Pentecost Sunday

My dear parishioners,

God Is Good!!! All the Time!!! And All the Time!!! God Is Good!!!

This reading marks another peak moment in God’s plan of salvation as the apostles are empowered to proclaim the Gospel to the nations of the world. They have already prepared themselves for this wonderful gift through prayer, and by restoring their number to 12 through the choice of Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot.

This passage from the Gospel of John is often referred to as the “Johannine Pentecost.” It describes how Jesus, after his resurrection, appeared to the disciples and gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Fear transformed into rejoicing. Immediately after the Crucifixion, the disciples fled and barricaded themselves behind locked doors. Their fear was real. If Jesus had been killed, then his followers would probably be next. All of a sudden, Jesus appeared in their midst; the doors, apparently, still being locked. Jesus’ very first gesture was to offer his disciples his peace, but they could not overcome their fear to realize what was happening. Only after he showed them his wounded hands and side did they realize who he really was and they rejoiced.

The divine commissioning. After showing his disciples his hands and his side, Jesus again offers them his peace, and this time they accept it with joy. Without any fanfare, Jesus moves from granting the disciples his peace to commissioning them for their future work. Jesus indicates that as the Father had sent him into the world, so he is sending them. The understanding is that the disciples are being commissioned to carry on the very same work that Jesus was doing while in the world. This work was revealing the presence of God in and through the works and words of Jesus.

Receive the Holy Spirit. The commissioning of the disciples is confirmed by Jesus breathing on them and imparting to them the Holy Spirit. This gesture is to recall how, at the beginning of creation, God breathed the breath of life into the first created person and that person became a living being. Likewise, the disciples have received the breath of life from Jesus himself. This Holy Spirit empowers the disciples to carry on the works of Jesus. Added to this gift of the Holy Spirit is a further commissioning to forgive or retain sins. Here one must remember that, in John’s Gospel, sin is the word used for unbelief. Sinners are those who do not believe who Jesus is and thus reject his actions and his teaching. Throughout the Gospel of John, there are people who see what Jesus does and hear what he says, but they remain blind and deaf.

 

Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org. All rights reserved

 

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Aloysius