Martin Jumbam
The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, May 20, 2018 as Pentecost Sunday in the liturgical year B. In the entrance antiphon, we pray: “The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world and that which contains all things understands what is said. Alleluia.”
Pentecost comes from the Greek word for fiftieth day. It is fifty days since our Lord rose from the dead. Ten days ago, we celebrated His ascension into heaven. Before going up to his Father, Christ asked his disciples, as we hear in Acts 1: 4, not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there until he sent them his Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to strengthen their faith and send them preaching his word to the four corners of the world.
The Spirit in the Church is the vivid theme of today’s Mass as we commemorate the giving of the Spirit to the Apostles that led to the birth of the Church on the same day. The Old Testament had looked forward to the day when the Spirit would be poured out on the flesh. Now this has happened and the Spirit has come to recreate the world with the word of Christ. That is what Saint Luke tells us in the First Reading from Acts of the Apostles. In the Second Reading, from Galatians, Saint Paul warns us against the tendency to seek created things for our own pleasure, instead of using them to lead us to God. In the Gospel, Jesus tells his followers that when he goes to his Father, he will send them the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to strengthen their faith for their mission, that of taking his message of salvation to the whole world.
As we reflect on the readings of this day, let us pray for the grace to receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts, minds and souls so we can be true bearers of Christ’s love into our families, work places and society as a whole. Amen, alleluia!”
First Reading: Acts of the Apostles 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.”
V/ The word of the Lord
R/ Thanks be to God
Comment
Today, we witness the birth of the Church with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles who, in keeping with Christ’s instructions, had remained in Jerusalem. This is the Pentecost which was one of the great feasts for which many Jews went on pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem to worship God in the temple. Later, it was given the additional dimension of commemorating the promulgation of the Law given by God to Moses on Sinai. The Pentecost celebration was held fifty days after the Passover.
The coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles is characterized by wind and fire, elements that typically accompany manifestations of God in the Old Testament (Ex 3:2, 2 Kings 5:24). The wind and noise were so strong that people flocked to the place to see for themselves what was happening. The fire on the heads of the apostles symbolizes the action of the Holy Spirit who, by enlightening the minds of the disciples, enables them to understand Christ’s teaching as he promised during the Last Supper. It inflames their hearts with love and dispels whatever fear they may still have and moves them to preach boldly. Fire also has a purifying effect. It is God’s action cleansing the soul of all trace of sin.
Pentecost was not an isolated event in the life of the Church, something over and done with. In a homily he preached on May 25, 1980, Saint John Paul II, said, “We have the right, the duty and the joy to tell you that Pentecost is still happening. We can legitimately speak of the ‘lasting value’ of Pentecost. We know that fifty days after Easter, the Apostles, gathered together in the same Cenacle as had been used for the first Eucharist and from which they had gone out to meet the Risen One for the first time, discover in themselves the power of the Holy Spirit who descended upon them. …. Thus was born the Apostolic Church. But even today – and herein continuity lies – the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, and every Temple, every Oratory, every place where the disciples of Christ gather, is an extension of that original Cenacle.”
Saint Augustine tells us that the Holy Spirit is the soul, the source of life of the Church, which was born on the Cross on Good Friday and whose birth was announced publicly on the day of Pentecost. On this day, people of different races and tongues understand Peter and the apostles, each in his or her own language, thanks to a special grace from the Holy Spirit. Pentecost reverses the confusion of languages that came into the world when man tried to defy God through the Tower of Babel (Gen 11: 1-9).
On Pentecost day, the Church was born and openly displayed to the crowd. As the Fathers of the Church tell us: “On that day was foreshadowed the union of all peoples in the catholicity of the faith by means of the Church of the New Alliance, a Church which speaks every language, understands and embraces all tongues in charity, and thus overcomes the dispersion of Babel”. The Tower of Babel is now over and disunited humanity is now together in the Spirit of God.
What does this reading tell me? It challenges me, as a Christian living in the city of Douala today, to strive to redeem and to sanctify my own time. I am being called to also announce to the world to which I belong that I am a bearer of Christ’s Good News. May the Holy Spirit set me and my fellow Christians loose upon the world so we too can proclaim the word of Christ’s salvation with boldness. This, we cannot do on our own, just as the disciples of Christ only found the courage to take his word to the outside world after receiving the Holy Spirit. It is this same Spirit who guides all our missionary efforts. Let us turn to him in all that we do. We make our prayer through Christ, the risen Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Second Reading: Galatians 5:16-25.
Brothers and sisters, live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
V/ The word of the Lord
R/ Thanks be to God
Comment
The Letter to the Galatians is one of what is generally referred to as the “Great Epistles” of Saint Paul. The others are 1 and 2 Corinthians and Romans. They were all written during his third missionary journey (spring of 53 to the spring of 54).
The Letter to the Galatians is thought to have been written during Saint Paul’s long stay in Ephesus in 54. The letter mainly focuses on Christian freedom as regards the observance of the complex prescriptions of the Law of Moses, especially as interpreted by the Scribes and the Pharisees. It deals with the dispute that arose when some Christians of Jewish background strongly urged that Christians of pagan birth be subjected to the observance of the Law of Moses, especially circumcision.
Saint Paul makes it absolutely clear that Christian are completely free to do whatever they want in this regard. In fact, five years earlier, at the Council of Jerusalem, the first Council of the Church, this issue had been brought up and settled once and for all. Paul therefore argues that Christians are inserted into Christ’s saving action through faith and Baptism, with absolute independence of the Old Law.
In the passage selected for our meditation, Saint Paul explains that Adam and Eve left us with a tendency to seek the created things for our own pleasure, instead of using them to lead us to God. The desires of the flesh make their appearance, urges which are at odds with God and with all that is noble in our personality. But when grace enters our soul and justifies us, we share in the fruits of the Redemption Christ brings us. The vices Saint Paul refers to here have their roots in something much deeper, that is, life of the flesh.
In an Address he gave on January 7, 1981 on this passage, Pope John Paul II said, among other things, that “Significantly, when speaking of ‘the works of the flesh’ Paul mentions not only ‘immorality [fornication], impurity, licentiousness, drunkenness, carousing – all of which objectively speaking are connected with the flesh; he also names other sins which we do not usually put in the ‘carnal’ or ‘sexual’ category – idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, envy. All these sins,’ continues the Holy Father, ‘are the outcome of life according to the flesh, which is the opposite of ‘life according to the Spirit.”
When we let ourselves be led by our instincts, we are said to be leading an “animal life”; whereas, if we act as our reason advises, we are leading a rational, human, life. But when we allow the Holy Spirit to act in us, we live in a state of grace with all the treasures it brings to us. Our soul then becomes a good tree which is known by its fruits that are full of sweetness and joy.
Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may fill our hearts with joy and empower us, as he empowers the Apostles and the disciples, to take Christ’s word of salvation to the whole world. May he fortify the faith of our leaders and show them the wisdom of working for peace in our country. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen. Alleluia.
Gospel acclamation: “Alleluia, alleluia. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia.”
Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Comment
Just before ascending to his glory, Jesus again charges his Apostles with the mission to bear witness to him. They have been witnesses to the public ministry, death and resurrection of Christ, which is a condition for belonging to the Apostolic College, as we see when Matthias is elected to take the place of Judas (Acts 1:21-22). But the public preaching of the Twelve and the life of the Church will not start until the Holy Spirit comes.
Christ consoles them by assuring them that he would send them the Holy Spirit after he goes to his Father. He gives them further consolation by telling them that he is not leaving them permanently, he will come back to stay with them. However, the Apostles fail to grasp what he means, and they ask each other what it all means. Our Lord does not give them a direct explanation, perhaps because they may not understand what he means. But he does emphasize that though they are sad now, they will soon be rejoicing.
Every Christian should be a living witness to Jesus, and the Church as a whole is a permanent testimony to him. The Fathers of the Church tell us that “The mission of the Church is carried out by means of that activity through which, in obedience to Christ’s command and moved by the grace and love of the Holy Spirit, the Church makes itself fully present to all men and peoples in order to lead them to the faith, freedom and peace of Christ by the example of its life and teaching, by the sacraments and other means of grace” (Vatican II, Ad gentes, 5).
What we celebrate at Pentecost is the coming of the Advocate, the one who enables the Apostles to be witnesses to Jesus’ message to the world. Before the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles are incapable of acting as witnesses; they are frightened men who are too confused and hurt to act as effective witnesses on behalf of the Lord. With the help of the Holy Spirit, they are graced with a new courage.
The Spirit continues to be the Advocate, calling on generations of Christians to come forward and bear witness to our Lord’s message of salvation to the world.
To experience the Holy Spirit, Pentecost must become an event in our own lives. When we say that we believe in the Lord, we are saying that the Holy Spirit is at work in us. It is the Spirit of God that unites us with the Lord and with one another. Apart from unifying us, He is also a forgiving Spirit. In the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is associated with the forgiving of sins. The moment we forgive and are forgiven, the Holy Spirit is at work in us. The Holy Spirit brings people together in one faith, one hope and one love into the body of Christ. Thus, we live not for ourselves but for Christ and the members of his body, the Church.
Saint Francis de Sales says that to live according to the Spirit is to think, speak and act according to the virtues that are in the Spirit, and not according to the sense and sentiments which are in the flesh. Let us therefore open ourselves and respond to the promptings of the Spirit and confess from our hearts: “Jesus is the Lord!” He lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen. Alleluia.
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