Pentecost
June 8, 2014
John 20:19-23
“Receive the holy Spirit. Whose
sins you forgive are forgiven them… (John 20:22)”
Happy Birthday to our Mother, the
Church! Happy Birthday to all of us!
Pentecost traditionally marks the
birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples of Jesus
Christ in Jerusalem and transformed them into the first community of believers.
There and then, they were filled by the Spirit of Truth who empowered them to
preach the mighty acts of God in various languages. The same Spirit powerfully
drove them out from the locked room and led them into the ends of the earth.
Thanks to the Mighty Spirit, we have now the biggest and one of the
longest-living communities in the face of the earth, the Catholic Church.
Pentecost is not only about the
foundation day of the Church, but also the day Jesus fulfilled His promise.
This promise notes that He would send the Advocate, His own Spirit of Truth,
for us. Thus, today we celebrate also the “birthday” of the Holy Spirit. Let us
greet Him, “Happy Birthday Holy Spirit!” Surely, as a person in the Most Holy
Trinity, He has been around together with the Father and the Son in
eternity, but as St. Gregory of Nazianzen put it, Pentecost commenced the age
of the Holy Spirit. Yet, more often than not, many of us are unfamiliar with
this Sacred Spirit, let alone having an intense personal relationship with Him.
In fact, I am guilty of this as well. Often, I invoke the Holy Spirit
when the examination period is just around the corner. I beg Him to give me a
good grade but, after I passed, I forget everything that I had learned,
including Him! I realized that I only remember Him when there is an
examination but after that, I will forget about him again.
In this respect, we need to thank many Charismatic
movements in the Church. With energetic songs and praises, they remind us on
the emphatic and habitual presence of the Holy Spirit among us. Both young and
old people rush to these prayer meetings to feel the gift of healing and of
tongue. Yet, the Holy Spirit is far beyond these charisma and prayer
gatherings. In the Old Testament, the Spirit is closely link to ‘air’ and
‘breath’. Going back to the story of creation, God exhaled His ‘breath of life’
into Adam, and the man came to life (Gen 2:7). The breath of life is the spirit
of God, the Holy Spirit. Because of the Holy Spirit, we receive our first
priceless gift of God, life itself. That is why in the Nicene-Constantinople Creed,
we believe the Holy Spirit as the giver of life.
But, He goes beyond that. In today’s
episode, Jesus breathed in His Holy Spirit so that the disciples would be able
to forgive. It is the Spirit of Forgiveness and forgiveness leads into one
final destination—Peace. He is the reason why we are in peace with God and with
each other. In us, He is the Spirit of Jesus that cries aloud Abba, Father (Gal
4:6). He is the cause of our Joy in the Lord.
Pentecost is a high time for all of us
to once again renew our relationship with the Holy Spirit. It is the moment to
pray to Him and to talk intimately to Him. He has been there with us in first
episode of our creation, and faithfully walks with us till the Kingdom comes.
So, why not spend some time with Him? Let's make a special gift for the Holy Spirit.
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno,
OP
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