Pentecost Sunday
Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. The feast of the Pentecost as a ritual originated after the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt into the Promised Land. The Jewish feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) was primarily a thanksgiving for the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. Later, it became associated with a remembrance of the Law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. In the New Testament, this feast is transformed into a feast associated with the resurrection of Jesus. The gift of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Jesus is seen as the firstfruits of a new covenant that fulfilled and succeeded the Mosaic covenant.
Today, however, as we celebrate Pentecost, I would like to take you further back into the Old Testament – to Babel. The story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 is an etiology (an explanation of a custom, a ritual, or a phenomenon). The phenomenon at Babel explains the origins of multiple languages. Until, then humans spoke the same language. Genesis 11:7 tells us that God confused the people’s language. Contrast with the New Testament Pentecost where the opposite phenomenon was seen. Not only did the Apostles “filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues” (Acts 2:4), but the people gathered in Jerusalem from various nations heard the apostles speak in their native languages (Acts 2:7). For this reason, I call Pentecost the de-Babelization of the world.
Here are my three practical implications for today’s feast:
Pentecost: De-Babelization Continued
On Pentecost day, the same Spirit that was present at creation; the same Spirit that transformed chaos into harmony; the same Spirit that transformed darkness into light; the same Spirit that gave life to human images of clay, the same Spirit that descended on Jesus at his baptism, descended once more upon the world.
This same Spirit present is also present in our lives. At our baptism, we receive a sacramental outpouring of the same Holy Spirit for the very first time. Once again at Confirmation, we sacramentally receive a renewed outpouring of that same Holy Spirit. We also receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we may successful and meaningfully live the Christian calling. Moreover, at every Eucharist, the same Holy Spirit is given anew to the Church. Not only does the Holy Spirit transform bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, but, as the Eucharistic prayer says, “may we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your son and filled with his Holy Spirit, become one body, one spirit in Christ.”
If we reflect a little deeply on this prayer, we will realize that we are praying for the de-babelization of the world. We pray that all confusion, all disunity, all misunderstanding, all disharmony is banished that the God’s people become, “one body, one, spirit in Christ.” Today, as we celebrate this Eucharist, let us invite the Holy Spirit into our midst, so that our families and this community may become “one body, one spirit, in Christ.”
Pentecost: Fear Replaced by Love
In today’s second reading, Paul says to the Romans, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but a spirit of adoption” (Rom 8:15).
Fear is a powerful force. Much of the disharmony in the world and in our nation can be attributed to fear. Fear makes us inhuman. Fear turns friends into enemies. Fear creates confusion and misunderstanding. Fear makes us build towers of separation and division. People and nations arm themselves because of fear. Racial and religious conflicts originate from fear.
In the secular world, the opposite of fear is courage or boldness. In the Bible, especially in the New Testament, the opposite of fear is love. John says, “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 Jn 4:18). I call Pentecost the ultimate feast of love because it removed the fear people had of each other. Barriers were broken, people understood each other, and people said of the Christians, “See how they love one another” (Tertullian).
This Pentecost, let us invite the Holy Spirit into our lives so that our fears may be banished. May we allow the Holy Spirit to drive out our fears and to help us live in the freedom of the children of God. Let us be a people that operates not from fear but from the perfect love that drives out all fear.
Pentecost: A Celebration of Reconciliation and Peace
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus appeared to the fear-filled disciples and twice said to them, “Peace be with you” (Jn 20:19-23). Then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 19:22). In the gospel of John, Pentecost is not a monolithic event. For John, the Spirit is first given as Jesus died on the cross. There is yet another outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples in today’s gospel reading, as he said to the disciples “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Then, Jesus entrusted the ministry of reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins to his apostles and said to them, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He sent forth his followers as ministers of reconciliation, healing, and peace. He sent them to de-babelize the world.
We are aware of the disharmony, the distrust, the violence, and the turmoil in our country and the world. Today, what if I said to you that the Holy Spirit is being given to de-babelize the world?
Pentecost invites us to become a people that chooses harmony, who dispel fear with love, who build bridges. Jesus sends us forth as ministers of reconciliation, healing, and peace. In our families, in our workplace, in our neighborhood and in our church, filled with the Holy Spirit, let us accomplish Jesus’ mission. This Pentecost, let us de-babelize the world.