Pentecost: A Celebration of Life

HOMILY: Pentecost Sunday

John 20:19-23

28 May 2023 

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

Pentecost Sunday is the “Birthday of the Church.”Please say to the person beside you, “Happy Birthday to us!” Can we be livelier than that? Is that how we greet a birthday celebrant? Even if there is no party and food, we still need to have fun. We can still have a quiet and meaningful celebration. We don’t have a big birthday party every year, do we? We consider Pentecost as the Church’s birthday because it is our rebirth into new life having been re-created in the Spirit. 

In our readings today, we have two moments of re-creation. One is grand while the other is simple. (Just chill.) The first, is the fantastical account we heard in the passage from the Acts of the Apostles. Imagine being so afraid of our society that we choose to hide away in our house and lock all the doors. That’s what the disciples did. In the silence they suddenly heard a sound like a very strong wind from the sky. And though the door of the room where they were was closed, it managed to enter and fill the whole house.The passage does not say the wind was actually blowing. It said there was a NOISE like a strong driving wind. Actual strong winds would have tossed the apostles around in the room and destroyed everything in the house. Think of the force of the wind of a storm, isn’t it devastating? Or that strong wind that entered an Aseana Airlines plane when a restless passenger opened an exit door? But in this story, there is no destruction. Then out of nowhere, there appear tongues of fire descending on each one of them, empowering them, giving them courage, and the ability to speak different languages that they never learned before!  How grand and special the manner by which the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples!

In the gospel passage from John, we have a quiet and simple story.  We are told that Jesus appeared to them, showed them His wounds and then breathed on the disciples and said “Receive the Holy Spirit…” (John 20:22) In this ordinary moment of breathing, specifically exhaling onto them, He recreates the disciples. This is reminiscent of the second account of creation in Genesis wherein the creating power of the breath of God breathes divine life into a lump of clay making it the living being He called Adam.  Similarly, all of us baptised have been recreated in Christ. This is one of the reasons why the Easter season is a privileged time for celebrating baptisms, for it is in our baptism that we have first received the Spirit and the new life Christ has won for us through His passion, death and resurrection. Today is a celebration of our being God’s redeemed people.  

Because of the Holy Spirit, we have a new life with God. There is a deeper intimacy because now God dwells within us through the power of the Holy Spirit. As re-created, redeemed people in Christ, we now share in the mission of Jesus. Jesus tells His disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  (John 20:21) We share in the task to “renew the face of the earth”. This new life in Christ must bear fruit in practical ways in our life. One of the signs of re-creation is forgiveness, “pagpapatawad” and the fruit of re-creation is peace, “kapayapaan”. Note that Jesus greets the disciples twice with… “Peace be with you.” The wish of peace, which is the common Jewish greeting of the day, was also a prayer for wholeness, health, prosperity, and all good things. When Jesus wishes peace for His disciples, it is not a simple well-wishing; rather, it is a promise of “presence.” It is an assurance of the presence of the Risen Jesus in the strains and stresses of our striving to bring God’s peace in our midst. That is why at mass, we do the same thing, because Jesus is present here at mass. 

Furthermore, St. Paul says that another fruit of being re-created by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is harmony and interdependence within the members of the Body of Christ. In the Church there are no more distinctions, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free. We treat each other equally. Everyone is considered friends and brothers and sisters. There is patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Through the Spirit, the world is renewed, the community is revitalised, and we come to know the mysterious yet all-pervasive peace of Christ.

Perhaps, many of us wonder, “If we all have been recreated by the Spirit of God, how come our world looks the same?  Some will say that the world’s problems are getting worse and more evil is spreading. Why is there so little peace, comfort, or solace experienced by us in life?” Has the face of the earth really been renewed? The answer to this is a resounding “YES”! You and I are proof. Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is proof that the work of renewal continues. There is hope! The Spirit of God continues to work in our lives, in our midst.  The Spirit works wonders whenever human hearts are open to His promptings. Let us not be afraid! Instead, let us be hopeful. Let us be more trusting. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to direct our life and empower us to accomplish our mission for the Church and for Jesus. Again, Happy Birthday to us all!