Come, Holy Spirit and Renew the Face of the Earth!

Pentecost Sunday: Readings - Acts 2:1–11; Psalm 104:1, 24, 29–31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3–7, 12–13; John 20:19–23

(Pentecost, Juan Bautista Maíno created between 1615-1620)

The Meaning of "Spirit"

One of the names referring to God is the "Holy Spirit." God is three in one - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is not a myth but a mystery. St Paul would say to us that the Holy Spirit makes us to call God as  Abba. "And because you are sons/daughters, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Gal 4:6). Therefore, there is an external divine support in us which makes us children of God. Both in Hebrew ruach and Greek pneuma the words for "spirit" are the same as the words for "breath" and "wind." In fact in English word "spirit" comes from Latin meaning "breath". For example, "the spirit left him" or "he breathed his last".  "Inspiration" and "respiration" have the same root. There is interconnectedness between breath and active life. When a person’s body stops breathing, it also becomes inactive and dies. Breath is the outward manifestation of activity and life. There is intimate connection between breath and active life.

Extraordinary Event: Holy Spirit Accompanies Us

The feast of Pentecost that we celebrate today is also the birth of the Church. The Acts of the Apostles rightly tells us in today's reading that on this day 3000 men joined the Apostles as followers (Acts 2:41). They understood clearly in their own language even though they came "from every nation under heaven" and spoke different languages yet the preaching by the Galilean fishermen in Jerusalem was heard and understood by all.  Surprisingly the birth of the Church takes place on the day of Jewish Pentecost. The Jewish feast of Pentecost called all devout Jews to Jerusalem to celebrate their birth as God’s chosen people, in the covenant Law given to Moses at Mount Sinai (Leviticus 23:15–21; Deuteronomy 16:9–11). With this unique event, we need not go to Mount Sinai or send Moses to Sinai but God himself out of his benevolence sends on us the Holy Spirit which teaches to walk, act, behave and preach according to His ways. 

Holy Spirit Makes Known

The way the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles is not just a simple or calm event. But, it was a boisterous event. "They heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages" says St Luke (Acts 2:2-4). When God wants to bring forth something strong, great and everlasting experience, He does it with a bang and not with something unnoticeable way. The power of this experience was such that the disciples rush out from their closed enclosures both physical and spiritual and begin to speak in public. Mary the mother of Jesus, our Lord who was entrusted to the care of John, the beloved disciple certainly must have been with the disciples accompanying them.   

Holy Spirit enables us to live a life of holiness

Since the death of Jesus on the cross his dispirited apostles locked down in an upper room. There is more perspiration than inspiration in their self imposed lockdown! They are not ready to venture out and suffer and end with the same fate as their master. They do not want anyone to hear about them leave alone discover their hiding place. Their goal is to be safe from getting into the messiness of life. Only way out for them is isolation which would give them safety and security.  

However the disciples cannot lock their hearts or doors of their living room from the Holy Spirit entering them. Holy Spirit comes not like a gentle breeze experienced by Prophet Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-13) but here more like a hurricane, flattening all the protective barriers or gears against its force. And the Spirit takes this group of dispirited disciples of Jesus and transforms them. In other words, when the Holy Spirit comes down upon us, it does not allow us find comfort in our insecurity instead Holy Spirit makes us to find security in our discomfort, in our fears, anxieties and distractions. The call here is to be ready to undergo this transformation. 

Holy Spirit empowers us to be Prophets of our time.

The Holy Spirit empowers the disciples to leave their self imposed isolation. Once, the disciples receive the Holy Spirit they go out to the public squares of Jerusalem and proclaim to all how they have been challenged and changed by the power of the Spirit. The crowd’s reaction is one of surprise and joy. The apostles communicate the message of their friend and teacher Jesus by speaking in their own languages. The multilingual crowd which was misunderstood and divided now through the Holy Spirit could sing, praise and act in peace and harmony. 

Fascinatingly, the disciples speak the langauge of the Spirit once Jesus breaths on them the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”(John 20:22-23). Forgiveness, love and understanding is the language of the Spirit, a language that everyone understands and needs to hear more and more. We are also called to speak that language in our homes, parishes, neighbourhood, country and world. This universal language of brother/sisterhood should be also the langauge of the Church

Holy Spirit Connects, Organizes and Carries forward the Mission of Jesus.

Pentecost is a sign that God is working in this world in the physical absence of our Lord Jesus. God continues his saving mission of this entire cosmos through the Person of the Holy Spirit. This salvation in other words could be called as holiness in our contemporary world. With the bestowing of the Holy Spirit, God continues to address us boldly that He is not abandoning us. We would continue to the mission of His Son through the Spirit of saving and making us holy. Whenever we experience joy, peace, gratitude, increase in faith, hope and love, a deep sense of God’s presence amidst us means Holy Spirit is working in us.  Holy Spirit does not work opposite to us. 

Pentecost provides solution to many puzzles.  One of these is forgiveness. It's so difficult to forgive and forget in the face of betrayals and crimes. However, this Christian experience healing can be real through the power of the Spirit which capacitates to make it real. The Spirit of the Lord connects with each other, organizes our lives in a righteous way and through us carries forward the mission of Jesus. Therefore Pentecost is both an end and a beginning. It is an end because it is the completion of Christ’s saving work. Pentecost brings the risen Christ into our hearts breathing his forgiveness in our whole being just like what Christ did for us on the cross. This happens now within us. Hence Pentecost is also a beginning. It brings to completion the work of Christ for us precisely by making it a new beginning in us. With the Pentecost a new life begins in the world and in the Church. And carrying forward this mission of Jesus is upon each on us by a Christian life of forgiveness, of the sacraments, of our turning to God, and finally bringing the mission of peace and reconciliation to the entire creation of God. 

Questions for reflections:

1. The Spirit that filled the apostles is the same Spirit which fills and enthuses us. Am I aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence in me?

2. What prevents the Holy Spirit from bearing fruit in my life in spite of me being a Christian?

3. Can I open myself to see, hear and touch the Spirit’s blessings in everyday of my life?  Can I be open to the call to notice and respond?

Let my prayer be for today:  Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. Dear Holy Spirit of our Lord, especially these days as we endure the uncertainties of our health and life  send us your Spirit.  Grace us with wisdom and discernment, comfort us with courage to be men and women of strong of faith, and strengthen us with your care and consolation.  AMEN.

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

31st May 2020