Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 24, 2015 - Pentecost Sunday - B
[Acts 2:1-11; opt: Gal 5:16-25; opt: John 15:26-27; 16:12-15]"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on themand said to them,"Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." [John]
The Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of John offer us contrasting stories of the first "coming" of the Holy Spirit. The church offers both on Pentecost Sunday and invites us to use our own faith to reflect. We can join the crowds in Jerusalem from all over the world who hear a wind and see some characters speaking in all kinds of languages about God. Or we can join the quiet and frightened group in a barricaded room and suddenly see the Risen Lord in the room. He proclaims peace to us and breathes on us the Holy Spirit. The stories come from different sources but they are agreed about one thing: the Holy Spirit came on that occasion and galvanized the disciples. Our faith tells us that this is still happening!
Tradition speaks of Pentecost as the birthday of the Church. I associate the Holy Spirit with breath. Moments after our natural birth we are pushed (spanked once upon a time) to breathe, and as long as we draw breath, we will be alive. The images of the "mighty wind" and Jesus' breath are my inspiration. We can "hold" our breath, but only for a little while before it becomes clear that we are harming ourselves. I think this can happen not only individually but collectively, as when the Church in some of its less inspired moments tries to "stifle" the movement of the Holy Spirit. Some see in the figure of Pope Francis a fresh moment of the Holy Spirit, challenging the Church to leave the barricaded room and preach in new languages as missionary disciples.
Perhaps we were brought up to think about the white dove and maybe remember it a bit at confirmation. I suggest that we think about our breathing and realize just how intimate God's Spirit is to us and pray that the whole Church from Pope to pewperson will keep breathing! AMEN
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