Homily for the week of May 23, 2010

Pentecost C 2010

Acts 2:1-11

Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Rom 8:8-17

Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 14:15-16, 23b-26

There was a little girl who had a grandfather she loved very much. She always looked forward to visiting him. Her grandfather had a collection of hourglasses and the little girl always had fun turning them upside down and watching the sand shift through.

One day she asked her grandfather why he had all those hourglasses. He said they remind him that time was the most precious thing in the world.

One day her mother told her that her grandfather was in the hospital because he was very sick and he might die. The little girl wasn't sure what death was. Her mother said that life was like one of grandfather's hourglasses and that grandfather had very little time left.

Her mother said they were going to visit her grandfather in the hospital and asked the little girl to make him a special gift. The girl spent the rest of the morning working on her gift.

When they got to the hospital, the little girl gave her grandfather a beautifully wrapped box. Her grandfather slowly unwrapped his present and looked inside and smiled. The little girl had filled the box with sand.

How does a person deal with the loss of a loved one? The disciples, like anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one, would have felt that something of their own spirit and zest for life had also been snuffed out with Jesus’ death Huddled together, trying to comfort one another, they were unable to muster any energy for carrying on his mission. Grief and fear had deflated any impetus to continue the movement into which he had drawn them. The 11 men and 1 woman, all close friends of Jesus, had gathered together in a small locked room, wondering what they were going to do now that Jesus had left them. After all, the one for whom they had given their life was gone. But Jesus did not want to leave his friends alone, so he arranges to send them the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to them through a strong driving wind.

Breathing and wind are very often mentioned in the Bible as signs of God's presence. Following the recent coal mine disaster in West Virginia, many news stories focused on the risks miners face, like being trapped below ground without air. Those who suffer from breathing difficulties recount how terrifying it is not to be able to catch their breath. Breath or wind is the very symbol of life and has been since ancient times. At Pentecost, it is this same divine life-force that recreates a frightened group of disciples into bold proclaimers of the Gospel.

In a section of the Bible Luke mentions that there came from the sky a noise like a strong wind outside. In a sense that is the way that the writers of the old testament described God. God’s voice was always described as sounding like the wind. The noise that is described can be compared to the noise we hear in the house when there is strong wind blowing outside. We don't feel the wind. We only know how strong it is by its sound.

Pentecost is about seeing and realizing that God has touched each of us, and appreciating that He has touched no two of us in the same way. God has given us the exact gifts we need to do his will. That is why we all suffer when just one of us is absent from the family table or the parish community. We rob the family or the community of something God gave just to us.

Unfortunately, so often it can happen that religion and spirituality are placed on the back burners of the daily life of our businesses, educators, politicians, newspersons, workers and families. Because of this spiritual vacuum, love and caring and sharing are missing in our society. However, we need not feel depressed or worried as long as we believe that the Holy Spirit is always there to fill that spiritual vacuum with love and caring and sharing.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity which we mention when we make the sign of the cross. But how do you know when the Holy Spirit is at work in you? The Holy Spirit was working in you when you said or thought of something unexpected that benefited yourself and others; at times when you had been away from God or Jesus and felt a need to return; at times when you stood firm for what was right and good. We imitate the Holy Spirit when we arrange delightful surprises for someone like making an unexpected visit or phone call to a grandparent, or like the little girl I mentioned by bringing and to fill the hourglass.