Homily for the Week of June 8. 2014

Pentecost Sunday 2014

Acts 2:1-11;  Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34    ; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13  ; John 20:19-23

         Bob Hope said:  You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the birthday cake. Bob Hope was not talking about the special religious celebration this weekend known as Pentecost, but today is also a birthday.  It is the birthday of the Catholic Church.  We are bout 2000 years old.  It would cost a lot just to buy that many candles at a nickel a piece, but the cake would have to be the size of a kitchen table.  Luckily, we do not need a cake to celebrate this birthday. Rather we have all of us who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit in baptism. But many Catholics would be rather confused if they were to try to describe the Holy Spirit.

         But that is not unusual . As we look at our daily lives, we see many things that we can describe to another person. But there are some experiences which are harder to speak of.  Experiences like falling in love or having your first baby can be described, but no one can really feel what they are like until it happens to them. In the same way, we may describe a color to someone who has been born blind, but our best efforts will not give them a true idea of the green of a leaf or the gentle tints of a spring flower or a lilac bush.

         Teachers of religion devote their lives to help us understand our faith that in God there are three persons, God the Father , God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  But there are not three Gods, but there is only one God. This is a mystery.  Today's feast of Pentecost likewise recalls a revelation of God's power. It reminds us that the early Christians came alive only when they felt the power of Spirit as he breathed life into them.

         On the first Pentecost Jews from all over were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast. On that Sunday, ten days after our Lord's Ascension, the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary were gathered in the Upper Room.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.  Jesus was gone. It was now the job of his followers to tell others about the good news of Jesus.  That day about 3000 people were converted and baptized.

         The picture St. John gives us is that of a collection of frightened individuals huddled together in fear of their lives. They have lost Jesus, their leader, and in many respects have lost their way. Thomas is not with them as the risen Christ comes amongst them. His first words are ones of reassurance: "Peace be with you." As the presence of Jesus brings them together, they begin to experience the joy of the Spirit. They receive the life-giving breath of God and feel a new sense of purpose.

         The feast of Pentecost was initially a celebration of the gifts of the earth. Farmers gave thanks to God for the first fruits of their harvest, given by God to sustain his people. The early believers adopted the occasion to give thanks for the first fruits of the Spirit. Saint Paul explains to the people of Corinth that the gifts of the Spirit are at the very heart of the Church, and are an expression of the breath of God through different personalities. So even though we are one body, the Spirit works in a special way in each of us.

         As we hear the word of God, we might be tempted to reflect that our community does not exhibit the remarkable gifts of the Spirit described in Acts. But we are unique and the Spirit comes to each of us in different ways. We may have already felt the breath of God; it's just that we don't always call it a "Pentecost" experience.  We don't see the tongues of fire, or even feel the mighty wind.  But as we know, some things cannot be fully captured by words.

         We are called into the community of faith by our Baptism, and empowered to spread the good news by our Confirmation. Through these two powerful sacraments we, like the early community, are anointed and chosen. Let us open the doors of our hearts, that we may invite others to share in the life of the Spirit.

         No matter what our gift or quality it is always an expression of God working through you. Your gift of cooking, speaking, farming, learning, athletics, of teaching, parenting, gardening, of being a lector at Mass, is a way of doing God's work for the good of all. Whatever work you do, no matter what your job brings down to earth the spirit and breath of God. They are for the good of all, so really all that we have been given is to be used for the good of all.

         And finally Jesus says: "Peace be with you." With these words he also gives us the most loving of all gifts by saying that he will forgive us our sins if we want them forgiven. Jesus invites us to be peacemakers, but to be peacemakers requires that we be at peace and harmony within ourselves.  How many locked doors have we placed between ourselves and God? For how many of those doors have we lost the keys? Jesus appeared despite a locked door. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to open our locked doors. Jesus wishes to enter our locked rooms.