Pentecost Sunday year B
✠A reading from the conclusion of the holy Gospel according to John
15:26-27,16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.” “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you”
1. Today we celebrate the descent of Holy Spirit on the apostles, the Pentecost Sunday. The feast of Pentecost, fifty days after Passover, was originally a Jewish feast to commemorate the Sinai Theophany during which the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) was given to Moses. Pentecost was also a Jewish feast of thanksgiving for harvest. It also marked the beginning of Jewish people as a nation chosen by God and the beginning of the Jewish religion Yahwism, which later became Judaism after the Babylonian exile. During this feast every adult Jew living within 29 kilometers from Jerusalem is supposed to make a pilgrimage to the Holy City. The first Pentecost after the death and resurrection of Christ was a spectacular one. While people gathered as pilgrims in Jerusalem from all over the world for the feast, God sent the Holy Spirit on the apostles with the same signs that accompanied the Sinai Theophany: heavy wind, thunder, fire etc. In this way he showed that a new theophany was taking place and that a new Israel was being inaugurated with a new religion. That new Israel, that new religion is Christianity. In this way God demonstrated that Christianity is a divine initiative conceived for a universal mission.
2. Today’s gospel passage predicted the event of the first Pentecost that we find in today’s first reading (Act 2:1-11). Jesus described the Holy Spirit as the advocate, counselor who comes to bear witness to him and to enable the believers to become witnesses too. With the coming of the Holy Spirit the apostles had courage to leave their hiding place and came to the open to talk about Jesus. It was a prophecy fulfilled. That was the first day that the apostles preached the risen Christ. On that first day of preaching, three thousand people gave their life to Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, Peter was able to recall and transmit what he learnt from Jesus throughout the time that he was with them. In this way it became clear that the Holy Spirit is the one, who, through the believers continues the mission of Christ. He is the spirit of Christ. Whoever wants to preach Christ must partner with the Holy Spirit if he or she wishes to be a winner of souls.
3. Jesus equally described the Holy Spirit as Teacher. He explained that the disciples would be unable to assimilate all that he would wish to teach them while he was still with them. He then assured them that the Holy Spirit will lead them to all truth. Since the Ascension of Christ and the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has continued to teach the world, at each epoch, what is necessary for the salvation and wellbeing of the inhabitants of the world. Thus, no era would claim to have completely known the way of God. As the problem of each epoch evolves, God, through the Holy Spirit continues to accompany them and reveal his truth to them in consonance with their disposition and capacity to understand God. Some of the doctrines and practices with which we worship God today will not be totally identical with what will be revealed to the next generation of inhabitants in the world. (There is development in doctrines too). The Holy Spirit, the wisdom of God will continue to guide humanity with new doctrines, new discoveries and practices through which God will continue to govern the world.
4. Everybody, christian or not, needs the Holy Spirit to make life meaningful. Without him there is no new knowledge, no discovery. He is the one who inspires creativity and inventions in the world. He is the one who inspires musicians, artisans, technologists and scientists (Ex31:1-6). He is the one who teaches the Wiseman and the ministers of God.
5. Today some people claim to communicate with the Holy Spirit and receive messages from him. This is not an exclusive reserve of a few. Every human being is in communication with the Holy Spirit. We cannot exist without him. However, to consciously communicate with him, one needs to have an open ear and a docile heart. We are all temples of the Holy Spirit (1Cor6:19) but only those willing to collaborate with him can hear him when he speaks. Do your best to be in constant contact with him. You can do this by calling upon Him to be with you. Have him spontaneously in your lips and in your heart. His active presence is easily noticeable through obvious attitudes: joy, peace, kindness, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and love (Gal 5:22-23). These fruits of the Holy Spirit are the litmus text to verify one’s openness and docility to the Holy Spirit.
6. The gift of the Holy Spirit is given for mission. All who through baptism have been reborn with the Holy Spirit no longer have right to stay away from preaching the Gospel to others who have not received it. As a baptized person, know that you have been called and chosen. You must work harder to justify your call (2Pt 1:10).
Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
© Vitalis Anaehobi
