Solemnity of Pentecost, May 31, 2020

May we, through the graces of today's Eucharistic celebration of the Pentecost, be worthy to receive the Holy Spirit, that He may sanctify and transform our hearts and mind, to courageously proclaim the good news of God's kingdom, and show God's love manifest in us in our interaction and dealings with our neighbours...

Happy Sunday!

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Acts 2,1-11; 1 Cor 12,3b-7.12-13; John 20, 19-23: Solemnity of Pentecost, May 31, 2020)

Today we celebrate Pentecost, which is the culmination of the liturgical year. The whole year is oriented towards this feast, because it is the conclusion of Jesus’ work, therefore, the conclusion of the Incarnation and redemption, the Saviour’ gift par excellence.

In the first reading the event of Pentecost is told. In the second reading Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit who distributes multiple gifts. The Gospel tells of Jesus’ apparition to the disciples on Easter evening in the Upper Room.

The Gospel shows that Pentecost is closely linked to the Incarnation and redemption. Pentecost is the fruit of Calvary and the resurrection: Jesus died to communicate the Holy Spirit to us, and rose to communicate the Holy Spirit to us. The evangelist narrates  that Jesus came to the place where the disciples were gathered: a room firmly closed, with lock and key, because they were afraid of the Jews. But the risen Jesus is not impeded by any obstacle, he can go wherever he wants. Jesus stood in their midst and said: Peace be with you! Having said that, he showed them his hands and side. In this way, the Risen One manifests the link between his wounds and the gifts he is about to give to his disciples. The peace that he communicates to them is the peace obtained, thanks to his victory over evil and death. This also applies to the gift of the Holy Ghost. Jesus says to the disciples: Receive the Holy Spirit. To communicate the Spirit, he uses his own body, because he breathes on the disciples. His breath transmits the Spirit. It is as a new creation. The book of Genesis tells that, to create man, God moulded him with the dust of the earth and then breathed on him, to animate him. Similarly, Jesus breathes on the disciples. This way of expressing things makes it very clear to see the link between Jesus’ paschal mystery and the gift of the Holy Spirit. At the time of Jesus' death, the evangelist had mentioned this gift: instead of saying that Jesus breathed his last, he said: Jesus transmitted the Spirit. Through the means of his redemptive death Jesus transmits the Holy Spirit. The link with the resurrection is also expressed with Jesus' gesture of breathing on the disciples, to transmit the Holy Spirit to them: the Spirit that purifies, sanctifies, gives impetus and infuses peace, joy and love. The Spirit is the great gift promised by God through the prophet Ezekiel: I will give you a new heart, I will put a new spirit within you ... I will bring my spirit within you (Ezek 36,26-27). It is a complete renewal of human nature wounded by sin, a wonderful restoration, more beautiful than the original creation itself. We must greatly desire to be docile to the Holy Spirit, be renewed internally, animated by divine charity and have in us this strong push towards a life truly worthy of God. It is a life of love, which is participation in the life of the Most Holy Trinity. Jesus then shows that the Holy Spirit is a spirit that purifies, which gives the apostles the ability to forgive sins effectively: Receive the Holy Spirit; to whom you forgive the sins they will be forgiven and to whom you do not forgive them, they will remain not remitted.

The narrative of the Acts of the Apostles shows other aspects of the gift of the Holy Spirit. This time it is a fully visible, indeed impressive manifestation that exhibits itself in different ways. The first way is that of a strong wind that blows. Here we speak of a wind that causes a loud noise, of a kind of storm, which comes to communicate the breath of God to the apostles and, through them, to the whole world. Thus the dynamic aspect of the Holy Spirit is expressed. Indeed the Hebrew word (ruah) used to refer to Spirit is the same as wind. The second way of the manifestation of the Spirit is the appearance of tongues as of fire. Here there is a double symbol: that of languages and that of fire. Languages show that the Spirit gives the ability to communicate the word of God. In fact, immediately after the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in tongues. Here it is not a question of a simply human language, but of a divine language, which passes through the people called to communicate the word of God: The Spirit gave them the power to express themselves. This language is a language of fire, which communicates warmth, a language which spreads to transform the whole world. In the Bible the Spirit is compared to water, even to fire: it presents both aspects. The following scene shows the action of the Spirit in gathering together  all the men dispersed in different nations and who speak different languages. This scene has an evident relationship with the episode of the tower of Babel, but a contrasting relationship. In the episode of the tower of Babel the men, who previously spoke the same language, could no longer understand one another, because they spoke different languages; thus they dispersed and could no longer carry out the planned joint work. But, on the day of Pentecost people from all over the world - Parthians Medes, Elamites and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,  Egypt and parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome - enter into relationship with one another, thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit does not destroy languages, but makes people of all these nations understand the message of the apostles. Therefore unity among men is restored thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of love, a Spirit who unites and makes us live together in harmony and mutual love.

In the second reading, Paul says something similar. He speaks of the charisms, of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and insists on the unity produced by the Spirit, who at the same time promotes unity and diversity. The Spirit is the promoter of unity, because it is only one: There are diversities of charisms, but only one Spirit. In another verse, the Apostle explains that the one and the same Spirit distributed his gifts to each of us as he wishes (cf. 1 Cor 12,11). The Spirit is the promoter of diversity, because his gifts are wonderfully differentiated: they correspond with the needs of each one, of the Church and the whole world. Under this aspect, the Spirit can be compared to water. Indeed, Paul says that we have all been baptised in one Spirit, and that we, ourselves have drunk the one Spirit ((literally means: to have watered ourselves in the one Spirit). Thus the Spirit takes the place of water or, more precisely, gives meaning to the water of baptism. Water is in fact an element which is always the same, but which produces different effects: it nourishes all plants in the diversity of their species; it also gives men and beasts what is necessary for life etc. Similarly the Holy Spirit is always the same, but also a source of diversity. We must accept diversity, without going against unity. Paul affirms that as the body, although one, has many members, and all members, while being many are one body, so is Christ also. We have all been baptised into one Spirit, to form one body. So we have to live in unity. But this unity is not uniform: it is a unity founded on diversity, the gifts of God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are of an extraordinary diversity, all contributing to unity.

Today's liturgy offers us a very rich message. We must, therefore, thank God for this extraordinary, wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit which comes from the paschal mystery of Jesus and manifests itself in the Church in different ways. To contribute to unity, the Spirit distributes to us very different gifts, and thus gives us the joy of diversity, unity and love. +John I. Okoye

(pictures  by Chukwubike)