Pentecost Sunday 28 May 2023

My dear friends today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. The narrative in the Acts of the Apostles is a vivid description replete with violent wind, tongues of fire and being filled with the Holy Spirit. However, to appreciate the significance of this event we need to look back at the meaning of this festival in the Old Testament.

Pentecost also known as the feast of Weeks or First Fruits or Shavuot occurs 50 days after Passover. The word Pentecost comes from the Greek pentēkostēs meaning ‘fiftieth’ (day). This feast was important for two reasons. First, it was a celebration at the beginning of the grain harvest. At this feast, the Hebrews offered their first fruits of the harvest to the Lord and second, this feast also commemorated the first giving of the law on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19-20). Pentecost was one of the three major Jewish feasts, along with the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.

For us Christians, Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets and therefore the feasts as well have been fulfilled by Christ in the New Testament.  Christ rose from the grave as the Firstfruits of the resurrection. St. Paul tells us ‘But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.’ (1 Cor 15: 20). It initiated the harvest of newborn souls. At the same time, we commemorate the giving, not of the Law written on tablets of stone, but the Law of the Spirit and love written upon the heart.

What is the significance of wind and tongues of fire? Pope Francis while speaking about the Pentecost mentions that these images recall Old Testament revelations of God. The force of the wind is the ruah, the breath of God that was sweeping over the waters in the very first verses of Genesis when God created the heavens and the earth. The fire recalls the burning bush and Sinai when God gave the 10 commandments. There is a key difference in this manifestation, though, at Sinai, it is the voice of God who speaks, but now, in Jerusalem on Pentecost, it is Peter, the rock, the first pope of Christ’s Church. The ultimate purpose of the experience of Pentecost is mission. The Holy Spirit was sent to continue Jesus' work on earth.

The second reading is taken from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Paul hoped his letter would heal the divisions and re-establish unity in the Corinthian community. To ensure this he focuses on their common identity in Christ. He emphasizes that the “one and the same” Holy Spirit gives gifts that equip Christians for various yet complementary ministries. Rather than celebrating one another’s gifts, the Corinthian Christians have become prideful concerning their particular gifts and dismissive of the gifts of others. Therefore spiritual gifts have become a divisive influence among them. A key text that helps us understand the giving of diverse gifts is ‘To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.’ – 1 Cor 12:7

Bring to mind a football team. You have 11 players and each has a particular role. You have a goalkeeper, forwards, midfielders and defenders. The common good is the winning of the team, and this is possible only when each player performs the role assigned to him. Though individuals receive gifts from the Spirit, each gift is for the body as a whole. Your gift is not yours to keep but to be shared for the good of the entire church. However, many a time we see that people do not use their gifts for the good of the church. A classic example is the church choir. Haven’t we noticed so many fallouts because the best singer or the best musician cannot work with others in the group? The idea is not to have a perfect community but rather a loving one.

The gospel taken from John shows a rather milder version of the coming of the Holy Spirit compared to that of the first reading. Also in contrast to the coming of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit comes on Easter night itself. In a symbolic action evocative of God’s creative breath that gave life to the first human being (Gen 2:7) Jesus breathes on them and gives the disciples the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained - John 20:23

The interpretation of this text is a bone of contention between the Catholic Church and protestant churches. John Calvin, the Protestant Reformer of Geneva, Switzerland, believed that the power to forgive sins was reserved to Christ alone and Christ only gave the authority to proclaim the gospel. If sinners believe in the gospel, they will receive forgiveness. This nullified the role of the priest. The Catholic Church, however, has a different understanding. The Catholic Church emphasizes that ‘Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, "The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"… Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name.’ (CCC 1441)

The Catholic Church believes that ‘Since Christ entrusted to his apostles the ministry of reconciliation, bishops who are their successors, and priests, the bishops’ collaborators, continue to exercise this ministry. (CCC 1461) A priest’s authority to convey forgiveness does not come from himself. It comes from Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the priest stands in the place of Christ to declare the sinner forgiven.

While receiving the sacrament we generally tend to emphasize the confession of sins, however, we must bear in mind that confessing the sins is only one part of the sacrament. The sacrament is essentially about Reconciliation which means restoring a relationship that is broken. Reconciliation is at 2 levels: Reconciliation with God and Reconciliation with others. Both go hand in hand. We are invited and even challenged today to look at our lives and ask some hard questions: Have I willfully caused harm to someone or put someone down and not apologized? Have I willfully deprived someone of something without repenting? It could also be the other way around, there could be people who have hurt us. Do I have hatred towards someone? Am I still carrying the pain and hurt caused by someone many years ago? Is there someone I am angry with? If the answer to any of these questions is a Yes, then you are being invited to work on those emotions and those relationships. Deep hurts are indeed difficult to deal with. It is not something that we can do by ourselves and therefore we need the gift of the Holy Spirit to have the humility to apologize for our mistakes and confess our sins and also to have the generosity to forgive others. Let us on this Solemnity of the Pentecost ask for an experience of the presence of God in our life. I pray that we may utilize our gifts for the good of the church and through the sacrament of reconciliation truly experience peace in our relationships with each other and with God. Take care and God bless.