We refer to this day, the coming or the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the Blessed Mother, as the birthday of the Church. These past fifty days, from the day of the resurrection until the Ascension of Jesus, Jesus had been preparing his disciples for this day, the day when they would have the courage and the fortitude to continue what Christ himself started— that is, to continue building up God’s kingdom here in this world. The readings today, especially the Gospel, are very instructive as to what this birth of the Church means.
The Gospel tells us that, after the death of Jesus, the disciples were hiding themselves from the Jewish authorities and leaders. They were fearful that the same fate that Jesus had would happen to them. So what they did, as the Gospel tells us, is that “they locked themselves up” for fear of being arrested and being condemned to death. They were so afraid for their lives. That’s why the post resurrection appearances of Jesus are really meant to renew their faith once again. Jesus had to appear to them so many times before his Ascension to rekindle once again the courage and the fortitude that they had lost.
A greeting of peace from the Resurrected Christ dispels the fear that enveloped the disciples, showing to them the mark of the nails in his hands and the wound on his side. For what? To convince them that there’s nothing to fear anymore, there’s no more reason to hide, no more reason to deny who they were, no more “chickening”--- because Christ has triumphed over death. Why all of this convincing? Because they had a mission to continue, the very mission that Christ started. But you see, it was not enough for the disciples to be convinced that Christ was indeed that person he claims to be—Jesus recognizes that this would not be enough. He promised them that he would send to them the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, a sign of God’s abiding presence in them, assuring them that they would never be alone in this mission that Jesus entrusted to them. Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is probably the most difficult person in the
Holy Trinity to be understood. It’s easier to understand the role of God the Father, as the creator of all things, as the source of everything there is. It’s easier also to understand who Jesus is because he became like us, he lived just like us, we heard and saw what he did. But it’s a little different with the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit then? The Holy Spirit is the love that exists and binds God the Father and Jesus. It’s the continuous manifestation of God’s abiding presence. Since Jesus and God the Father could not be bodily present, it is their Spirit that continue to make their presence felt. It is the same Spirit that continues to guide the Church to its ultimate goal and continues to direct us if we are listening intently towards the fulfillment of God’s will for us. A simplistic, but helpful, analogy would be this: We are alive because of the air we breathe. We don’t see the air. but we know that it does exist. We can’t touch it, but we know it’s there. Same thing with the wind. We don’t see it, but we can feel and experience its effect. We don’t see God the Father or Jesus in bodily form, but we know that they are real because of the Spirit that makes them known. As the second reading says, “No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit”, meaning everything that we know about God and about ourselves that are true are through the working of the Holy Spirit.
If the Holy Spirit is what moves the Church towards her ultimate destination, which is eternal life with God, it is the same Spirit that should be directing us in our call to discipleship. Remember that when we speak of the Church, we are not talking about a building or simply an institution; the Church, the Body of Christ, is you and me, each and every one of us. The same Spirit that the Apostles received on the day of Pentecost, we have received as well on the day of our baptism and reinforced once again during our confirmation.
If you are the Church and have been asked to partake in the mission, are we sure that we are no longer locking ourselves up for fear of something? The Church could not blossom if we are locking ourselves up for fear of the cost of the call to follow Jesus. I am not just speaking of the external dangers that a follower of Christ could potentially encounter or face in places where Christianity is persecuted. We can still lock ourselves up and live in fear if we can’t fully embrace our own dignity as sons and daughters of God. If we are still submerged in sin, unforgiveness, excessive desire for material things, for power, for riches, if we are still plunged in any kind of addiction, then we are still locked up like the apostles when Jesus first appeared to them. How can we be instruments of God’s kingdom if we are hiding, if we are not being true to who we are, if our choices are contrary to the Gospel? My dear friends, if one is not taking one’s discipleship seriously, then we are still in the locked up mode. What else does God need to do in order for us to be convinced of our sublime dignity and call? He already showed his hands and his side (he resurrected already – meaning he triumphed over suffering death), then he gave us his Spirit. We have everything that we need—what other proof do we need? As we celebrate Pentecost today, let’s remember that we are not celebrating the birthday of a building but, rather, our birth in the Spirit, which reminds us that ultimately our call and true success can only be measured by our effort to grow in holiness with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Let’s get out from our hiding place, from the shells that have made us oblivious to the world around us; let’s engage the world passionately with the love that we have experienced from God. Are you out there proclaiming the Gospel through your witness to the Gospel or are you still locked up in fear? – Fr. Cary