Pentecost Sunday:[A]:Acts2:1-11;ICor12:3b-7,12-13;Jn20:19-23

Pentecost Sunday:[A]:Acts2:1-11;ICor12:3b-7,12-13;Jn20:19-23

Introduction:  Today we celebrate the birthday of this Church – the universal church.  We celebrate the presence of the Spirit in this believing community today, just as it was present among the community in Jerusalem.   In some countries this day is celebrated as the feast of the laity.  It is the feast of every believer.  The liturgy of the Word on this day suggests the theme of unity of the Church.

Exegesis:  Evangelist Luke considers the event of the resurrection (Easter) and the decent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) as two significant events, not necessarily as separate events.  As the resurrection of the Lord is associated with the Jewish feast of the Passover, Luke considers it meaningful to situate the coming of the Holy Spirit within the Jewish feast of the Pentecost – a harvest festival that was celebrated fifty days after the Passover.  Strongly prejudiced by this Lukan tradition we tend to consider the Pentecost as a separate feast, and the descent of the Holy Spirit also as a dramatic event always and fail to see that no other Gospel has this separate narration.  On the other hand, according to the Gospel of John – as we heard it read in today’s gospel text (Jn 20:19-23), the descent of the Holy Spirit is on the day of the resurrection of the Lord.  It reads: “In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week… Jesus came and stood among them… he said to them: ‘Peace be with you…’After saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’!

Therefore, the Holy Spirit cannot be separated from the Risen Lord.  Pentecost cannot be separated from Easter!  Holy Spirit could be considered as the continued presence of the Risen Lord.  Jesus, after his resurrection is not present with us as he was present for 33 years in his incarnate form – as Jesus of Nazareth.  But He is alive, and the Spirit completes His work.

The event: On the day of Pentecost 1) The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and Blessed Virgin Mary as fiery tongues. 2) The frightened apostles were transformed into fiery preachers and evangelizers by a special anointing of the Holy Spirit. 3) The audience experienced a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues, hearing Peter speaking in their languages. 4) The early Christians became powerful witnesses and brave martyrs for faith.

Joke:   Seeing her friend Sally wearing a new locket, Meg asks if there is a memento of some sort inside.

“Yes,” says Sally, “a lock of my husband’s hair.”

“But Larry’s still alive.”

“I know, but his hair is gone.”

Practical applications: The idea Paul suggests is that being a part of the body of Christ, we each have a function for the common good.  We need to find out what that function is that the Spirit has given us, develop it, trust God the Spirit to activate it, and then appreciate and not be envious of the gifts of others which work to further our own good.

I am suggesting, with Paul today, that each of you has been given a gift to advance the community here. You may not have discovered that gift yet. You may have been afraid to discover that gift. But with your confirmation, it can be discovered and activated. It may even surprise you. This week I would love for you to think about what gift or gifts you may have been graced with, and whether you are using them for the good of this community or in building Christ’s kingdom beyond us. You may want to think of it as a talent for something or just simply something you are good at, but it is important to bring it to our table, to use it, to function as part of Christ’s body.  I promise you, when you use it properly it will feel very satisfying and good and you will know you have contributed to the unity of this parish and this community through the grace of God.  This is the Good News you need to discover within yourself and use.  Happy Birthday to our Church.

Introduction: Pentecost Sunday

Message:   All of us have been baptized into one and the same Spirit.  That same Spirit, the Advocate, was given as gift to the disciples to strengthen them to go forth in the name of the Lord, “to renew the face of the earth”.

Saints and Events in this week:  Ordinary Time continues in A liturgical cycle-10^th (Tenth)-week; 9-(Nineth)-Monday-Saint Ephrem, deacon, doctor of the Church; 11-(Eleventh)-Wednesday-Saint Barnabas, apostle; 13-(Thirteenth)-Friday-Saint Anthony of Padua, priest, doctor of the Church;