Starters from Fr. Tony Kadavil:
Pentecost literally means 50th. It is a feast celebrated on the 50th day after the Passover feast by the Jews and a feast celebrated on the 50th day after the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus by the Christians. The Jewish Pentecost was originally a post- harvest thanksgiving feast. Later it was celebrated to remember God’s covenants with Noah after the Deluge and with Moses at Mt. Sinai
The event
On the day of Pentecost
1) The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and Blessed Virgin Mary as fiery tongues.
2) The frightened apostles were transformed into fiery preachers and evangelizers by a special anointing of the Holy Spirit.
3) The audience experienced a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues, hearing Peter speaking in their languages.
4) The early Christians became powerful witnesses and brave martyrs for faith.
The role of the Holy Spirit in Christian life
1) As an indwelling God, He makes us His Living Temples (I Cor 3:16).
2) As a strengthening God, He strengthens us in our fight against temptations and in our mission of bearing witness to Christ by transparent Christian lives.
3) As a sanctifying God, He makes us holy through the sacraments:
a) He makes us children of God and heirs of heaven through Baptism.
b) He makes us temples of God, warriors and defenders of faith, through Confirmation.
c) He enables us to be reconciled to God by pardoning our sins through Reconciliation.
d) He gives us spiritual nourishment via the Holy Eucharist by converting bread and wine into Jesus’ body and blood through Epiclesis.
4) As a teaching and guiding God, He clarifies and constantly reminds us of Christ’s teachings.
5) As a listening and talking God, He listens to our prayers and enables us to pray, and He speaks to us through the Bible.
6) As a giver of gifts, He gives us His gifts, fruits and charisms.
Life Messages
We need to permit the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives:
1) By constantly remembering His holy presence, and behaving well.
2) By praying for His daily anointing so that we may fight against our temptations and control our evil tendencies, evil habits and addictions.
3) By asking His daily assistance to pray well, by listening to God through meditative reading of te Bible and by talking to Him.
4) By asking the help of the Holy Spirit to do good to others and to be reconciled to
1) Treasure within: An old beggar lay on his deathbed. His last words were to his youngest son who had been his constant companion during his begging trips. “Dear son," he said, “I have nothing to give you except a cotton bag and a dirty bronze bowl which I got in my younger days from the junk yard of a rich lady.” After his father’s death, the boy continued begging, using the bowl his father had given him. One day a gold merchant dropped a coin in the boy’s bowl and he was surprised to hear a familiar clinking sound. “Let me check your bowl,” the merchant said. To his great surprise, he found that the beggar’s bowl was made of pure gold. “My dear young man," he said, “why do you waste your time begging? You are a rich man. That bowl of yours is worth at least thirty thousand dollars.”
We Christians are often like this beggar boy who failed to recognize and appreciate the value of his bowl. We fail to appreciate the infinite worth of the Holy Spirit living within each of us, sharing His gifts and fruits and charisms with us. On this major feast day we are invited to experience and appreciate the transforming, sanctifying and strengthening presence of the Holy Spirit within us. This is also a day to renew the promises made to God during our Baptism and Confirmation, to profess our faith, and practice it.
2: “Lower your bucket-- taste and see”: More than a century ago, a great sailing ship was stranded off the coast of
3: "Well, Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore.” It happened in Galveston, TX. A woman was cleaning the bottom of the cage of her parrot Chippie with the canister vacuum cleaner. She was not using an attachment on the tube. When the telephone rang, she turned her head to pick it up, continuing to vacuum the cage as she said, "Hello," into the phone. Then she heard the horrible noise of Chippie being sucked into the vacuum. Immediately she put down the phone, ripped open the vacuum bag, and found Chippie in there, stunned but still alive. Since the bird was covered with dust and dirt, she grabbed it, ran it into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held the bird under the water to clean it off. When she finished that, she saw the hair dryer on the bathroom sink. She turned it on and held the bird in front of the blast of hot air to dry him off. A few weeks later, a reporter from the newspaper that originally published the story went out to the house to ask the woman, "How’s Chippie doing now?" She said, “He just sort of sits and stares." Today’s Gospel tells us that it was what happened to the apostles. They all were traumatized by the arrest and crucifixion of their master and bewildered by his post-Resurrection appearances and his command to prepare for the coming of his Holy Spirit. Many of us can identify with Chippie and the apostles. Life has sucked us up, thrown cold water on us, and blown us away. Somewhere in the trauma, we have lost our song. Hence, we, too, need the daily anointing of the Holy Spirit to keep us singing songs of Christian witnessing through agápe love.
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Michel DeVerteuil
General Comments
General Comments
Knowing the background to the liturgical celebration of Pentecost is important to help us understand the feast correctly. People often say to me that they are unhappy with the way Pentecost is celebrated in the liturgy; they find it comes and goes too quickly. Easter gets plenty of importance, having its own “octave”, so that the celebration continues for eight days; Ascension is celebrated until Pentecost, but Pentecost itself is over in one day, and then we are back in Ordinary Time. Churches are beautifully decorated in red – but only for one day.
There is a simple reason why Pentecost lasts one day only: in the Church’s liturgy, Easter is one fifty day celebration, and Pentecost marks its close. This was one of the changes brought about by the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Before that, Pentecost – known as Whit Sunday – was celebrated as a major feast, with its own vigil and octave.
Restoring the importance of the liturgical seasons was one of the major conciliar reforms. The Decree on the Liturgy states (107 and 108): “the liturgical year is to be revised so that the traditional customs and discipline of the sacred seasons shall be preserved and restored.” It added, “Their specific character is to be retained so that they duly nourish the piety of the faithful as they celebrate the mysteries of the Christian redemption,” and again, “The minds of the faithful should be directed primarily towards the feasts of the Lord whereby the mysteries of salvation are celebrated throughout the years” so that “ the entire cycle of the mysteries of salvation may be suitably recalled.”
The seasons remind us that being followers of Jesus means more than obeying his commandments; it means being in union with him, in the words of Fr, Clyde Harvey’s wonderful hymn, “being the body of the Lord, having his spirit coursing through our souls.”
Each season celebrates a particular moment in the life of Jesus; we refer to these as “mysteries” because he continues to live them in us today. We don’t merely “remember” the seasons, we “celebrate” them, recognizing similar stages in our own lives. As the Vatican Council stated, “They are in some way present at all times; the faithful lay hold of them and are filled with saving grace.”
There are five seasons, and they are arranged chronologically to correspond to the stages of Jesus’ life:
1– during advent he is in Mary’s womb;
2– at Christmas he is a baby and then a little child;
3– during Lent he is a powerful adult, preaching repentance and new life;
4– in the Sacred Triduum he is powerless, passing through death to resurrection.
5– Easter the fifth and final season; it celebrated the last stage in Jesus’ life when he did three things:
– he rose from the dead,
– ascended into heaven,
– sent the Holy Spirit on his followers.
These are three different historical events but also three aspects of the one “mystery” of Jesus’ triumph over death.
– The resurrection reminds us that his tomb was empty, death had no power over him.
– The ascension that he was no longer limited to one place and time but was at the right hand of the Father and at the same time “with” his followers as they went out into the whole world “making disciples of all nations”.
– The sending of the Spirit that he was now really present within them – the “short time” had passed and they could “see him” again (cf. John 16:17).
The sequence of the different aspects of the Easter event varies in the New Testament accounts. St Luke’s gospel (which we read on the feast of the Ascension in Year 2) tells us that Jesus ascended on Easter Sunday, and in the gospel readings for the feast of Pentecost St John relates that Jesus Breathed the Spirit on the disciples on “the evening of the same day” – Easter Sunday. It is also significant that, according to the lectionary, we read the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit in the first reading of Easter Monday, and that of Jesus’ promise to send the Spirit on the Sundays and weekdays of the fifth and sixth weeks of Easter time.
The liturgy, then, far from downplaying the sending of the Holy Spirit, highlights it. But it also gives us some important pointers on how we are to understand this event. I will just mention three.
1. People sometimes refer to Pentecost as “the feast of the Holy Spirit”, but that is not a good expression. It is a feast of Jesus, the “mystery” of his sending the Holy Spirit on his followers, the moment when he became present to them in a new way – by being with them.
2. We too come to a stage in our lives as parents, teachers, church ministers and spiritual guides, when we have to let go of those God has entrusted to our care and let them live their own lives. Like Jesus, we must “breathe on them”, so that they may be guided inwardly by the values we taught them. Like Jesus too we can do that only if we have first given our lives for them – which will include being crucified.
3. The coming of the Holy Spirit is an event in our lives as it was for Jesus’ disciples. It is the moment when we realize that following Jesus is not a matter of keeping commandments but of having him live within us. The experience is always the culmination of a journey – we first have to look wonderingly at an empty tomb; to see the risen Jesus and then to have him vanish from our sight; to wait a long time in Jerusalem, trusting that the Lord’s promise will be fulfilled.
Scripture Reflection
“Walk the dark ways of faith and you will attain the vision of God.” St Augustine
Lord, we thank you for this Easter season which we have now completed.
We thank you for the times when we have to stand hopefully
before an empty tomb,
times when we see you and live with you
and then have you vanish from our sight
and have to wait for you in Jerusalem for what seems an interminable time,
until eventually your promised Spirit comes on us and we can live again.
“The literal meaning of Scripture is the field, while the deeper and more profound spiritual reading is the treasure hidden in the field.” Origen
Lord, we thank you for the times when we have remained hidden from others.
We too were afraid that the terrible deeds that were done to Jesus
might be done to us.
Then you walked through our closed doors and,
with no advance warning, you came to stand among us.
You did not condemn us.
You merely assured us that we can live in peace.
You made us feel secure – within ourselves,
with one another, and with you, our only God.
Lord, we thank you for the times when we felt we were really thirsting
to go to others as you sent us to them.
We too can tell others the good news
that they can rise from the dead and find new life in you.
Lord, we thank you for the times that we can say to one another
what Jesus said to his disciples.
We too have felt within us that feeling of being close to God.
We would like to share this feeling with all those you have given to us.
Help us by word and gesture to make this a reality.
“Understanding can follow where experience leads.” St Bernard
Lord, we thank you that just as you have felt his inner spirit within you,
You eventually became able to breathe on us.
We could then feel your presence within us.
We knew then that you were at work among us.
“The gravest sin committed against our country is to have classified the struggle of the Guatemalan people as the work of communists.” Rigoberta Menchu
Lord, remind us that we who have been blessed
By the sending of the Holy Spirit do not belong to the world.
We therefore have the ability to forgive the real sins of your people,
but we can also retain those which need to be retained and not forgiven.
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Thomas O’LoughlinIntroduction to the CelebrationToday we are celebrating a feast that was celebrated by many of the Jews who lived at the time of Jesus. Many of his early followers continued to celebrate it after the resurrection, and so it became part of the annual celebrations of all Christians. However, over the first few decades of the church, this feast took on a new meaning: Jesus has risen and ascended to the Father, but he promised us his Spirit.
So today we rejoice that the Spirit is moving in each of our hearts making us a people, inspiring us to understand the mystery of our faith, and strengthening us to follow Jesus the Anointed One.
Gospel Notes
1. The focus of Pentecost for Christians is as a celebration of, and a thanksgiving for, the presence and focus of the Spirit in our lives as Christians. The Spirit is the one who brings unity— unity with one another and with Christ, and so the church is ‘his’ work. Today is a thanksgiving for this gift, membership of the church, which we profess in the recitation of the Creed: ‘we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church’. Significantly, it is this gift of belonging to the People that made Christianity so attractive in the early centuries of its life where the emphasis was not on a set of peculiar doctrines which were shared by a group (e.g. the eastern mystery cults), but on belonging to a new community which had doctrines peculiar to it. We see this concern with belonging to the church in one of the simplest creeds that has survived from that time: ‘I believe in God, the almighty Father and in his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit and in the resurrection of the flesh in the holy catholic church.’ Belonging to this universal (i.e. catholic) group that cut across social, ethnic, linguistic, and political boundaries, was central to their self-understanding and was the on-going work of the Spirit.
2. If Luke wants us to use a festival fifty days after our Passover to recall the fundamental belief that the presence of God, the Spirit, dwells within and activates the church, how does he imagine that presence? It is with this question we should
look at his carefully crafted story in Acts 2.
The Spirit is the one who gathers us — all the different ‘nations’ are brought into contact with one another. Then the Spirit unites them into one church gathered around Jesus — so the followers of Jesus everywhere are linked through the apostles. The Spirit then inspires them and sends them forth to be the witnesses to Jesus to the ends of the earth. As Luke writes he has in mind the many individual churches where
his work will be read and wants to ensure that each individual church recognises itself as a node in a great web that stretches not only across the empire (the oikumene) — ‘visitors from Rome’ — but even beyond its borders (Parthians and Medes)
and so is universal.
3. We tend to think of ‘the church’ firstly as the worldwide in situation and then of the local church as only ‘the local office’. Hence we have tremendous concern with making sure that everything is the same universally — just look at the old arguments for a single liturgy in Latin or the present arguments over translations. This attitude blinds us to much of Luke’s ecclesiology. He did not see unity as a unitary glut: but rather that the gospel could adapt itself to each nation — hence they did not hear the message in the lingua franca (in which he himself wrote) but in their own tongues. Unity between the churches is a gift of the Spirit, not a function of uniformity of
practice. This reflected the real situation in which Luke wrote, where Christianity was already present (and this is pointed out in Acts) in, at least, four major linguistic areas: Greek (Asia and eastern Europe) and so Latin, Syriac (the spread of Christianity eastwards from Palestine), and the vernaculars of Egypt! the Nile valley. He assumed that they would each be different but would be bonded together not only by common rituals and books, but by a vision of themselves that was larger than their own Eucharistic group, region, nation, or any political boundary. While they would live and act locally, they would think globally, and so testify that the new covenant meant Christ through them was offering his risen life to every human.
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Sean GoanGospel
The fourth gospel speaks of the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete or Advocate. The word is taken from legal language and may refer to a lawyer for the defence, but it also means a guide and today’s text, taken from two different chapters of John, speaks to us about both aspects. The work of the Holy Spirit is to makes us confident witnesses as we show the world that there is more to life that mere survival or the pursuit of pleasure. The Spirit of truth allows us to witness in every era to the timeless message of God’s love – a truth revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. However, such is the depth of the mystery of the Word made flesh that no single generation can grasp it entirely and so we are guided by the Spirit in coming to a greater understanding of what is revealed.
Reflection
Birthdays deserve to be celebrated. They are occasions when we can be thankful for the gift of life, and for the love we have received. They provide the opportunity for families to get together and recall good memories from the past and also a chance to look to the future, aware of how far we have come. So it is with Pentecost. Today is the birthday of the church, a time for us to celebrate who we are and to rediscover what it means to be the people of God. Down through the centuries the Holy Spirit has guided the church, despite the weaknesses of its members, both clerical and lay. We have the witness of many generous and heroic people who have been ‘led by the Spirit’ and whose lives have given eloquent testimony to the power of God at work in them. Today, then, let’s take heart and invoke the Spirit of God that we may be filled with a joyful appreciation of who we are and what we have to give. This brings with it many challenges, since for many religious people their faith acts as a sort of security blanket, offering certainty and security.However, the good news is not about how things were in the past but about the Spirit of God at work now and always.
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THE WORD:
Pentecost was the Jewish festival of the harvest (also called the Feast of Weeks), celebrated 50 days after Passover, when the first fruits of the corn harvest were offered to the Lord. A feast of pilgrimage (hence the presence in Jerusalem of so many “devout Jews of every nation”), Pentecost also commemorated Moses’ receiving the Law on Mount Sinai. For the new Israel, Pentecost becomes the celebration of the Spirit of God’s compassion, peace and forgiveness -- the Spirit that transcends the Law and becomes the point of departure for the young Church’s universal mission (the planting of a new harvest?).
In his Acts of the Apostles (Reading 1), Luke invokes the First Testament images of wind and fire in his account of the new Church’s Pentecost: God frequently revealed his presence in fire (the pillar of fire in the Sinai) and in wind (the wind that sweeps over the earth to make the waters of the Great Flood subside). The Hebrew word for spirit, ruah, and the Greek word pneuma also refer to the movement of air, not only as wind, but also of life-giving breath (as in God’s creation of man in Genesis 2 and the revivification of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37). Through his life-giving “breath,” the Lord begins the era of the new Israel on Pentecost.
Today’s Gospel of the first appearance of the Risen Jesus before his ten disciples (remember Thomas is not present) on Easter night is John’s version of the Pentecost event. In “breathing” the Holy Spirit upon them, Jesus imitates God's act of creation in Genesis. Just as Adam’s life came from God, so the disciples’ new life of the Spirit comes from Jesus. In the Resurrection, the Spirit replaces their sense of self-centered fear and confusion with the “peace” of understanding, enthusiasm and joy and shatters all barriers among them to make of them a community of hope and forgiveness. By Christ’s sending them forth, the disciples become apostles – “those sent.”
HOMILY POINTS:
Today we celebrate the gift of God’s Spirit -- the Spirit that enables us to love as selflessly and as totally as God loved us enough to become one of us, to die for us and to rise for us; the Spirit that takes us beyond empty legalisms and static measurements of “mine” and “yours” to create a community of compassion, reconciliation and justice centered in “us”; the Spirit that enables us to re-create our world in the peace and mercy of God.
In Jesus' “breathing” upon them the new life of the Spirit, the community of the Resurrection – the Church – takes flight. That same Spirit continues to “blow” through today’s Church to give life and direction to our mission and ministry to preach the Gospel to every nation, to proclaim the forgiveness and reconciliation in God's name, to baptize all humanity into the life of Jesus' Resurrection.
The Spirit of God enables the Eleven – and us – to do things they could not do their own: to understand the “truth” of God’s great love for his people that is embodied in the Risen Christ, and then to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Christ. The Spirit empowers us with the grace to do the difficult work of Gospel justice, forgiveness and compassion.
The miracle of Pentecost (Acts 2) is the Spirit’s overcoming the barriers of language and perception to open not only the minds of the Apostles’ hearers but their hearts as well to understanding and embracing the Word of God.
The language of marriage
They met at a party. Maria was a third-generation college senior from a Massachusetts Italian/Irish family and he was a doctoral student from Iran. Despite their differences in just about everything, they fell in love and married. That was 25 years and four children ago.
Their relationship has had its difficult moments, to be sure. Bridging two such different cultures and histories and religions and languages has not been without its challenges. As Maria writes in an essay in The Boston Sunday Globe Magazine, their life together required extraordinary sensitivity and listening:
“We muddled through some memorable ‘that’s not what I meant’ episodes that were made worse by our different cultural perspectives. Masoud’s English was near perfect, but he was prone to word mix-ups that caused unnecessary arguments. Once I was insulted because he called me ‘durable’ when, in fact, he was trying to tell me I was ‘adorable.’ Then, too, language is more than words. He was raised in a Muslim culture where men and women avoid direct eye contact, but I found it disconcerting that he would not look at me when talking.
“Time and again, we resorted to rounds of bickering — ‘You Americans have no culture’ and ‘Why are you so Iranian?’ — that left hurt feelings and stirred mutual doubt about our marital compatibility. But a marriage is more than stereotypes. Commitment to our relationship has meant a willingness to clarify our statements to each other and learn to decipher the hidden meanings behind what the other says.“With time, I have learned that Farsi is characterized by elaborate linguistic courtesy that generally avoids confrontation. Masoud’s habit of answering ‘thank you’ to every request instead of a definitive ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is his way of being polite. And gradually he has realized that my cheerful ‘American’ optimism doesn’t mean that I am always happy.”
Maria and Masoud know all too well the reality that “marriage is unpredictable and complicated, a never-ending and sometimes painstaking process of give-and-take that still allows for our cultural differences.”
[From “A Marriage’s Cultural Missteps” by Maria Olia, The Boston Globe Magazine, March 25, 2012.]
The real miracle of Pentecost (Acts 2) is one of listening: The Spirit of God overcomes the barriers of language and perception, opening not only the crowds’ minds but their hearts to hear the word of God spoken by Peter and the Eleven. The Spirit enables us to listen to the voice of God in the context of God’s compassion and peace, enabling us to hear what God actually speaks and not what we want or hope to hear. As on Pentecost, God’s Spirit continues to speak in the love of the Beatitudes, in the forgiveness of the prodigal’s father, in the generosity of the Good Samaritan, in the hope of the resurrection. God’s Spirit enables a wife and husband to love enough to listen with their hearts, to discern one another’s real meaning that is much deeper than the imperfect, imprecise words they “say” to one another. The gift of Pentecost faith enables us to hear the voice of God speaking in the midst of the clamor and busyness, the pain and despair, of our lives, inviting us to embrace the life and love of God in our homes and hearts.******
From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:
1) The Spirit of God is the melody that energizes the Church: In the last years of his life, the great cellist and conductor Pablo Casals suffered greatly from rheumatoid arthritis and emphysema. At 90, he was badly stooped, and his head pitched forward; his breathing was labored. He needed the help of his wife, Marta, to get dressed in the morning. Marta would then help him shuffle into his studio where he would, with great difficulty, arrange himself on the piano bench. Casals would then manage to raise his swollen, clenched fingers above the keyboard. A visitor describes what he saw next one particular morning: “I was not prepared for the miracle that was about to happen. The fingers slowly unlocked and reached toward the keys like the buds of a plant toward the sunlight. His back straightened. He seemed to breathe more freely. Now his fingers settled on the keys. Then came the opening bars of Bach’s Wohltemperierte Klavier [Well-tempered Clavier], played with great sensitivity and control . . . He hummed as he played, then said that Bach ‘spoke to him here’ – and he placed his hand over his heart. “Then he plunged into a Brahms concerto and his fingers, now agile and powerful, raced across the keyboard with dazzling speed. His entire body seemed fused with the music; it was no longer stiff and shrunken but supple and graceful and completely freed of its arthritic coils. “Having finished the piece, he stood up by himself, far straighter and taller than when he had come into the room. He walked to the breakfast table with no trace of a shuffle, ate heartily, talked animatedly, finished the meal, then went for a walk on the beach.” (From Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient: Reflections on Healing and Regeneration by Norman Cousins). Like music that inspires and exhilarates, the Spirit of God is the melody that energizes the Church, uniting our many different voices into the song of the Love of God. God has formed us into a community, or Church, an instrument for bringing His life and love into our world. But what makes our Church more than just a gathering of good people is His “Breath” infusing the Church with the music of His Divinity. Today we celebrate that presence. In Jesus’ breathing upon the assembled disciples on Easter night the new life of the Holy Spirit, the community of the Resurrection — the Church — takes flight. That same Holy Spirit continues to “blow” through today’s Church giving life and direction to our mission and ministry to preach the Gospel to every nation, to immerse all of humanity into the music of God’s love and the symphony of the Resurrection.
2)
Paderewski immortalizing a boy’s music: Once, a mother took her
five-year-old son with her to a concert by Ignace Paderewski, the great Polish
pianist. The mother and her son got their seats close to the stage. Then the
mother met her old friend and got involved talking with her. She failed to
notice that her son had slipped away to do some exploring. At the right time
the lights dimmed and the spot light came on. Only then did the mother see her
five-year-old son on the stage, sitting on the piano bench, innocently picking
out "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little star." Before she could retrieve her
son, Paderewski walked on to the stage. Walking over to the piano, he whispered
to the boy, "Don't stop, keep playing." Then, leaning over the boy,
Paderewski reached out his left hand and began to fill in the bass. Later, he
reached around the other side of the boy and added a running obbligato.
Together, the great maestro and the tiny five-year-old mesmerized the audience
with their playing. The image of the great maestro and the tiny five-year-old
at the piano makes a fitting image of the Holy Spirit coming upon the
disciples. On the first Pentecost the Holy Spirit whispered encouragement to
the disciples. The Holy Spirit transformed the feeble efforts of the disciples
into something powerful. (John
Pichappilly in The Table of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
3) Why are the Swiss watches gone? If in
1968 someone had asked which country would dominate watch-making in the 1990s,
most people would have said Switzerland. This is because Switzerland had
dominated the world of watch- making for the previous sixty years. They led the
search for new ways to manufacture better and more durable watch parts. They
developed the best waterproofing techniques. In fact, in 1968 the Swiss made
65% of all watches sold in the world, and laid claim to 90% of the profits.
However, by 1980 in Switzerland, watchmakers had been laid off by the thousands
and the Swiss controlled a paltry 10% of the watch market. Why? The Swiss had
ignored an important new development, the Quartz Movement. Ironically a Swiss
invented the Quartz movement, but it was rejected because it had no mainspring
or knob. It was too much of a paradigm shift for them to embrace. It was too
new and too strange. Today's text from Acts tells of a powerful paradigm shift
in the people of God demanded by "God's deeds of power," the
miraculous activities that accompanied the descent of the Holy Spirit on the
apostles.
5) All Mr. Yates needed was suddenly provided. During the Great Depression, a man by the name of Yates owned a sheep ranch in West Texas. Day by day he grazed his sheep and wondered how he was going to pay his bills. It was in the middle of the Depression, and even government subsidies would not give him enough income to break even. Then one day an oil company came to town. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well on Mr. Yates' land. At 1,115 feet, they struck oil to the tune of 80,000 barrels a day. All Mr. Yates needed was suddenly provided. When I read that old story, one that Bill Bright tells, I wondered if it might be a parable of our spiritual life. “All I have needed God's hands have provided,” says the hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness. That is a parable of our spiritual life. The power we need to become what God intended us to be is already in our souls in the form of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
6) "Oh,
it sleeps about eighty." A family driving a large camper pulled up in
front of the Church just as the pastor started toward home. Desiring to be
friendly, the pastor introduced himself and expressed his admiration for the
camper. The man of the family told him rather proudly: "This camper sleeps
eight people." Then he asked: "What is the capacity of your Church,
Pastor?" The beleaguered pastor replied rather glumly, "Oh, it sleeps
about eighty." It is embarrassing sometimes how little the modern-day
Churches resemble the Church that first Pentecost: the sound of a wind-storm,
tongues of fire, disciples speaking in different languages, thousands being
added to the Church and lots of excitement – excitement everywhere!
8) Wilma Rudolph winning Olympics gold medals: Neil T. Anderson, in his book Victory over Darkness, tells a thrilling story about a little girl born with major health problems which left her crippled. She had a large, wonderful Christian family. Her mother used to tell her. "If you believe, God will make it happen. You will be able to run around like your brothers and sisters." She took her mother’s counsel to heart and began to believe that God could heal her. She practiced walking without her braces with the aid of her brothers and sisters. On her twelfth birthday, she surprised her parents and her doctors by removing her braces and walking around the doctor's office unassisted. She never wore the braces again. Her next goal was to play basketball. The coach only agreed to let her play as a means of getting her older sister on the team. One day she approached the coach and promised him if he would give her an extra 10 minutes of coaching each day, she would give him a world-class athlete. He laughed, but seeing she was serious, half-heartedly agreed. Before long her determination paid off. She was one of the team's best players. Her team went to the state basketball championships. One of the referees noticed her exceptional ability. He asked if she had ever run track. She hadn't. He encouraged her to try it. So after the basketball season she went out for track. She began winning races and earned a berth in the state championships. At the age of 16, she was one of the best young runners in the country. She went to the Olympics in Australia and won a bronze medal for anchoring the 400meter relay team. Four years later in Rome she won the 100-meter dash, the 200meter dash and anchored the winning 400-meter relay team "all in world-record times.” Wilma Rudolph capped the year by receiving the prestigious Sullivan Award as the most outstanding amateur athlete in America. Her faith and hard work had paid off. [Neil T. Anderson, Victory over Darkness (Ventura, California: Regal Books, 1990), pp. 107-108.] In a sense, that is what Pentecost is about. People opened themselves to the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit empowered them to do things they never dreamed possible. Pentecost is about empowerment: "a small group of folks turned the world upside down.”
9) In yachting, no wind means no race! Rev. Alan Walker of Australia often tells about the race of the sailing yachts in which Australia finally defeated the USA for the prized America's Cup. For 132 years, the cup was kept and defended by the United States. Again, and again there were challenges for the cup, but each time it was retained by the USA. Finally, in 1983 Australia mounted a serious challenge. The event took place as scheduled, and after six races, the two yachts were deadlocked at three wins each. Now the whole world seemed to take notice. Australia was alive with anticipation. The sporting world was focused on the race. The day came for the final race. After more than 100 years, the United States was in danger of losing its very precious cup. Thousands of people came to watch the race. Television cameras were ready to beam the race by satellite around the world. The crews were ready. The boats were polished. The yachts pulled into place at the starting line. All was ready, but there was no race! There was not enough wind. In yachting, no wind means no race!" In the life of the Church, as in yachting, no wind, no race. Who would deny that the Church today lacks power, life, energy, excitement? The Church today needs the power of the Holy Spirit.
10) Torch and Bucket: There is the story of a person who saw an angel walking down the street. The angel was carrying a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. “What are you going to do with that torch and that bucket of water?” the person asked. The angel stopped abruptly, looked at the person and said, “With the torch, I’m going to burn down the mansions of Heaven, and with the bucket of water, I’m going to put out the fires of hell. Then we’re going to see who really loves God. The angel’s point is that many people obey God’s Commandments out of fear of punishment of Hell or hope of reward in Heaven. They don’t obey him for the reason Jesus gives in today’s Gospel. They don’t obey them out of love: “If you love me,” Jesus says in today’s reading, “you will obey my commandments.” (Mark Link in Sunday Homilies).
11) Do you belong to a Pentecostal church? During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in the days of Mussolini, Christian believers suffered considerable persecution. In his book, Fire on the Mountains, Raymond Davis tells of the love demonstrated by believers for each other during this period of affliction, which in turn made a major impression on unbelievers. For example, no provision was made to feed the prisoners in jail by the invading army. This was the responsibility of relatives and friends. Christians in the prisons had no problem, though. They were well cared for by friends and family. In fact, so much food was brought them by fellow believers and Church groups that enough remained to feed the unbelieving prisoners also. This observable love, vibrant though nonverbal, brought many to seek the Lord. Such love was previously unheard of. As a result the word spread far and wide. Non-believers sought out believers to learn more about the Christian faith. When prisoners who had come to know Christ while in jail were released, they went back home and attended the nearest church. [Leslie B. Flynn, You Don’t Have To Go It Alone, (Denver, Colorado: Accent Books, 1981).] It is only right, then, that we should pray that we might be a “Pentecostal Church,” if we understand what that means.
12) “I need to know if you are Pentecostal.” The well-known author and preacher, Fred Craddock, tells a rather funny story about a lecture he was giving: A few years ago, when he was on the West Coast speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students stood up and said, "Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal." The room grew silent. Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the Seminary! He was nowhere to be found. The student continued with his quiz right in front of everybody. Craddock was taken aback, and so he said, "Do you mean do I belong to the Pentecostal Church?" He said, "No, I mean are you Pentecostal?" Craddock said, "Are you asking me if I am charismatic?" the student said, "I am asking you if you are Pentecostal." Craddock said, "Do you want to know if I speak in tongues?" He said, "I want to know if you are Pentecostal." Craddock said, "I don't know what your question is." The student said, "Obviously, you are not Pentecostal." He left. What are we talking about this morning? Is the Church supposed to use the word Pentecost only as a noun or can it be used as an adjective? And so I ask you: Are you Pentecostal? If the Church is alive in the world, it is Pentecostal. The Church is alive if we are in one accord, sharing our blessings with the less fortunate ones, if we are joined together in prayer and if we are repenting people asking forgiveness from God and others every day.
13) “It was the Holy Spirit.” Fr. Bob Spitzer, a Jesuit priest who was the president of Gonzaga University for 12 years tells about a powerful prayer to the Holy Spirit. It involves asking for the healing of hurts and memories, not just for own self, but for those one has harmed, always seeking forgiveness. He tells the story of making an offhand comment that afterwards he regretted. Unable to call the man, he went to the chapel and asked the Holy Spirit to heal any harm he had done. A few days later, something extraordinary happened. Fr. Spitzer ran into the man walking on the campus, and the man said, “You know Father, I’ve been thinking about what you told me. At first I was kind of angry, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized what you were getting at. You actually helped me a great deal.” As Fr. Spitzer remarked later: “It was the Holy Spirit.” (http://www.magisreasonfaith.org/files/pdfs/spitzerbio.pdf).
14) The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of communication: There have been numerous books written on the difficulty that men and women have in communicating. It has been estimated that women say something like 6,000 – 8,000 words a day and that men utter 2,000 – 4,000 words a day. At the end of the day the man has spoken his 4,000 words and doesn’t want to communicate any more. He simply wants to sit quietly, watch TV and go to bed. A woman most likely won’t have spoken her 8,000 words for the day yet. She may have 2-3,000 words to go and uses them to share every event of the day. This conversation may sound familiar. Wife: Hi darling …it’s good to see you home. How was your day? Husband: Good. Wife: I heard that you were going to finalize that big deal today. How did it go? Husband: Fine. Wife: That’s good. Do you think the boss will give you a raise? Husband: Maybe. Wife: Hey! Today I found out that I’m pregnant. Husband: That’s good. and so on… and then she goes on to tell everything that happened in her day. The Holy Spirit communicates with men and women equally through the Holy Bible and inspires them and guides them in their communication with God. May God's Spirit guide and help us as we go out from here today and give us the courage and power to speak his Word to others. (Rev. Gerhard)
15) Come, Holy Spirit: There is a period of human history called the Dark Ages. It started in about the fifth century and continued for the next 600 years. You might say it was a 600-year depression – food was scarce, people lived hand-to-mouth – and Western civilisation barely hung by a thread. The one bright spot was the local Cathedral. Building Cathedrals, even in small towns, gave work to thousands of people. These buildings became the cultural, social and spiritual centres of life. Murals, stained glass windows, sculptures and pageantry helped teach the great stories of the Bible at a time when very few people could read. With this in mind, some of the cathedral builders chose to impress on the people the meaning of Pentecost. In the great domed and richly painted ceilings were a number of small carefully disguised doors. During worship on Pentecost when the whole town was gathered in the cathedral, some unlucky parishioners were drafted to climb up on to the roof. At the appropriate moment during the liturgy, they would release a live dove through the one of the small doors. This dove would swoop over the congregation as a living symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit. At the same time the choir boys would make whooshing noise, the doors in the ceiling would be opened again and this time rose petals would be showered on the congregation, symbolizing tongues of flame falling on the worshippers below. You can imagine the impact that this had on those medieval Christians whose lives were drab and hard. They might not have been able to read about Pentecost from the Bible but nevertheless this visual demonstration must have left a lasting impression. (Rev. Gerhard).
16) Together they finished the race. Derek Redmond ran in a semi-final of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Halfway round the track this British athlete collapsed with a torn hamstring.
For some strange reason, he wanted to finish the race, and he struggled to his
feet. Derek's Dad got up out of the stand, and he broke his way through
security. His Dad picked up his crying son, and together they finished the
race. That man did what the Holy Spirit does for us. It’s when we are
spiritually exhausted, when we find ourselves giving into the spirit of slavery
again and again, when we can't pray, when we don't want to pray, when our Faith
is just not strong enough –- when there
is no way we can finish the race. That’s when the Spirit picks us up, and drags
us to the finish line. (Rev. Gerhard).
17) Some Pentecost
traditions: Some parishes have begun the tradition of encouraging
people to wear red clothing on Pentecost, since red is the liturgical color of
the day. This reflects the old custom of decorating homes and churches with
colorful flowers on this day. In Poland, for example, and among the Ukrainians,
Pentecost is sometimes called the “Green Holiday,” and in Germany the “Flower
Feast.” In some Latin countries, there is the term Pascha Rosatum, Latin words that mean “Feast of Roses.” And in
Italy there is the name Pascua Rossa,
meaning “Red Pasch,” inspired by the red vestments worn on Pentecost. Medieval
Christians liked to dramatize the Pentecost symbols of the dove and flames of
fire. Historical accounts tell us, for example, that in France, when the priest
intoned the words “Come, Holy Ghost,” trumpets would blow, signifying the
violent wind of which the Scriptures speak. In other countries, choirboys would
hiss, hum, make odd noises with wind instruments, and rattle their benches.
Then from a hole in the wall above, called “The Holy Ghost Hole,” a great
swinging disk with a beautiful image of a dove would descend, and remain
suspended above the middle of the church. From the same opening in the wall
would follow a shower of flowers, representing the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
and water symbolizing Baptism. In the thirteenth century, French cathedrals
would release white pigeons inside the buildings, and drop roses from the Holy
Ghost Hole. Some towns in central Europe even dropped pieces of burning straw,
representing the flaming tongues of Pentecost. This last custom eventually
found disfavor, as more and more churches and worshipers caught fire,
spiritually and literally. (Fr.
Hoisington).
18) "Did you and Grandma ever get
into any fights?" A little girl asked her grandfather, "Did you
and Grandma ever get into any fights?" The grandfather replied: "We
don't talk about it very often, but there was a time when we were not getting
along very well. We seemed to be picking on each other a lot and finding all
kinds of things to argue about and really getting on one another's nerves.
Well, one day I came in from the garden and I heard a voice upstairs. I went to
the stairs and heard your grandmother telling God what she could not bring
herself to tell me." "Well, what did you do?" asked the
grand-daughter. "I quietly walked up the stairs," he replied,
"and knelt down beside her and told God my side of the story. And from
that day to this, we have never had a problem which we couldn't resolve by
talking it over with each other and with God." Do you think the Holy
Spirit was active in that couples' marriage? There can be no doubt. Conflict
will always remain part of every relationship. The fruits of the Spirit – love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and
self-control – will always remain critical for happy relationships with others.
19) The Holy Spirit clean-up job: The Holy
Spirit not only gives life but even brings dead bones to life. In Greek
mythology, we read about the demi-god Hercules, son of Zeus and Alcmena. He was
noted for his strength and was commanded by the King whom he was serving in
expiation of a crime to clean the stables of Augeas, which housed 3000 oxen.
The stable had not been cleaned for 30 years and Hercules was told to do the
job within a day. This was a herculean
job to complete. He could not do it by his own enormous power so he directed
the river Alpheus to run through the stable and so completed the task. The
apostles themselves did a great job of cleaning and giving life to people by
letting the Holy Spirit move into them. (Elias Dias in Divine
Stories for Families).
20) Unseen Guest: Rossini was a great composer of music. He composed beautiful pieces of music, and, therefore, the King of France presented him with a watch which he kept in his showcase with great pride. One day he showed it to his friend. His friend was surprised to know the real worth of the royal watch. He touched a button on the watch and a beautiful photograph of Rossini popped up. All stood in awe! Rossini had had the watch for several years and but had never realized the value and the importance of the watch. Many people do not know much about the Holy Spirit and the importance of Him in our lives. (Elias Dias in Divine Stories for Families; quoted by Fr. Botelho). 21) “Life after Delivery?” In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you
believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has
to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what
we will be later.” “Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery.
What kind of life would that be?” The
second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we
will walk with our legs and eat from our mouth. Maybe we will have other senses
that we can’t understand now.” The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is
impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies
nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life
after delivery is to be logically excluded. ”The second insisted, ”Well I think
there is something, and maybe it’s different from life here. Maybe we won’t
need this physical cord anymore.” The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover,
if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there? Delivery is
the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and
silence and oblivion. It takes nowhere.” “Well, I don’t know,” said the second,
“but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.” The first replied
“Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists
then where is She now?” The second said.” She is all around us. We are
surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this
world would not and could not exist.”
Said the first: “Well I don’t see her, so it is only logical that she doesn’t exit.” To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and listen, you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.” Today is Pentecost: The Church’s birthday! “Before Pentecost, the disciples were unsure of what they were to do next, and spent most of their time in hiding. After Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit, they understood their mission to spread the Good News of Jesus, and they had the courage to come out of their hiding and speak openly about who Jesus was, and what he had accomplished by his dying and rising.
(http://www.staugustinechurch.net/homilies/pentecostSundayhomily.htm)
22) The
Shakespearean advocate who saved a life: One of the popular plays of
William Shakespeare is “The Merchant of
Venice.” Antonio, a successful merchant of Venice got into trouble because of
his generosity. His friend Bassano asked Antonio for a loan. Antonio agreed,
but, as all of his assets were tied up at sea, the two went to Shylock, a
Jewish moneylender. Shylock agreed to lend them 3000 ducats, but only if
Antonio would sign a bond offering a pound of his flesh if the loan was not
repaid in three months’ time. Antonio assented to the arrangement.
Unfortunately, Antonio was not able to keep his word. The case reached the
court. Shylock refused Bassanio's offer of 6,000 ducats, twice the amount of the
loan. He demanded his pound of flesh from Antonio. Everyone present at the
scene pleaded for the life of Antonio. But Shylock was adamant that he wanted
the will to be carried out. Thus, the court must allow Shylock to extract the
pound of flesh. At that very moment, a young lawyer arrived offering to defend the case of
Antonio. The young lawyer argued that
the bond allowed Shylock to remove only the flesh, not any drop of "blood",
of Antonio. Thus, if Shylock were to shed any drop of Antonio's blood, his
"lands and goods" would be forfeited under Venetian laws. The young
lawyer stepped in at a moment when Antonio was in utter hopelessness. He was
sure that he would lose his life. But the young lawyer’s arguments and
reasoning brought hope to Antonio who began to be reassured. The presence of an
Advocate brought great change in Antonio. The disciples of Jesus, to, were in
great hopelessness after the Ascension of Jesus. The message of Resurrection
gave them hope and courage. However,that lasted only for forty days. Again,
after the Ascension they confined
themselves behind closed doors. Then came the great miracle. They found the
great Advocate in their midst. The Holy
Spirit descended upon them like tongues of fire, rekindled their hopes and
ignited their courage. It was the Holy Spirit Who transformed the ignorant men
into possessors of Divine Wisdom. It transformed the cowards into heroes and
desperate men into dreamers. (Fr. Bobby Jose)
Did you ever notice the Spirit in yourself or others around you?Some days ago I asked some school children to tell me about the Holy Spirit. They told me about fire, the storm, Peter on the balcony, the languages and the baptisms in the street. When I asked them: "Did you ever notice the work of the Spirit in yourself or others around you?" No one knew what to answer. They looked at me with their large querying eyes. I changed the question. I asked them: "Did you ever do anything really good?" Again they had no answer. Again I asked: "Did your parents, father and mother, ever do anything good?" No answer. So I said: "Sit down comfortably. Close your eyes ask yourself, what good did I do?" They sat down as comfortably as they could. They closed their eyes and suddenly the answers came. One had saved a small child from a river. One had forgiven her sisters. One said: "My mother takes care of me. That is good." Another said: "My father is helping a poor man." Slowly, slowly they became aware of the good, the love, the care in their daily lives: the work of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph Donders in 'Praying and Preaching the Sunday Gospel'
In today's gospel John shows how closely the presence of the Spirit in the Church was connected with the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. The descent of the Spirit ushers in the blessing of peace, "Peace be with you! Shalom!" Secondly, the Spirit is the gift of the Father breathed on them, given to them by Jesus. It is always a gift given from the abundance of the Father, and the gift becomes valuable when we accept it with open hands and with an open heart, believing in the power of this Holy Spirit. Those who receive the gift experience the forgiveness of sins; they are healed and set free from the bondage of sin in all its varied forms. The Spirit brings reconciliation with God and we in turn are called to be instruments of peace and forgiveness towards all our brothers and sisters. By tying the gift of the Holy Spirit to Easter, the gospel emphasises that the Spirit is the gift of the Risen One, and as such conveys the benefits of His death and resurrection. The Pentecost imagery of wind and fire emphasises the replacement of the Mosaic Law by the gift of the new law of the Spirit as the basis of life for the new community gathered together and bound together by the Holy Spirit.
The important lesson
I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl playing in the sand. They were hard at work, by the water's edge, building an elaborate sand castle with gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand. I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me. Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands and sat down to build another castle. I realized that they had taught me an important lesson. All the things in our lives, all our complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand. Only our relationships with other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will be able to laugh.
Rabbi Harold Kushner from 'Stories for a Man's Heart'
Pentecost everywhere, all the time
I was in an underground train, a crowded train in which all sorts of people jostled together, sitting and strap-hanging -workers of every description going home at the end of the day. Quite suddenly I saw in my mind, as vividly as a wonderful picture, Christ in them all. But I saw more than that: not only was Christ in everyone of them, living in them, dying in them, rejoicing in them, sorrowing in them -because He was in them and because they were here, the whole world was here too, here in this underground train: not only the world as it was at this moment, not only all the people in all the countries of the world, but all the people who had lived in the past, and all those yet to come. I came out into the street and walked for a long time in the crowds. It was the same here, on every side, in every passerby-Christ!
Caryll Houselander in 'A Rocking-horse Catholic'
The Indwelling Spirit
Rossini was an Italian who composed some beautiful music. He was once given a beautiful watch by the King of France. He was very proud of this watch because it was a royal gift. A few years after he had been given it, he showed it to a friend. His friend told him that although he had the watch for years he did not know its real value. "Impossible" said Rossini. "Lend it to me for a moment", said his friend. Taking the watch, he touched a secret spring and an inner case flew open revealing a beautiful little painting of Rossini himself. The composer had never known that the painting was there.
Anthony Castle in 'Quotes and Anecdotes'
The Spirit of Reconciliation
There were two brothers living on adjoining farms who developed a bitter conflict. It began with a small misunderstanding that grew into a major difference, and exploded into bitter exchange of words. They stopped talking to each other as well as visiting each other. One day a man came knocking at the door of John the elder brother. It was a carpenter looking for a day's work. John said, "Look across the creek at that farm. Once there was a meadow between our farms but my brother bulldozed it and now there stands a creek between us. Well, he might have done it to spite me. But I got the better of him. I have a pile of lumber in my barn and I want you to build an 8-foot tall fence so I don't have to look at his place anymore. Okay?" Meanwhile, John needed to go to town for supplies. When he returned he stood horrified because there was no fence but a bridge. And to his amazement his younger brother came across the bridge with arms outstretched. The two brothers embraced one another. Sometimes we need a third person to reconcile us. No wonder Jesus sent his Spirit to us to do that job. Peace and forgiveness are the two signs of a transformed people. Pentecost is the right time to renew our commitment to peace and forgiveness.
John Pichappilly in 'The Table of the Word'
20) Unseen Guest: Rossini was a great composer of music. He composed beautiful pieces of music, and, therefore, the King of France presented him with a watch which he kept in his showcase with great pride. One day he showed it to his friend. His friend was surprised to know the real worth of the royal watch. He touched a button on the watch and a beautiful photograph of Rossini popped up. All stood in awe! Rossini had had the watch for several years and but had never realized the value and the importance of the watch. Many people do not know much about the Holy Spirit and the importance of Him in our lives. (Elias Dias in Divine Stories for Families; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
Said the first: “Well I don’t see her, so it is only logical that she doesn’t exit.” To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and listen, you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.” Today is Pentecost: The Church’s birthday! “Before Pentecost, the disciples were unsure of what they were to do next, and spent most of their time in hiding. After Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit, they understood their mission to spread the Good News of Jesus, and they had the courage to come out of their hiding and speak openly about who Jesus was, and what he had accomplished by his dying and rising.
(http://www.staugustinechurch.net/homilies/pentecostSundayhomily.htm)
23) Carnal
versus Spiritual: There was once an Eskimo who used to take his two
dogs for a bet-fight in the town square. One was a black dog the other was
white. The people gathered week after week to see the dogs fight and betted
heavily. On some days, the black dog won and on others the white. No matter
which dog won, the Eskimo made money. The secret behind duping the people was
that he would feed well the dog which he wanted to win. Do you feed your
spiritual self and keep it strengthened by the daily anointing of the Holy
Spirit to win over the carnal person? "For
I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my
members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members." (Daniel Sunderaj in Manna for the Soul; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
24) Film: Being John Malkovich: In the
very strange 1999 surrealist movie, Being John Malkovich, someone
discovers a portal into Malkovich's mind, enabling visitors to see and
experience things through his body and to influence his actions. He becomes
aware of what's happening and finds the portal himself. At the climax of the
movie, there is a bizarre but powerful scene when he enters the portal, being
swept down a dark tunnel with a roaring sound to emerge as a
participant/observer in his own world. He discovers that everyone has his face
and his voice, and every word spoken is in his name. Connections with the
Pentecost story: -- the paradox of the Creator entering his own creation by an
unexplainable power; the potential of the portal to connect people in an
unprecedented kind of indwelling. But the exploitation of the portal by those
who find it -- selling access, allowing it to be used to violate someone's
integrity -- reminds me of all who abuse the gift of the Spirit for their own
ends or to manipulate others. Seeing the face of Malkovich everywhere reminds
me of the Spirit making Jesus present through us in a new and all-encompassing
way. We are recognizably Christ-like, though still ourselves, and all we say
and do is “in his Name.” It's a frightening moment in the movie, because
Malkovich has no wish to become omnipresent as a Christ-figure, but the image
is powerful. (Marnie Barrel -Film
insights in The Text this Week; quoted by Fr.
Botelho).
********
From Fr. Jude Botelho:
At Pentecost the Spirit breaks through all the barriers and comes dramatically with all the signs that accompany it. The Spirit comes like a mighty wind, unstoppable and unpredictable; the Spirit comes as fire that enlightens, warms and purifies; the Spirit comes in the shape of tongues descending on each of the apostles giving each one the gift of speaking, of communicating. The miracle of Pentecost is not seen only in the external signs that accompany it, but is seen in the transformation brought about in the apostles themselves. At Pentecost the apostles become fearless and face the crowds and are proud to proclaim Jesus Christ. Before Pentecost they did not understand things that Jesus explained to them, now they not only understood but they themselves were understood by people who listened to them. When they were least expecting it, the promise that Jesus gave was fulfilled. God cannot be controlled or put on our time-table. So often God is at work in our lives but we do not recognize it.
25) Holy-Roller
Service: A
little girl was visiting her grandmother in a small country town in the
Southern United States. They attended a very emotional religious service, where
people expressed their feelings by jumping about and shouting -- what we might
call a "Holy Roller" service. The little girl asked her grandmother
if all that jumping meant the Holy Spirit was really there. Her grandmother
said. "Honey, it don't matter how high they jump up, it's what they do
when they come down that will tell you if it's the real thing." It would
be good if we were a little more enthusiastic about our religion, but what
matters is what we do in everyday life. Does the Holy Spirit have a practical
effect on our daily life? In what way? (Gerard Fuller in Stories for all
Seasons; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
26) High tide of the Holy Spirit: A ship
strayed off course near San Diego some years back. It became stuck in a reef at
low tide. Twelve tugboats were unsuccessful in their attempts to budge it.
Finally, the captain instructed the tugs to go back home. He sighed, "I'll
just be patient and wait." He waited until high tide. All of a sudden, the
ocean began to rise. What human power could not do, the rising tide of the
Pacific Ocean did. It lifted that ship and put it back into the channel.
Something like that happened to the early Church on the Day of Pentecost. They
were all together in one place – confused, unmotivated and fearful – when
suddenly the tide of Holy Spirit rolled in.
27) Niccolo
Paganini on one string: The renowned Italian violinist, violist,
cellist, guitarist and composer, Niccolo Paganini, was due to perform one night
in a very prestigious Concert Hall in Paris. Even as he walked on to the stage,
the audience stood up and cheered with irrepressible excitement and
heart-warming esteem. Resting his violin under his chin, the celebrated
musician began to play with such dexterity and brilliance that the audience
listened with spellbound silence. Suddenly one string of the violin snapped.
But the consummate professional was not deterred. On the contrary, he continued
to play with three strings, and the music was just as fascinating and
impressive. Moments later a second string snapped; and minutes later the third.
The audience gasped in stunned disbelief. What was Paganini going to do? Would
he bow and leave regretfully? Without losing his cool, the famous maestro
raised his hand, called for silence and announced: "Ladies and gentlemen,
you are about to hear Paganini on one string." What followed thereafter
literally took everyone's breath away - the performance was flawless, the music
exquisite, the entertainment heavenly and just on one string! Such is the
incomparable touch of the Master's hand. This extraordinary story aptly
describes the singular and marvelous role of the Spirit in our personal lives.
(J. Valladares in Your Words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They are Life; quoted
by Fr. Botelho).
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From Fr. Jude Botelho:
At Pentecost the Spirit breaks through all the barriers and comes dramatically with all the signs that accompany it. The Spirit comes like a mighty wind, unstoppable and unpredictable; the Spirit comes as fire that enlightens, warms and purifies; the Spirit comes in the shape of tongues descending on each of the apostles giving each one the gift of speaking, of communicating. The miracle of Pentecost is not seen only in the external signs that accompany it, but is seen in the transformation brought about in the apostles themselves. At Pentecost the apostles become fearless and face the crowds and are proud to proclaim Jesus Christ. Before Pentecost they did not understand things that Jesus explained to them, now they not only understood but they themselves were understood by people who listened to them. When they were least expecting it, the promise that Jesus gave was fulfilled. God cannot be controlled or put on our time-table. So often God is at work in our lives but we do not recognize it.
Did you ever notice the Spirit in yourself or others around you?Some days ago I asked some school children to tell me about the Holy Spirit. They told me about fire, the storm, Peter on the balcony, the languages and the baptisms in the street. When I asked them: "Did you ever notice the work of the Spirit in yourself or others around you?" No one knew what to answer. They looked at me with their large querying eyes. I changed the question. I asked them: "Did you ever do anything really good?" Again they had no answer. Again I asked: "Did your parents, father and mother, ever do anything good?" No answer. So I said: "Sit down comfortably. Close your eyes ask yourself, what good did I do?" They sat down as comfortably as they could. They closed their eyes and suddenly the answers came. One had saved a small child from a river. One had forgiven her sisters. One said: "My mother takes care of me. That is good." Another said: "My father is helping a poor man." Slowly, slowly they became aware of the good, the love, the care in their daily lives: the work of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph Donders in 'Praying and Preaching the Sunday Gospel'
In today's gospel John shows how closely the presence of the Spirit in the Church was connected with the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. The descent of the Spirit ushers in the blessing of peace, "Peace be with you! Shalom!" Secondly, the Spirit is the gift of the Father breathed on them, given to them by Jesus. It is always a gift given from the abundance of the Father, and the gift becomes valuable when we accept it with open hands and with an open heart, believing in the power of this Holy Spirit. Those who receive the gift experience the forgiveness of sins; they are healed and set free from the bondage of sin in all its varied forms. The Spirit brings reconciliation with God and we in turn are called to be instruments of peace and forgiveness towards all our brothers and sisters. By tying the gift of the Holy Spirit to Easter, the gospel emphasises that the Spirit is the gift of the Risen One, and as such conveys the benefits of His death and resurrection. The Pentecost imagery of wind and fire emphasises the replacement of the Mosaic Law by the gift of the new law of the Spirit as the basis of life for the new community gathered together and bound together by the Holy Spirit.
The important lesson
I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl playing in the sand. They were hard at work, by the water's edge, building an elaborate sand castle with gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand. I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me. Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands and sat down to build another castle. I realized that they had taught me an important lesson. All the things in our lives, all our complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand. Only our relationships with other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will be able to laugh.
Rabbi Harold Kushner from 'Stories for a Man's Heart'
Pentecost everywhere, all the time
I was in an underground train, a crowded train in which all sorts of people jostled together, sitting and strap-hanging -workers of every description going home at the end of the day. Quite suddenly I saw in my mind, as vividly as a wonderful picture, Christ in them all. But I saw more than that: not only was Christ in everyone of them, living in them, dying in them, rejoicing in them, sorrowing in them -because He was in them and because they were here, the whole world was here too, here in this underground train: not only the world as it was at this moment, not only all the people in all the countries of the world, but all the people who had lived in the past, and all those yet to come. I came out into the street and walked for a long time in the crowds. It was the same here, on every side, in every passerby-Christ!
Caryll Houselander in 'A Rocking-horse Catholic'
The Indwelling Spirit
Rossini was an Italian who composed some beautiful music. He was once given a beautiful watch by the King of France. He was very proud of this watch because it was a royal gift. A few years after he had been given it, he showed it to a friend. His friend told him that although he had the watch for years he did not know its real value. "Impossible" said Rossini. "Lend it to me for a moment", said his friend. Taking the watch, he touched a secret spring and an inner case flew open revealing a beautiful little painting of Rossini himself. The composer had never known that the painting was there.
Anthony Castle in 'Quotes and Anecdotes'
The Spirit of Reconciliation
There were two brothers living on adjoining farms who developed a bitter conflict. It began with a small misunderstanding that grew into a major difference, and exploded into bitter exchange of words. They stopped talking to each other as well as visiting each other. One day a man came knocking at the door of John the elder brother. It was a carpenter looking for a day's work. John said, "Look across the creek at that farm. Once there was a meadow between our farms but my brother bulldozed it and now there stands a creek between us. Well, he might have done it to spite me. But I got the better of him. I have a pile of lumber in my barn and I want you to build an 8-foot tall fence so I don't have to look at his place anymore. Okay?" Meanwhile, John needed to go to town for supplies. When he returned he stood horrified because there was no fence but a bridge. And to his amazement his younger brother came across the bridge with arms outstretched. The two brothers embraced one another. Sometimes we need a third person to reconcile us. No wonder Jesus sent his Spirit to us to do that job. Peace and forgiveness are the two signs of a transformed people. Pentecost is the right time to renew our commitment to peace and forgiveness.
John Pichappilly in 'The Table of the Word'
Every Sunday, a tribal from the mountain used to come to the market place along with two dogs - a white dog and a black dog. He had trained the dogs to fight on command. Every Sunday afternoon there used to be a dogfight in which the people in the market-place used to take bets. One Sunday the black dog won; another Sunday the white dog won - whichever dog won, invariably the tribal always won. His friends asked him what the secret of his winning was. He said, "I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger." -We have two natures within us, fighting for mastery -the carnal and the spiritual nature, or the sinful and Christ-filled nature. The one we feed the most wins in the end. If we feed our spiritual nature and allow the Holy Spirit to empower us, He rules over us. But if we feed our sinful nature, the flesh rules over us. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. "Come Holy Spirit!"
John Rose in 'John's Sunday Homilies'
May the Spirit of Jesus fill you and bring newness into your life!\
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From Sermons.com
The well-known author and preacher Fred Craddock tells a rather funny story about a lecture he was giving: A few years ago, when he was on the west coast speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students stood up and said, "Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal." The room grew silent. Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the seminary! He was nowhere to be found.
The student continued with his quiz right in front of everybody. Craddock was taken aback, and so he said, "Do you mean do I belong to the Pentecostal Church?" He said, "No, I mean are you Pentecostal?" Craddock said, "Are you asking me if I am charismatic?" the student said, "I am asking you if you are Pentecostal." Craddock said, "Do you want to know if I speak in tongues?" He said, "I want to know if you are Pentecostal." Craddock said, "I don't know what your question is." The student said, "Obviously, you are not Pentecostal." He left.
What are we talking about this morning? Is the church supposed to use the word Pentecost only as a noun or can it be used as an adjective? And so I ask you: Are you Pentecostal?
In spite of the fact that the church doesn't know what the adjective means, the church insists that the word remain in our vocabulary as an adjective. The church is unwilling for the word simply to be a noun, to represent a date, a place, an event in the history of the church, refuses for it to be simply a memory, an item, something back there somewhere. The church insists that the word is an adjective; it describes the church. The word, then, is "Pentecostal."
If the church is alive in the world it is Pentecostal. And you thought we were Methodist! [Insert your own tradition here.]
How do we keep this aliveness, this fire burning, this spirit moving? What must exist in us, around us, and through us, if we are to be Pentecostal? Simply these three things:
1. We Are To Be Of One Accord
2. We Are To Join Together Constantly in Prayer
3. We Are To Repent
2. We Are To Join Together Constantly in Prayer
3. We Are To Repent
Let me begin with three quick stories. See if you can find the common thread that runs through them.
The First Story is about a woman who lives here in Texas. She is a motivational speaker who is often asked to give the key-note address at conventions and convocations.
Recently she returned home after speaking five nights in a row. Her husband said: "Honey, I know you must be really tired. Why don't you "sleep in" in the morning?"
That sounded good to her, so she did stay in bed longer than usual. When she finally got up she put on an old worn-out blue robe that was frayed and faded but comfortable... and some old house-shoes that had no back to them... the kind that you have to slide your foot into them... and then slide your foot as you walk to keep them on. Then, she walked by a mirror and saw that her hair was a major disaster... so she stopped and put some of those big pink plastic rollers in her hair. That done, she headed for the kitchen.
When she walked into the kitchen to get her morning coffee, she noticed it immediately. Her husband had forgotten to take out the trash! In that community if you didn't get your trash out on time, it was tough luck. They would not wait for you.
So she grabbed the two big trash bags quickly and began to shuffle outside...
- pulling the heavy trash bags along the ground,
- trying to keep her worn-out robe closed by holding her arms close together,
- sliding her feet along to keep her house-shoes on,
- and sporting huge pink plastic rollers in her hair.
- pulling the heavy trash bags along the ground,
- trying to keep her worn-out robe closed by holding her arms close together,
- sliding her feet along to keep her house-shoes on,
- and sporting huge pink plastic rollers in her hair.
Just at that moment, the garbage truck was pulling away... she shouted to the driver: "Am I too late?" And he took one look at her and replied: "No, hop on!"
The Second Story comes from Dr. Jim Standiford, who is pastor of First United Methodist in San Diego. (FUMC, San Diego, October 31, 2004, "A Vocabulary of Faith Is What America Needs")
When Jim first came to San Diego, he played golf a couple of times with a man named Lawson Cooke. Some months later, Jim's wife said: "Jim, you used to play golf with Lawson Cooke, but you two haven't played together for some time now. Why don't you play golf with Lawson Cooke anymore?"
Jim replied: "Well, would you play golf with somebody who kicked his ball out of the rough into the fairway... or took a countless number of mulligans... or hit the wrong ball... or didn't write down the right score on the score card and kept hitting ball after ball into the lake?"
She said: "No." And Jim said: "Well, Lawson Cooke wouldn't either!!!"
The Third Story comes from a minister who put an ad in the local paper for a well-rounded handyman, who could fix things around the church and help out with routine chores.
The very next morning after the ad ran, a well-dressed young man came and asked to speak to the minister. The pastor "sized up" the young man... and then asked him a flurry of questions:
- Can you start a fire? "Yes Sir!" Can you have breakfast ready by 7:00 a.m. every morning? "Yes Sir!"
- Can you polish the silver and wash the dishes? "Yes Sir!"
- Can you keep things picked up and neat... and the lawn mowed? "Yes Sir!"
- Can you polish the silver and wash the dishes? "Yes Sir!"
- Can you keep things picked up and neat... and the lawn mowed? "Yes Sir!"
And the minister continued: "And, of course, there will be electrical problems and unexpected leaking pipes and restroom overflows and... wait a minute! The young man interrupted, "I came here to make arrangements for my wedding. But if it's going to be like that, I think I'll just forget the whole thing!"
Now, all three of these stories are humorous. They made me laugh when I first heard them... but what is even better about them (and is the common thread that runs through them and links them together)... is the fact that we know these three stories the only way we could... The people telling the stories (the motivational speaker and the two pastors) are all telling the stories on themselves. They are laughing at themselves as they tell the stories and they are doing so with obvious joy and delight.
That is a dramatic sign of a healthy person... to have a sense of humor and to be able to laugh at yourself.
It's delightful to laugh with children at the cute and funny things they sometimes say.
It's fun to laugh at the comical antics of circus clowns or the hilarious wit of good comedians... But, the best humor of all is when we laugh at ourselves. It's a real mark of emotional maturity. It eases our self-pity; it diminishes our pride and saves us from taking ourselves too seriously.
Ethel Barrymore said it well. She said: "You grow up when you get your first good laugh at yourself."
To have a good sense of humor...to be able to laugh at yourself... those are significant and dramatic signs of a healthy personality.
Now, let's take this a little deeper and ask this question: What are the dramatic signs of a healthy faith? It's a good question to raise and think about today as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday (The Birthday of the Church)... Do we as a church family have a healthy faith? ...
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You Are in the SpiritIt's like the story of the shark and the whale. Both were swimming in the sea when the shark swam up to the whale to engage in conversation. As they swam along, the shark said to the whale, "You are so much older than I, and wiser too. Could you tell me where the ocean is?" The whale responded, "The ocean is what you are in now." The shark would not believe it. "Come on, tell me where the ocean is so I may find it!" The whale repeated, "The ocean is here, now; you are in it." Unbelieving, the shark swam away searching for the ocean.
The moral of the story, I believe, is this: don't spend too much time looking for God because the Spirit of God is here in the now of your life, dwelling within you, within me, within this community. And that truth is nurtured in prayer.
Susan M. Fleenor, The Indwelling Spirit of Pentecost
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The Pentecostal Spirit of LoveToday's holy solemnity puts new heart into us, for not only do we revere its dignity, we also experience it as delightful. On this feast it is love that we specially honor, and among human beings there is no word pleasanter to the ear, no thought more tenderly dwelt on, than love.
The love we celebrate is nothing other than the goodness, kindness, and charity of God; for God himself is goodness, kindness, and charity. His goodness is identical with his Spirit, with God himself.
In his work of disposing all things "the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world" from the beginning, "reaching from end to end of the earth in strength, and delicately disposing everything; but as sanctifier the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world" since Pentecost, for on this day the gracious Spirit himself was sent by the Father and the Son on a new mission, in a new mode, by a new manifestation of his mighty power, for the sanctification of every creature.
Aelred of Rievaulx (1109-67)
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ControlA wealthy family from Massachusetts used to take a month's vacation every summer to the coast of Maine, taking their maid with them. The maid had an annual ritual at the beach. She wore an old-fashioned bathing suit, complete with a little white hat, and carried enough paraphernalia to stock Wal-Mart. She would settle herself on the beach, cover every inch of her exposed flesh and journey down to the water's edge. There she would hesitate while taking deep breaths and working up her courage to enter the icy-cold water. Finally, she would daintily extend one foot and lower it slowly into the water until she barely had her big toe submerged. Then she repeated the act with the other foot. Then, having satisfied her minimal urge for a swim, she would retreat to her chair and umbrella and spend the remainder of the vacation curled around a book.
I'm afraid that may be a parable of our Christian commitment. Are we afraid to give in to the Pentecost experience, fearful that we might lose control? That's what it is really all about, isn't it? Control. We want to be in control. Well, if Pentecost is to do nothing else, it should remind us that we are not in control, not even - or perhaps I should say especially - of ourselves.
Randy L. Hyde, Time to Deliver
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They All Come Together
John Ortberg tells the story of a friend who made his first trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line from Chicago to Georgia. On his first morning in the South he went into a restaurant to order breakfast, and it seemed that every dish included something called grits...which, as my Tennessee friends tell me, is exactly the way God intended it. Not being familiar with this southern delicacy, he asked the waitress, "Could you tell me, exactly what is a grit?" Looking down on him with a mixture of compassion and condescension, she said, "Sugar, you can't get just one grit. They always come together."
John Wesley knew there was no personal holiness without social holiness, and Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Dillard says, "You can no more go to God alone than you can go to the North Pole alone." We're just like grits...you can't get just one. They come together.
John E. Harnish, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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Peace
The peace Jesus gives to us through the Holy Spirit is more than we can ever imagine:
Peace means the cessation of all warfare, but it also means much more.
Peace means a feeling of inner well-being, but it also means much more.
Peace means an end to psychological tensions, but it also means much more.
Peace means halting interpersonal conflicts, but it also means much more.
Peace means the settling of silence on the soul, but it also means much more.
Peace means a feeling of inner well-being, but it also means much more.
Peace means an end to psychological tensions, but it also means much more.
Peace means halting interpersonal conflicts, but it also means much more.
Peace means the settling of silence on the soul, but it also means much more.
In Valyermo, California , the Benedictines converted a 400-acre ranch into a religious community called St. Andrew's Priory. As you enter the grounds, you find that the land is posted: "No Hunting Except for Peace."
The world is hunting for peace. What will we give it?the torch of Christ's ministry with great commitment. In the story, Jesus returns to heaven after His time on earth. The angels gather around Him to learn what all happened during His days on earth. Jesus tells them of the miracles, His teachings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.
When He finishes his story, Michael the Archangel asks Jesus, "But what happens now?" Jesus answers, "I have left behind eleven faithful disciples and a handful of men and women who have faithfully followed me. They will declare My message and express My love. These faithful people will build My church." "But," responds Michael, "What if these people fail?...What then is Your other plan?’ And Jesus answers, ‘I have no other plan!’” (1)
