Search
-
May 19, 2013With this great celebration and feast in our Church we bring to a close the official celebration of the Easter Season—but we do not “close out” the Spirit of the Easter Resurrection of Christ. In fact, there is a reason that our Pentecost celebration falls between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. A wonderful old Jewish proverb speaks of Mothers (and Fathers too) in terms of “God could not be everywhere, so He created Mothers.” I think we need to look at this wise expression from a different perspective: So that God could be everywhere He created mothers and fathers. Let’s look at the celebration of Pentecost and see this more clearly. Pentecost is much more than simply the “birthday of the Church” with the giving of the great gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a time for us to celebrate who we as a people of faith really are, and how we are called to live out this great gift of faith from God.
Pentecost is a time of our openness to God’s call it is a time of unity as different and complex peoples, and it is a time to re-member from where we come—and to whom we are ultimately called.
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear that our hearts are opened up to understand the Spirit in our own language, culture, time and place. Re-read the first reading and listen to words, hear the Spirit speak to you in your own language. Listen to what God is asking of you. In the second reading, 1 Corinthians 12, we hear that the one Body of Christ, though many parts, is united by the same Lord, the same God, and the same Holy Spirit. We—very different people with a whole multitude of gifts and talents—are united by the power of the same, one, true God. Male or female, slave or free, Gentile or Jew—each and every person is called by the same God to hear His Word, understand His call, and to then live it out according to His design and plan. In the Gospel this Pentecost, we hear that we have not been abandoned or forgotten by God—His Holy Spirit teaches us of His ultimate truth and that this Holy Spirit will remind us of all that God has instructed. The Church reminds us that the Holy Spirit guides God’s church, known as the Magisterium of the Church. We believe that on questions of faith or doctrine or of pastoral concern, when the pope and his bishops are united in prayer and discernment, then the Spirit will guide them to the Truth of God, keeping their universal decisions free from error.
Thus, Pentecost calls all people of faith to be Open to God’s Word; United in our talents and gifts, and Recommitted to the truth and purpose of our very being: that we are made in the image and likeness of God and called to be His Light, His Love—His very Self in our world.
How do we connect Pentecost to the love we acknowledge on Mother’s and Father’s Day? In his book The Four Loves, author C.S. Lewis speaks to the Fourth or ultimate love which God has for us, calling this love Agape or unconditional love: selfless love without limits, without condemnation; yet it has as its essence the desire to lead others to God, to Truth, to Love itself. It offers nurturing grace not sentimentality. This is the same love that parents are called to have for their children: a love that nurtures and encourages, a love that protects and enhances life, a love that in difficult and trying times calls a child to truth and growth—not a love that simply shelters and coddles. God’s love , while meant to make us feel unique, as if there is no one else as important as “I am”, does not shield the child from pain and suffering if tribulation leads to true growth. God’s love is not sentimental like a Hallmark card, it reconciles His children to Himself and then commands us to learn and follow His love. Let us look to an example of this Godly Love in the New Testament, the Gospel of John, where Jesus responds to the crowd’s call for the death penalty of a woman caught in the sin of adultery: Jesus says, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11) Forgiveness is granted and reconciliation offered. Then Jesus, like a good parent, does not say “Don’t worry, its okay, keep on doing whatever you wish. No, Christ forgives in love, and in love calls to the truth. “Change, be like me and live forever,” Christ says.
Pentecost calls us to be Open to God’s Word, to be united with those around us in our sharing of His different gifts yet we are all His image and likeness, and then, the Holy Spirit and the Church remind us of all God has taught us and calls us to live that truth out in our daily lives. Happy Birthday! Receive the Lord…and LIVE!
