AIM: To explain
the gift of the Spirit and encourage prayer for this gift.
When was the Holy Spirit given? Today=s readings seem to give two different
answers to this question. The first reading says that the Spirit came
dramatically at Pentecost. The gospel, on the other hand, places Jesus= gift of the Spirit on the evening of
his resurrection. Instead of a Astrong driving wind,@ and Atongues as of fire,@ Jesus breathes on his eleven
frightened disciples and says: AReceive the Holy Spirit.@
Why does the Church place these two
readings side by side on this feast of Pentecost, despite their seeming
contradiction? It does not hesitate to do so, because the Church knows that the
primary intention of the biblical writers is not to give historical details. The
gospels differ about a number of historical details. John, for instance, places
Jesus= cleansing of the Jerusalem Temple Temple
The gospel writers don=t have our modern interest in Ajust the facts.@ They are more interested in the spiritual
significance of the facts. The gospels are religious narratives, written to
produce and nourish in others the faith which inspired their authors. John=s gospel states this explicitly when
it says that it has recorded the Asigns@ Jesus performed Ato help you believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, so that through this faith you may have life in his
name.@ (20:31)
In their different ways both accounts
of the Spirit=s coming in today=s readings tell us that the Spirit is
the Church=s principle of unity. The
first reading symbolizes this unity by the gift of tongues. From the dawn of
history people have been puzzled by encountering other human beings with whom
they could not communicate, because they spoke another language. The ancient
Greeks called such people barbaroi because their speech sounded like Aba-ba-ba@ B gibberish. The term lives on in our
English word Abarbarian.@
The Old Testament book Genesis
explains the existence of different languages by the Tower of Babel
The gift of tongues at Pentecost did
not reverse this confusion. Those upon whom the Spirit came spoke not in a
single language, but in the different tongues of the many nationalities present
that day at Jerusalem
The gospel reading symbolizes this
unity through the gift of forgiveness.
Breathing on the eleven, Jesus says: AReceive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins
you forgive, are forgiven them ...@ Forgiveness means wiping the slate
clean, starting over. Without this there can be no unity but only an ever
lengthening tale of injury, resentment, reprisal, and escalating hatred B as we see in the Middle
East today.
In both accounts the Spirit is given for
all. The Adevout Jews from every nation under
heaven@ mentioned in the first reading
symbolize all races and people on earth. Their response to the Spirit=s coming is a description of the
Church=s work down through history. AEach of us hears them speaking in his
native language ... of the mighty acts of God.@
The gospel expresses this
universality less dramatically but no less definitely in Jesus= words: AAs the Father has sent me, so I send
you.@ Jesus was sent by his Father to all.
No one was ever excluded from his concern or love: not the Awoman known in the town to be a
sinner,@ who washed Jesus= feet and dried them with her hair
(Lk 7:37f); not the Samaritan woman at the well with her five husbands (Jn
4:18); not the repentant thief crucified next to Jesus (Lk 23:43). Following
his resurrection, therefore, Jesus entrusts this universal mission to the
Eleven, who represent all of Christ=s followers in all ages, ourselves
included.
So when is the Spirit given?
Continually! Christ=s gift of the Spirit was not just long ago and far away. The
risen Lord bestows his Spirit on his Church and each of its members in all
ages. Far from being an embarrassment to be explained away, therefore, the two
different accounts of the Spirit=s coming in today=s readings illustrate an essential
aspect of Christ=s continuing concern for his Church.
There is never a time when the risen
Lord is not bestowing the gift of his Spirit. The Spirit comes whenever two or
three are gathered together in Christ=s name (cf. Mt 18:20); whenever we
celebrate one of the Church=s sacraments; whenever we read or hear God=s word; whenever, in Christ=s name, the hungry are fed, the naked
clothed, the sick or imprisoned visited, or strangers sheltered (cf. Mt. 25:35-40).
Can we predict or control the Spirit=s coming? We cannot. God gives
himself in sovereign freedom. Always, however, the Lord gives his Spirit in
some manner, and at some time, to those who pray. With joyful hearts,
therefore, we join on this feast of Pentecost in the Church=s unceasing prayer for the Spirit=s gift.
Come
down, O love divine, seek thou this soul of mine,
And
visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
O
Comforter draw near, within my heart appear,
And
kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.
O
let it freely burn, till earthly passions turn
To
dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
And
let thy glorious light, shine ever on my sight,
And
clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
Let
holy charity my outward vesture be,
And
lowliness become my inner clothing.
True
lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part,
And
o=er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
And
so the yearning strong with which the soul will long,
Shall
far outpass the power of human telling;
For
none can guess its grace, till he become the place
Wherein
the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.
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