We’re all familiar with the story we heard in tonight’s first reading. It’s easy to pass it off as just another cute story but it is important to understand its significance in our Salvation History and the lesson it teaches us. The account of the Tower of Babel is one of the mythical stories we find in the Book of Genesis. And remember, these are legendary stories that teach us about God. This one explains why there were so many languages in the world. It follows the stories of Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden because they disobeyed God and the world being destroyed by the great flood because it had turned away from God. As humanity tried, once again, to play God, this time by building a city with a tower in the sky to make a name for themselves, as we hear in today’s first reading, God stopped them by confusing “their language, so that one will not understand what another says.” This account is presented tonight in contrast to what we know happened on Pentecost – which we celebrate today – when the apostles, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, spoke and all the people in Jerusalem, who had come from far and wide to celebrate the great Jewish Feast of Weeks, could understand them. When we are left to ourselves, we all too often use our abilities for selfish gain. On the other hand, when we listen to God and allow him to lead us, we can accomplish great things for the building up of God’s kingdom. That’s the lesson we learn from this evening’s readings as we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost and come to the end of the Easter season.p
Pentecost has often been described as the birthday of the Church. We rejoice in a special way because the Spirit, sent by the Father, brings new life to those who are willing to listen to God and follow his ways. The Spirit is there to assist as we labor to witness to God’s truth, justice, peace and love. There to encourage when the going becomes difficult. There to comfort and strengthen when weakness sets in and quitting looks tempting. There to remind us of our commitment to support and protect life, all life, from the womb to the tomb. There to challenge us to rise above our smallness. There to draw our attention to the needs of God’s poor ones. There to breathe and pray within every one of God’s own. There to keep all of our eyes on the goal of preaching the good news to all, without exception and without compromise. There to light a fire in the belly of those who have grown weary and disillusioned. There to heighten the sensitivities of the well-off and worry-free toward the plight of the lost and the wounded. There to shed light in the darkness. There to be the love that empowers all we are, all we do, all we can become. And, I think we can all agree that we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit today as so many in our world disobey God and turn away from him, as so many want to play God themselves.
As we strive to continue to remain close to God at a time when so many have wandered so far away from him, the Spirit aids us in interpreting the truth that Jesus has taught and who empowers us to follow in Jesus’ ways. The human mind, on its own, is inadequate to understand Jesus and his heavenly Father. Jesus’ disciples only understood fully enough to begin their work when he breathed this Spirit into them after his Resurrection, and the assembled Church when it received the Spirit at Pentecost. St. Paul put it simply but beautifully in his letter to the Christians in Corinth when he wrote: “What person knows what pertains to a person except the spirit of that person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak about them, not with words taught by human wisdom but with words taught by the Spirit” (1 Cor 2:11-13).
Although we often associate the coming of the Spirit with a mighty wind and tongues of fire, it is also often symbolize with water. In Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome, we hear him declare that the Spirit is “poured out into our hearts” (Rom 5:5) and “we are given to drink of the one Spirit”. It was the Spirit who was the “living water” that Jesus promised in this evening’s gospel. That’s why we were sprinkled with water this evening as we began our celebration.
When that Spirit was poured forth by the risen Jesus, it signified a revolutionary new beginning, a beginning that forever changed God’s relationship with us. With the grace afforded by the Spirit, the Church could evangelize – that is, proclaim the Gospel – to all the world, down through the ages. That same Spirit continues to blow today, and now we hear our Holy Father, Pope Francis, call us to a new evangelization. We are called to listen to the Spirit who empowers us as it did on that first Pentecost in a language that can be understood by all peoples, everywhere: “Peace be with you.” “We are one body.” “We share one Spirit.” “Amen, Alleluia!”