.
Father Geoff O’Grady