By Leon Bent –
Jerusalem’s streets were crowded with pilgrims from all over the known world. Pentecost was the annual harvest festival of the Jews, and it was one of three feasts that all Jewish males were bound by law to observe in the holy city. The Lord God had said to Moses at Sinai: “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. . . . Three times in the year shall, all your males appear before the Lord” (Exod. 23:14–17).
It was originally an agrarian festival, celebrating the beginning of the harvest season. God commanded through Moses: “You shall keep the feast of harvest, of the first fruits of your labour, of what you sow in the field” (Exod. 23:16). The feast was a ritual reminder that God was the source of Israel’s blessings, and they owed their first, and best of everything, to him.
For Jews of the first century it was a great feast, a holy day of obligation. And those who lived in distant lands fulfilled their duty by travelling to Jerusalem. The city’s population swelled, and there was a general feeling of festivity, of gratitude for all God’s gifts, from the Exodus and the Law to the abundance of the barley harvest.
The Apostles, meanwhile, were living in quiet expectation. They knew that something big was coming. Jesus had promised them as much when he took his leave from them.
He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “You heard from me, for John baptized with water, but soon you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. . . . You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:4–5, 8).
They knew of the Holy Spirit from Jesus’ promises at the Last Supper (John 14:16, 26). It was a mysterious promise. When Jesus spoke of the Spirit, he seemed to be talking about a person — not simply a force or a grace — and that person seemed to be divine.
Luke, as a student of St. Paul, knew the Church to be the “Body of Christ” (see 1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12). Just as Jesus’ physical body was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the willing prayers of Mary, so his Mystical Body would be conceived in a similar way. Thus, Luke gives due notice to Mary’s presence in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.
This remains the story of the Church in every age. In the third century, an Egyptian Scripture scholar named Origen said that, Pentecost is the feast most characteristic of Christian life. The true Christian, he said, “is always living in the season of Pentecost.”
One of the great preachers of the early Church, St. John Chrysostom, identified this as the difference made at Pentecost: a tongue of heavenly fire had been added to human nature. Salvation now was nothing less than the sharing of divine life with all those who believed in Jesus Christ and were baptized — all three thousand on that first day.
“The day will come,” said Teilhard de Chardin, “when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire.” In a sense the annual feast of Pentecost is another opportunity, placed in the path of the believer, for discovering and participating in the ever-present fire which is God’s love. Pentecost rounds out and climaxes the Easter event. All that we have remembered and celebrated, namely, Jesus’ saving Death, his Resurrection and Ascension to glory, all of these sacred events took place, so that, the Holy Spirit might be unleashed upon the world.
As Karl Rahner once explained, “Pentecost calls us to the realization that the centre of all reality, the innermost heart of all infinity, the love of the all-holy God has become our centre, our heart. God has been given to us as gift, without reserve. God has made our own the joy, freedom, knowledge and peace of the divine life”.
The name of this gift is the Holy Spirit; the experience of this gift is fire, fire in our hearts, fire in our belly. The experience of this gift is also wind and breath so powerful, as to infuse its recipients with new life. We know this gift is ours, but we have yet to fully discover it, harness it and become active participants in the process of human redemption.
An annual or occasional plea, “Come, Holy Spirit!” is not sufficient; tending the fire and grasping the wind of the Spirit requires daily effort, struggle and commitment. Hans Küng suggests that, before the power of the Holy Spirit can truly take hold all contrary spirits must be exorcized. “Go out you unholy spirit! Go out, you who divide, separate, delay and protract! Go out of our Churches and centres, faculties and institutions, authorities and commissions! Go out of our hearts and make room for the Holy Spirit who, is both, tender and strong, who reconciles and unites.” . . . Come Spirit of God who is effective and seizes hold of us, but cannot be seized. . . who gives but cannot be owned. . . who creates life and also directs it”.
On Petecost Sunday’s Second Reading, the apostle offers the early Greek Christians (and us) some basic principles as regards the gifts of the Spirit.
From what can be deduced from Paul’s letter, the Corinthians were so enthusiastic about the gifts of the Spirit that, the harmony of the community was being disrupted. As Kevin Quast explains, people prayed aloud and prophesied freely. “The Eucharist became a gala gathering — for those who could afford it. . . Unrestrained ecstatic spiritual manifestations emerged.” Many would speak in foreign tongues or chant unintelligibly. Often, more than one person would speak at a time, with no one to offer any interpretation of what was being said. Unity, discernment, order and authenticity were being threatened by an excess of individualism, confusion, chaos and meaninglessness.
Given the situation, Paul thought it necessary to set down some ground rules for expressing and experiencing the power of the Spirit. First, Paul affirmed the fact that, only through the abiding presence and power of the Holy Spirit can believers profess and live the faith (Jesus is Lord!) authentically (v. 3). Second, Paul admitted that there are a variety of gifts but only one Spirit, who endows believers with the gifts (v. 4). Third, each of the Spirit’s gifts prompts the believer to exercise a ministry that, most appropriately manifests his/her charisms (vv. 5-6). Each and every person has been uniquely gifted by the Spirit (v. 7). Fifth, every gift of the Spirit has been given, not for self-aggrandizement but for the common good (v. 7).
As Jerome Murphy-O’Connor notes, “One cannot be as God intended and be alone. To be authentic, one must be a vital part in a web of power constituted by the reciprocity of love. The interchange of love is the new being of the believer. Only as part of the greater whole is he ‘alive’.”
On this feast of Pentecost, the assembled members of Christ’s body are renewed in the fire and love of the Spirit. Today also stands as a sober reminder that, there are many who have not yet discovered this love and been kindled by fire.
In one of his many insightful reflections about living a committed Christian life in the midst of an unreceptive culture, Dom Helder Camara (archbishop of Olinda-Recife, Brazil) once prayed, “Lord, what is the point of your presence in our lives if our lives do not change? Change our lives, shatter our complacency. Make your word our life’s purpose. Take away the unearned quietness of a clear conscience. Press us uncomfortably. For, only thus is our peace – your peace – made. Amen”
Today, at Pentecost, the Church once again puts before the gathered assembly the Johannine version of the disciples’ first experience of the risen Christ, and the powerful presence of the Spirit. Today, once again, the Church, through the living word of scripture, asks believers, how has your life changed? What is the point of the resurrection? Has the fire of the Spirit made any impact in my life? Has my life, in turn, made any impact or brought any change to the world in which I live? Has my fear and complacency be transformed into power and passion? Has peace – God’s peace – taken root? Is forgiveness of sin a reality in which I believe and toward which I exercise a responsible ministry?
Jesus’ double wish, “Peace be with you” (vv. 19, 21), was not simply the traditional Jewish greeting, “Shalom”; indeed, Jesus emphatic repetition of the phrase transformed the common greeting to a victory cry. Sin and death had been defeated. The peace that Jesus had promised (John 14:27; 16:33) was now a reality to be experienced.
Now, this gold nugget! In one of his many insightful reflections about living a committed Christian life in the midst of an unreceptive culture, Dom Helder Camara (Archbishop of Olinda-Recife, Brazil) once prayed, “Lord, what is the point of your presence in our lives if our lives do not change? Change our lives, shatter our complacency. Make your word our life’s purpose. Take away the unearned quietness of a clear conscience. Press us uncomfortably. For only thus is our peace – your peace – made. Amen”
And, this final flourish! Karl Rahner once noted, “Only he who is a member of the church and independent, humble and daring, obedient and conscious of his own personal responsibility, a pray-er and a doer, adhering to the Church in her past and in her future – only such a one as this, makes room for the Spirit of God at Pentecost.” Today, as every day, the Spirit is present; today each of us is challenged to ask: Have I made room for the Spirit? Am I willing to discover fire?
The last word! Edward Schillebeeckx’s theology of hope flows from his belief that God offers us a future full of hope and that, human beings are the words God uses to tell the story of grace.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.
Leon Bent regularly writes for 9 Catholic Magazines, Journals and Web Portals, worldwide – occasionally, the reach is over 5 million readers.