Pentecost

Come Holy Spirit – fill the hearts of your faithful – kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost – one of the oldest feasts of our Church – coming 50 days after Easter and 10 days after the Ascension of Our Lord, Pentecost – which literally means “fifty days” marks the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. After this baptism in the Spirit the Apostles went out proclaiming Christ to the world. For this reason, Pentecost is often called the “birthday of the Church”.

After the resurrection of our Lord – Jesus presented himself alive to His disciples – He told them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father – He reminded them that John baptized with water; but in a few days they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

We hear in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles that after Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles gathered together in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival that was celebrated on the fiftieth day of Passover.

While they were together a sound like that of a rushing wind filled the house and tongues of fire descended and rested over each of their heads.

This was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised by God through the prophet Joel. The disciples were suddenly empowered to proclaim the gospel of the risen Christ. They went out into the streets of Jerusalem and began preaching to the crowds gathered for the festival.

Not only did the disciples preach with boldness and vigor, but by a miracle of the Holy Spirit they spoke in the native languages of the people present, many which had come from all corners of the Roman Empire. (speaking in tongues)

This created quite a sensation. The apostle Peter seized the moment and addressed the crowd, preaching to them about Jesus' death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. The result of all that we are told was that about three thousand were baptized that day – the birth of the Chuch.

(There are two second readings – both important – this one perhaps a little more controversial) We are all one body – each with separate gifts – and the gifts we are given are meant to be shared.

In our second reading today the advice St. Paul gives to the Galatians then certainly applies to each of us today. We who follow Jesus are asked to give up the works of the flesh. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.

These works are just as strong if not stronger in our world today! Our modern culture almost teaches that these works of the flesh are wonderful gifts of goodness. If we watch television, go to movies, listen to radio or use the internet, so much of what is described here as works of the flesh is exalted and proposed as good – and we become desensitized to these temptations.

How much more today do we need the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us! Only when our hearts and minds are open to the presence of the Spirit do we have the strength to struggle against the works of the flesh. Only this inner focus on the Spirit gives us courage to stand against the values of our present world.

The letter to the Galatians gives us a description of the person who lives in the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. How different this is from the works of the flesh!

(Apostolic Succession – whose sins you forgive are forgiven …)

Today's readings give us a clear message: God the Father and Jesus continue to be with us and guide us in the Holy Spirit. The guidance that they give us is a concrete and clear direction for our lives.
Because Pentecost is the day that God poured out His Holy Spirit on Christ's disciples, the Season after Pentecost is centered on sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit in the day to day routine of our lives.

This is reflected in the liturgical color for Ordinary Time: green, the color of life and growth. Through the gift of faith that comes only from the Holy Spirit, Christians are enabled to trust in Christ and proclaim Him in their daily lives by service to their neighbors.

The season after Pentecost is the longest season of the church year -- it lasts from Trinity Sunday until the first Sunday of Advent. This is the non-festival portion of the liturgical calendar during which the church stresses vocation, evangelism, missions, stewardship, almsgiving, and other works of mercy and charity as ways in which Christ empowers us by His grace to share the Gospel with others.

Before they received the Spirit, the disciples were timid and fearful, hiding behind locked doors, scared to death that the authorities would come and crucify them, too. But at Pentecost the Spirit transformed them into fearless and powerful witnesses of the Gospel.

A lot of Christians mistakenly think that only a few specially-chosen people can be filled with the Spirit and do great deeds for the Kingdom of God. When we think of Spirit-filled warriors for Christ, we think of great evangelists preaching in packed stadiums, talented singers drawing people to the Lord with their electrifying songs, or dedicated missionaries sacrificing everything to teach others about Jesus.

However, the fact of the matter is, EVERYONE – you and I, each of us have a special gift and we are called to use that gift to promote the Gospel. The job of promoting the Kingdom of God is not just for the Mother Teresas, John Paul IIs, and Billy Grahams of the world.

This important job is for each of us gathered here today – the gifts we have been given, whatever they may be, we are called to share them with one another – to build up the kingdom of God.

So let us ask the Holy Spirit today to re-kindle in each of our hearts the fire of His love so that we too – on fire with the Spirit – may Renew the face of the Earth.