First Reading: Acts 2:1-11
Second Reading: 1 Cor 12:3-7, 12-13
Dear brethren,
we are on the Sunday of Pentecost. It is a great day for the church as it is
from this day that the church started its mission of proclaiming the good news
of Jesus to the whole world. The coming of the Spirit upon the Apostles who
were gathered together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus is a decisive moment in
the history of salvation. In the first reading we hear that the Holy Spirit
enabled them to speak in tongues so that people belonging to different linguistic
groups could hear the Word of God in their mother tongue. Here the power of the
Spirit unites the people, the different tongues are no more a barrier, rather
they serve as means to unify people. It is outdoing of what had happened at the
tower of babel in the Old Testament; the people who tried to reach God through
their pride could not do so as they experienced the division of language. On the
contrary, in the New Testament, the God who came down to us in humility could
help us to use His Holy Spirit to unite people beyond various language, tribe
and culture. Yes, it is humility of Jesus that has made the Father to dispense
the Holy Spirit for us.
In the
responsorial psalm we sing that the sending forth of God’s Spirit gives life to
creation. When God revokes that Spirit all creation turns to nothing (Ps
104:29-30). Yes dear friends, it is very clear from the beginning that all
creatures are made from the very life of God. Human being is much more than any
other creature on earth as he is made through the very breath of God (Gen 2:7).
This breath of God is none other than the Holy Spirit. Now with the Pentecost, God
has renewed that Spirit in humans which is destroyed and dismayed by the fall
of first parents. In psalm 51 King David prays that the Lord may not take away Holy
Spirit from Him, that God may renew steadfast spirit in him (Ps 51:10). David
says this prayer after his fall with Bathsheba. He becomes fearful that his
spirit has become withered. He fears that he can no more stand firm. This is
the cause of sin. Whenever we sin, we become weak and untamed. To live in the continuous
presence of the Lord, God is very much important to be firm in our faith and fight
the worldly battle with resoluteness.
Today our baptismal
and confirmation ceremonies have become mere rituals. No doubt as the sacrament
is administered, the grace is effected. But how many of us really feel,
experience, become aware of the Holy Spirit coming down and resting upon the persons
who are receiving those sacraments? Remember, as humans our daily breath itself
a sharing in the breath of God. The indwelling of God’s Spirit is a renewal of
ordinary human spirit to be steadfast. Upon receiving the Holy Spirit we become
recreated. This is what happens in receiving the sacraments and this is also what
had happened in Jerusalem on Pentecost day. The lack of willingness to share
and show kindness in the world is due to the lack of Holy Spirit in us. The coming
down of Holy Spirit not only fills us with various gifts but also unites us as one.
So much of divisions in the family, society and in the church are lack of indwelling
of the Holy Spirit in each of us. Letting the Spirit to animate us will set us
on fire just as St. Catherine of Siena had said. The fiery speech of saints in the
church and courageous service done by Church men through the ages are nothing
but a working of the Spirit.
Today in
this 21st Century we need the Holy Spirit to combat the constant
distractive culture. Let us not waste our spirit in pursing passing glory. Let us
plunge ourselves into the Holy Spirit so that He may take us wherever He sees
best for us. If we march by ourselves we may collapse, resembling the event of
tower of babel in our lives. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to take us forward so
that we may set the world on fire.
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