Pentecost Sunday

Reading I
Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
"Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God."

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II
1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.


Gospel
Jn 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."

Commentary

The First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives us story of the long awaited day for the fulfillment of God's promise.  The community of Jesus' followers are gathered in prayer on the Jewish feast of Pentecost, which celebrated God's giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.  Normally, many Jewish pilgrims would come to Jerusalem for this feast.  Since early in the Old Testament, Jews has associated wind with the Spirit of God.  Both fire and the Spirit were prophesied by John the Baptist in Luke 3:16 when he speaks of the "mightier one" who would baptize them.

 

 

Luke's intention regarding the speaking in tongues once they were filled with the Holy Spirit seems to be that of a prophetic gifts with a missionary aspect.  They were able to speak God's word in many languages.  Luke is apparently not hinting towards the "gift of tongues" mentioned in 1 Cor 12-14 which speaks of glossolalia (incomprehensible sounds)  and common today in charismatic prayer groups.  For Luke, speaking in tongues appears to be inspired and intelligible preaching of the Word in a way that would cross all language barriers.

 

 

In the Second Reading from 1 Corinthians Paul stresses that the importance of proclamation is not the eloquence with which a person speaks, but rather the proclamation of the lordship of Jesus Christ.  When Paul says that no one who curses Jesus can be moved by the Spirit, he may be referring to those who tear down the community by causing division.  Paul might have also envisioned the more flagrant apostasy of those who abandoned their faith in Christ.  For Paul, it's the Spirit who gives the gift of faith and who distributes all other gifts.  The Spirit brings the variety of gifts into a marvelous unity.  However, gifts can be divisive if faith in Christ and the Church is not strong because they can result in envy, pride, arrogance, exclusiveness, etc.

 

 

In a similar way, the talents of ministers who provide needed services sometimes induce people to make them lords.  Yet since all Christians acknowledge the same Lord, they recognize all ministries as subordinate to the one Lord Jesus Christ.  All are brought into unity and harmony by the same God, source and goal of all that is.  Each manifestation of the Spirit is designed not for the promotion of the one who administers the gift but for the good of all.  The idea of the "common good" described in 12:7 is a prelude to Paul's description of the community as a body.  Here, the apostle gives several examples of the gifts.  His point is clear, all who are justified share a common faith, yet, in some this faith is visible evidence of unseen things.  In others the faith is visible through signs.  These gifts are distributed not through any merit of the person, but rather according to the will of the Spirit.

 

 

 In the Second Option for Reading II, Paul uses the two images of "flesh" and "spirit" to explain faith working through love ("love" here actually signifying Divine Love or agápe in Greek).  We must serve believers by fruit of the spirit and not by deeds of the flesh.  For Paul, the "flesh" means the human being as entirely self-reliant, weak, earthbound, unredeemed, and "Spirit" describes the knowing and willing part of the person - the part that responds to God's call and allows us to serve others for the sake of Jesus.  Paul lists things that should be avoided:

                     

Root of the Evil

Acts To be Avoided

Sexual Aberrations

Immorality

Impurity

Lust

Heathen Worship

Idolatry

Sorcery

Social Evils

Rivalry

Jealousy
Outbursts of fury

Acts of selfishness
Dissensions

Factions

Occasions of envy

Intemperance

Drinking bouts

Orgies

The Like

 

 

In contrast to this list, Paul gives a list of nine fruits of the Spirit (agape) which should be imitated: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  Behind all of these suggestions is Paul's hope that Christians will be transformed.

 

 

In today's Gospel, the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord because it was fulfillment - Jesus has returned through his resurrection and through his gift of the Spirit.  The disciples receive the Holy Spirit at this second coming of Jesus: the eschaton, the final era, is now.  While one the cross, Jesus, manifesting the nature of God, which is love, delivers over his Spirit (19:30), symbolized immediately afterward by the flow of blood and water from his heart (sacramental symbols).  Now, at his first encounter with the believing community, he breathes the Spirit again as he celebrates the re-creation of God's people, and sends out these disciples just as the Father had sent him.  His mission becomes theirs; his work is placed in their hands.  And that mission, that work, is to manifest God who is love in their words and deeds.  God's presence will become known, seen, and felt through the disciples.  Just as Jesus is God's sacrament, we in turn, through the Spirit, become Jesus' sacrament.

 

 

"Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." This verse which clearly speaks of the community's share in Jesus' power to forgive sins, can be simply a reference to baptism (the traditional sacrament of forgiveness), or the church's continuous preaching of forgiveness of sins in Jesus.  But this reference to sharing in Jesus' power probably intends more than that.  Through the ever-present Spirit, the Christian community can offer a restored union with Father and Son, a divine indwelling that creates peace with God and neighbor.  Over the centuries, Christian communities have developed different means by which this unifying power is put into effect.

 

 

In the Second Gospel Option, the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) will do even more.  As the Spirit of truth, he will be the constant guide of the disciples, speaking to them (through inspired preachers and writers like the evangelist) what he hears from Jesus, who, in turn receives from the Father.  the verbal form "he hears" (verse 13) is important because it places the Paraclete's function simultaneously in God's eternity and the reader's now.  Through the Paraclete, what Jesus says in his Father's realm is now transmitted to the disciples.  Jesus who once spoke in the flesh now speaks through the Spirit.  Much of this present discourse, surely, comes from Jesus speaking through his Spirit to the Johannine community.  In this sense, Jesus' earthly departure is a gain, because it enables the glorified Jesus to be present.  The disciples will lose him in earthly form within a short time but will soon receive him back again in Spirit.

 

 

 

 

Reflection

Through the Holy Spirit we receive the gifts mentioned by Paul, we are made more perfect and are strengthened so we can give witness of Jesus Christ.  These seven gifts are the signs that the Messiah, the anointed one of God, will be guided by the Spirit.  Throughout the Gospels we see how these seven gifts form Jesus' personality. They are characteristic of his activity. Consider the wisdom expressed in his parables; his understanding of the poor and the sick; his right judgment when tested by the Pharisees; his courage to continue the journey to Jerusalem where he knew the fate that awaited him; his knowledge of God's will; his reverence for his heavenly Father; his awe before the wonders of creation—the lilies of the field, the birds of the air....The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are the manifestation of the Divine Power active in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

 

 

In Baptism, our sins are washed away and we come up from the water bath to be clothed in a new garment. Putting on the baptismal garment is a visible symbol of the invisible reality of "putting on Christ." When we are anointed with oil in Confirmation, it is a visible symbol of the invisible reality of being anointed with the Spirit, being "Christ-ed" or "messiah-ed." We put on Christ, and the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit become our gifts. We pray that the qualities of the Messiah take root in us and become our qualities so that we may become signs of God's presence in the world. The Holy Spirit is God's "first gift to those who believe" (Eucharistic Prayer IV).  He is the law that lives in the depths of the heart of every Christian.  When we receive God's Spirit we desire that which comes form God which in essence is love.

 

 

When we allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit we commit ourselves to a new life - to change.  We become witnesses of Jesus to the world because the Spirit has first given witness to us.  The Spirit comes to our help especially during times of doubt and uncertainty, in times of weakness and in times of prayer.  Through the Spirit and the gifts he so generously gives, we become a visible sign of Christ on earth.  So, how do we describe each of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

 

Wisdom is the Gift in which the Advocate (Spirit) “enables man to understand more deeply the truths of faith and to discover their intimate meaning, their hidden treasures and sublime harmonies.” With Wisdom, we can comprehend that there is no contradiction between rational truths and the divine mysteries.

 

 

By the Gift of Understanding, “the Holy Spirit enables us to understand created things in their relation to God.” Therefore, we can appreciate that each human person is made in the Lord’s likeness, that even irrational creatures contain a “trace” of the Creator, that human events can purify us and lead us to a more perfect union with God and that sin is a terrible evil that damages the human person.

 

 

The Consoler (Spirit), by virtue of the Gift of Good Counsel, “suggests what we should do or not do in a specific situation.” Hence, uncertainties arising from a particular situation are dismissed.

 

 

Fortitude is the Gift by which “the Holy Spirit gives to man’s will the energy enabling him to undertake without hesitation, and to carry on their ultimate ends, the most arduous tasks for God’s glory and the good of souls, and also to bear gladly, even for many years, the most severe sufferings.” This Gift is especially evident in the lives of the martyrs (those who have died for their belief in Christ).

 

 

The Spirit of Truth, through the Gift of Knowledge, “gives us a superior knowledge of God as a lovable Being, and a proper appreciation of all created things in God.” This “superior knowledge” is superior and more perfect than knowledge obtained through the use of faith and reason. By way of this Gift, God gives our soul a sense of nearness to Him as a life-giving Principle and a Being Who is extremely amiable and infinitely superior to everything else.

 

The Gift of Piety provides the occasion for the Counselor (Spirit) to cause in our will a superhuman filial love toward God as our Father, and sentiments of fraternal love toward our neighbor, including those who may have wronged us. This charity brings about in our soul a total dedication to God’s glory and the good of souls.

 

 

The Paraclete (Spirit), through the Gift of Fear of the Lord, gives our soul a filial respect, that is, a reverent fear of Divine Majesty, a fear which does not interfere with an intimate union with God, our Father, but which keeps us away from anything which might offend God. This Gift also inspires us to reject all unwarranted affections and discipline our senses.

 

 

While the Gifts do not remain dormant in the soul, they are not equally active in everyone. People may dispose themselves to receive with greater frequency the special motions of the Holy Spirit by thinking often of God, by mortifying the love of self and the inclination to pleasure, by never deliberately resisting divine inspirations, even when the sacrifices required appear difficult, by asking with humility and confidence the special motions of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

 

 

Biblical Sources

New American Bible; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Hengel, M., "Acts and the History of Earliest Christianity"; Maddox, R., "The Purpose of Luke-Acts-Studies of the New Testament and Its World"; Marshall, I. H., "The Acts of the Apostles"; Wilson, S. G., "The Gentiles and the Gentile Mission in Luke-Acts"; Murphy-O'Connor, J., "St. Paul's Corinth: Texts and Archaeology"; Theissen, G., "The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth"; Barrett, C. K., "Freedom and Obligation: A Study of the Epistle to the Galatians"; Bruce, F. F., "The Epistle to the Galatians"; Ebeling, G., "The Truth of the Gospel: An Exposition of Galatians"; The Collegeville Bible Commentary; Barrett, C. K., "The Gospel According to John"; Brown, R. E., "The Community of the Beloved Disciple"; Schnackenburg, R., "The Gospel According to St. John"; Segovia, F. F., Love Relationships in the Johannine Tradition"; Brown, Raymond E., S.S., “Introduction to the New Testament”; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (ed.) “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary".

 

 

 

Reflection

Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa

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