PENTECOST SUNDAY
20 MAY 2018
When
Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples to wait for the coming of the
Holy Spirit. Odds are pretty good that
they had no idea of what they were waiting for.
That is why Saint Luke indicates in the Acts of the Apostles that the
coming of the Holy Spirit is very sudden.
He connects this encounter with the Divine with the encounter with God in
the First Covenant at Mount Sinai. Then,
the mountain shook. At Pentecost, the
entire house shakes with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Just as there was fire at Mount Sinai,
tongues as of fire come to rest on those gathered in the upper room. In contrast to the Tower of Babel, when
arrogance and pride prevented people from communicating with one another, the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit enables everyone to understand what the disciples
say. The Holy Spirit transforms a timid
group of disciples who had experienced the Paschal Mystery into a bold band
sharing that experience with everyone.
With this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Church is born.
Today, we
celebrate the birth of the Church and trust that this same Holy Spirit is given
to us, who have been reflecting on the Paschal Mystery for the last fifty days.
The Holy Spirit can transform us from a
timid group of disciples into a bold band of disciples eager to share the
Mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ with everyone. But, in order for the Holy Spirit to work in
us, we must heed Saint Paul’s advice to the Galatians and live by the Spirit.
Saint Paul
contrasts two very different ways of living – either in the flesh or in the
Spirit. When he talks about the flesh,
he does not imply that our gift of sexuality is bad or that we can be holy only
if we separate ourselves from the body.
Rather, by living in the flesh, he means a way of living that is
centered on satisfying our selfish desires.
If we live in the flesh, we use our sexuality for self-gratification
instead of giving ourselves totally in love to a committed spouse. The easy access to pornography emphasizes
living in the flesh. Living in the flesh
erodes our trust in God’s providence and encourages us to hate those who are
not like us, making them rivals. Living
in the flesh causes jealousy, dissensions, factions, and drinking bouts. In other words, living in the flesh is
destructive of healthy relationships within the community.
Living in
the Spirit produces very different effects, or as Saint Paul calls, them: fruits.
The first fruit is love, the greatest gift. Love is not merely a feeling, but a sincere
desire to want what is best for the other.
When we learn to love, then we will experience joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We pray
today for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our community. In truth, we live in both worlds. There are aspects of living in the flesh and
living in the Spirit in all of our lives.
Because we entered into the Mystery of the dying and rising of Christ
when we entered the waters of Baptism, Saint Paul insists that we nail those
aspects of the flesh to the cross of Christ and learn to live in the Spirit.
Jesus
promises at the Last Supper that the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, will guide us
to all truth. He makes this same promise
to us, who are gathered here to celebrate this Memorial of the Last
Supper. As a parish, we have a unique
opportunity to trust his promise and to take steps in faith to become that bold
band of disciples who can proclaim with one voice the Good News to our local
community. As we complete the final
phase of our construction project during this year, we are embarking on a five
year strategic plan to guide us in the future.
We will invite the entire parish to give input and guidance. As we nail our ways of living in the flesh to
the cross of Jesus Christ, we trust the Lord’s promise and ask the Holy Spirit
to guide us, just as the Holy Spirit guided those disciples on the first Pentecost.
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