By Rev. Fr. Daniel Tetteh Tackie
Theme: A Promised Fulfilled: The Spirit Of The Lord Is Upon Us!
Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, the day we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in a special way. I said specially because the Holy Spirit did not begin to exist on that day. Before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit existed, in fact he has been there from the very beginning with the Father and the Son and together with the Father and the Son he is adored and glorified. To deny this fact is to deny the reality of the Holy Trinity.
Pentecost is a Jewish feast that originally has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit, it was celebrated on the Fiftieth Day after Passover. It was a feast that drew so much attention to Jerusalem at least during the time of Jesus, and that explains the reason why so many people gathered in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit descended. The Bible tells us that people gathered in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, there were Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome-Jews and proselytes alike- Cretans and Arabs;… These people gathered to show the importance of these feasts, particularly the Pentecost which commemorates the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai and harvest thanksgiving. While Jerusalem was agog, the apostles were consumed by fear; they locked themselves up in a room. They imprisoned themselves; they were restricted by fear and denied themselves the excitement that comes with the celebration of these great feasts. On this day, God decided to show who He is by sending the Holy Spirit.
The Apostles were in a room when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech. As the Apostles spoke this heavenly language, the different nations that gathered in Jerusalem heard and understood everything the Apostles said in their own different native language and were converted. Our God is awesome! He gathered fish for the Apostles to catch (Jn.21:6) and on Pentecost day he gathered nations for them to catch. God works in a way we cannot understand. As we end the season of Easter today, may God by his Spirit gather every good gift for us.
The First Reading of this Sunday tells the story of how Christ eventually fulfilled His promise to His Disciples who faithfully heeded the injunction, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the advocate comes” (Acts 1, 5). From the perspective of this reading therefore, today’s celebration is that of a promise fulfilled, and the reward of faithful obedience and steadfastness in prayer. Like the early disciples, every true believer has been empowered specially by the Holy Spirit. We have been refilled with a new unction for function and therefore, must like them also, welcome and appreciate the various gifts made available to us by the out pouring of the Holy Spirit.
Finally, in St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, we get a theological interpretation of the event. Paul had been writing to Corinth because there had been arguments among the Corinth Community about the relative importance of the different graces or gifts given by the Spirit. They thought that some gifts were more valuable than others, and that speaking in tongues was to be most valued. Paul’s response to this is to lump all the gifts together and describe them in their totality as graces given by the Spirit in order to build up a Community. All are given gifts and all are valuable and are not to be rated better or worse, but simply they are to be used for the good of the community and the spread of the Word. The gift is not given to a person to inspire pride in him or her, but it is for the common good of all.
Today, the solemnity of Pentecost, with the promise fulfilled, God is calling us to change the world, not on our own but by His power at work in us, the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Through the Sacrament of Confession, service to others and witness to the truth, it can begin to happen in us individually and spread out throughout the Church and the world. The transformation can begin today as we plug into the source of our power, the new Pentecost that begins with one simple prayer: Come, Holy Spirit.
This day therefore, the Spirit we have received commissions and empowers us to move out in full force yet, with wisdom and gentility in order to testify to the Lordship of Christ. Today we have a new Pentecost. Let us therefore beckon on the Lord: Send forth your spirit O Lord and renew the face of the earth.
