THE FIRST PENTECOST AND PENTECOST TODAY.
May 19, 2024.
Solemnity of the Pentecost – B.
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same
Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord…” 1 Cor 12:4
An Irish proverb says: “There is not strength without unity.”
A Bajan proverb adds: “The war that has no unity will make no prey.”
Tradition and the Scriptures (New Testament) relay that
Pentecost is a historic event that took place fifty days after the Resurrection
of Christ. The disciples, filled with fear of the Jewish leaders, closed
themselves in an upper-room, the Cenacle awaiting the coming of the Advocate
Jesus promised them before his Ascension into heaven. Then, on this day, the
Holy Spirit came, filled their hearts, and made them fearless proclaimers of
the Gospel of Christ.
Pentecost, thus, marks the beginning of the Church. Led by
the power of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles proclaimed the Lord and made him new
disciples. The main protagonist of this new beginning and of the apostolic
mission is none other than the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Paraclete, the
Consoler, the Comforter...
Etymological, the word Pentecost, comes from the Greek,
Pentēkostē (hēmera), fiftieth (day), because the Jewish festival is held on the
fiftieth day after the second day of Passover. For the Jewish, it is called the
Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks. It is mentioned in five places in the
Old Testament — in Exodus 23, Exodus 24, Leviticus 16, Numbers 28, and
Deuteronomy 16. According to the Old Testament, you would go to the day of the
celebration of First-fruits, and beginning with that day, you would count off
50 days. The fiftieth day would be the Day of Pentecost. So First-fruits is the
beginning of the barley harvest and Pentecost is the celebration of the
beginning of the wheat harvest.
After this etymological and historical excursion, let's come
back to our today's solemnity. We celebrate the descending of the Holy Spirit.
Last week, we witnessed, together with the Apostles, the ascending of Jesus in
his heavenly glory where he took his seat at the right hand of the Father, and
from where, we await with hope, he will come again to judge the living and the
dead. While awaiting that coming in glory, the Lord did not let his disciples’
orphans. The promised Paraclete has descended to be with them, lead them, and
protect them.
About the Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, this is what we
read in our Catechism: "On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of
Easter had come to an end, Christ's Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his
fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance. On that day, the
Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ
has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in
faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming,
which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the
"last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited
though not yet consummated. We have seen the true Light, we have received the
heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith: we adore the indivisible
Trinity, who has saved us." CCC 731-732 So, this day marks a new beginning
in the life of the disciples of Christ. It is the birthday of the Church.
Today, all our diversities are brought into one. The multitude of believers has
become one unique family through the power and the work of the Holy Spirit.
That is exactly what the first reading speaks about.
Luke tells us that, at the first Pentecost, when the Holy
Spirit came down on the disciples, he gave them the gift of tongue. He took
away all their fears, and gave them boldness to proclaim Jesus in many
languages. Everyone who was there could understand them in his own language:
"Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and
Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of
Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to
Judaism, Cretans and Arabs..."
The Spirit of God is at work and until today. He still gives
gifts that are to be used for the service of the community. St. Paul speaks of
the diversity of gifts in the second reading. The Apostle says: “There are
different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different
forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same
God who produces all of them in everyone.” Somewhere else, the Apostle of the
Gentiles makes a clear distinction between what comes from the Spirit and what
immerges from the flesh. The Apostle calls the first, the fruits of the Spirit
and the last the fruits of the flesh, and he warns us about the consequences of
living according to the flesh.
We live in a world made of many oppositions or conflicts
between opposite forces. And oftentimes, the negatives seem more attractive and
overrun the positives. And, taken in the trap of these opposition, man ends doing
what he ought not to. It is only through the guidance and the leadership of the
Spirit of God that we can discern what is right from what is wrong and aim to
the first. By our own forces and personal inclinations, we are easy prey to evil
and wrong. In this new Pentecost, the Spirit is given us to make the right
choice.
One of the right choice we all should do it is make
ourselves instruments of unity in our diversities. The Lord, before his
Ascension breathed the Holy Spirit on his disciples and, giving them peace, made
them instrument of the Gospel of love, forgiveness, unity. In dealing with each
other, we should emulate those virtues. We are fruits of the New Pentecost. May
our lives, actions and words testify of what we have received and who we are.
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