June 5, 2022, Pentecost Sunday (Year C)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit by Jesus on his disciples as the conclusion of the Paschal Mystery and the beginning of the Church. When looking at the lectionary, one can see that this is a unique feast because of the options of readings to choose from. In fact, Pentecost has a set of readings that serve as a vigil for the Saturday evening Mass, similar to the Easter Vigil.
When looking at the Gospels from John that are among the options for Pentecost, one might get the impression that the Holy Spirit was only active in the world after the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. There is a blatant statement to this idea found in the vigil reading from John. It is the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles and Jesus is in Jerusalem celebrating a meal with the disciples as he so often does. It reads: “Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’ He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified” (Jn. 7:38-39).
Jesus also alludes to the sending of the Spirit after his resurrection and ascension at the Last Supper when he says to his disciples, “I have told you while I am with you. The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” (Jn. 14:25-26). And finally, Jesus, delivers the Holy Spirit to the disciples when he appears to them after his resurrection: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit.’” The breath of Jesus, of course, is representative of the Spirit (Jn. 20:21-22).
There are, however, several examples of the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, before the incarnation of Jesus. It is found first at the very beginning of the Bible during the creation of the world by God. It is said that “The LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Gen. 2:7).
We also find mention of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament readings for the Vigil Mass of Pentecost. The first is found in a passage called “The Vision of the Dry Bones” (Ezek. 37:1-14). It is a reading from the prophet Ezekiel concerning the Jewish people who have been exiled in Babylon. God gives Ezekiel a vision of dry bones which return to life as a metaphor for the restoration of Israel. This phenomenon occurs as an action of the breath of God, or the Holy Spirit, as is written “Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Listen! I will make breath enter you so you may come to life.” (Ezek. 37:5).
Finally, we find mention of the Spirit in the vigil reading from the prophet Joel (Joel 3:1-5). It is a prophecy of the end of times when the Lord will bring all His loyal followers into the realm of salvation. God makes this promise to His faithful: “It shall come to pass. I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Then everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD will escape harm.” (Joel 3:1,4b).
The final, and possibly, most important passage to consider is the First Reading for today which is written by Luke and found in the book of Acts (Acts 2:1-11). Jesus has ascended to the Father and the disciples are gathered in a private room. “They were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” (Acts 2:1b-5).
This narrative seems to imply that this was the inception of the Holy Spirit’s working in the world. But as we have seen there are many other mentions of the work of the Spirit before this time found within Scripture. Most conflicting is the story in John which depicts Jesus breathing his Spirit on the disciples where they are gathered in the upper room after his resurrection (Jn. 20:22).
One might ask, “Did the disciples receive the Spirit of Christ twice, both in John and in Acts?” Well, perhaps they did considering the fact that it is one thing to receive the Holy Spirit, but it is another to put it into practice. After Jesus breathed the Spirit on the disciples they did nothing but remain locked in the upper room. It was only after the day of Pentecost that the disciples begin to speak of Christ in all languages and commence the mission entrusted to them by Jesus, the proclamation of the Gospel and good news of salvation.
We are a lot like the disciples in this respect. As Catholic Christians we have a plethora of ways by which we receive the Holy Spirit. It begins with our Baptism and is strengthened by the Sacrament of Confirmation. It is reinforced in us in the forgiveness of the Reconciliation. And most of all it is kept alive by the frequent reception of the Eucharist.
The question then becomes, “What do we do with the force of the Holy Spirit given to us so often through the liturgy? Do we keep it concealed and hidden like the disciples did at their first reception? Or do we use the power to spread the good news of the Gospel and help to bring the redemption of Christ to those around us?” It is a conscience decision we must make on a daily basis.
