On Pentecost Sunday, you will see that different readings are prescribed for the Vigil Mass than for the Mass on Sunday. I will reflect on the readings for the Sunday Masses, so don’t be surprised if you attend the Vigil Mass and hear different readings.
John 20:19-23
If this reading sounds familiar to you, it is because you heard it just a few weeks ago. On the Second Sunday of Easter, the Gospel reading is the same in all three years of the Liturgical Cycle – John 20:19 – 31. On that Sunday, the focus is on the reality of our Lord’s resurrection as he appears to his disciples twice. On this Pentecost Sunday, we hear a portion of that reading – the presentation of the risen Lord’s appearance to the disciples on Easter Sunday with a focus on the risen Lord’s giving them the Holy Spirit. This is the Johannine presentation of the Pentecost event – the sending of the Holy Spirit on the Church.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
the disciples: by implication from John 20:24 this means ten of the Twelve (Judas has hanged himself and Thomas is not present), presumably in Jerusalem.
Peace be with you: although this could be an ordinary greeting, John intends here to echo John 14:27. The theme of rejoicing in John 20:20 echoes John 16:22.
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Hands and side: Luke 24:39-40 mentions “hands and feet,” based on Psalm 22:17. These two are the only references to Jesus’ being nailed to the cross; the usual custom was to tie the accused to the cross.
21 (Jesus) said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
Send you: As you will notice in your footnotes, by means of this sending, the Eleven were made apostles, that is, “those sent” (cf. John 17:18), though John does not use the noun in reference to them (see the note on John 13:16). A solemn mission or “sending” is also the subject of the post-resurrection appearances to the Eleven in Matthew 28:19; Luke 24:47; Mark 16:15. The purpose of this commissioning is to perpetuate the work of divine salvation accomplished in Christ.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit.
Breathed on them: As you will note in the footnotes, this action recalls Genesis 2:7, where God breathed on the first man that he formed out of the clay of the earth and gave him life. Just as Adam’s life came from God, so now the disciples’ new spiritual life comes from Jesus. This reminds us also of the revivification of the dry bones in Ezekial 37. This is the author of John’s Gospel version of Pentecost. This is a sacrament, indicating the conferring of the Holy Spirit. Recall that, according to John, the conferring of the Holy Spirit is contingent on Jesus’ glorification and return to the Father (cf. 14:15-16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). Notice that, in v 17, he told Mary Magdalen that he had not yet ascended to the Father. Here, we learn that he had ascended. Although this may appear to be in conflict with the synoptic accounts, all accounts link the resurrection with the animation of the Church with the Holy Spirit.
23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Whose sins you forgive…: The Council of Trent defined that this power to forgive sins is exercised in the sacrament of penance. See Matthew 16:19; 18:18. So, we see that two sacraments are conferred at this moment: confirmation and reconciliation. It is, indeed, a very important moment in the history of the Church!
Acts 2:1 – 11
Here, we hear the Lucan account of Pentecost Sunday; this is the version that we usually think of when we think of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church, but the Church’s teaching speaks of the coming of the Spirit on both occasions. Luke’s Pentecostal narrative consists of an introduction (Acts 2:1-13), a speech ascribed to Peter declaring the resurrection of Jesus and its messianic significance (Acts 2:14-36), and a favorable response from the audience (Acts 2:37-41). It is likely that the narrative telescopes events that took place over a period of time and on a less dramatic scale. The Twelve were not originally in a position to proclaim publicly the messianic office of Jesus without incurring immediate reprisal from those religious authorities in Jerusalem who had brought about Jesus’ death precisely to stem the rising tide in his favor.
1 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled: although this phrase can be understood as simply noting that the Jewish feast of Pentecost – the Feast of Weeks – had arrived, this introduction is a Lucan literary technique that announces an important event (cf. Lk 2:6 – the annunciation of the birth of Mary’s child; Lk 9:51 – the announcement of Jesus’ exodus). It is a guidepost for the inauguration of a major stage in Luke’s sacred history. Here, it signals the beginning of the new era, which the gift of the Spirit inaugurates.
2 And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.
There came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind: wind and spirit are associated throughout the Bible. (cf. Gn. 1:2; John 3:8. The sound of a great rush of wind would herald a new action of God in the history of salvation.
3 Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
Tongues as of fire: see Exodus 19:18 where fire symbolizes the presence of God to initiate the covenant on Sinai. Here the Holy Spirit acts upon the apostles, preparing them to proclaim the new covenant with its unique gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:38).
4 And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
To speak in different tongues: ecstatic prayer in praise of God, interpreted in Acts 2:6,11 as speaking in foreign languages, symbolizing the worldwide mission of the church. As you will see in other incidences in the Acts of the Apostles, it indicated the presence of God in a very special way.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
6 At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
7 They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
8 Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language?
9 We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome,
11 both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”
in our own tongues: the gift of tongues was originally given so that people speaking different languages could receive the gospel message.
1 Corinthians 12:3b – 7; 12 – 13
We hear from Paul’s first letter to the Christian community in Corinth.
3 Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
5 there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
6 there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
7 To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.
8 To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
9 to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit;
10 to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues.
To one…to another interpretation of tongues: this is one source of list of gifts of the Holy Spirit. The other one – the one we’re all familiar with from our Confirmation – is found in Is 11:2-3: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. These gifts provide us with the strength to spread and promote our Catholic faith by our words and actions. I call on the Holy Spirit regularly to provide me these gifts.
11 But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.
12 As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
As we see, Luke and John offer two very different renditions of the gift of the Spirit to the community of faith. In Luke, it happens after fifty days: a final forty-day tutorial during which the risen Lord appeared to disciples until the day of his ascension. After a ten-day period of retreat, the Spirit dramatically invades the gathered community with the result that they cannot help but share their Gospel.
John paints quite a different picture. In his depiction, on the very day of the resurrection the risen Jesus breaks into the midst of the closed-off and fearful disciples to offer them peace. Before all else, this gift of peace comes in the form of forgiveness. This is the first encounter of the risen Lord with the disciples who had abandoned and betrayed him. Their locked doors are one more sign of their lack of faith. Yet, Christ breaks through it all with the offer of peace. This is a profoundly humbling moment, a replay of sorts of Jesus washing their feet. As he greets them with peace they know all too well that they don’t deserve his acceptance. They have proven themselves cowards and traitors, and he’s proclaiming his love for them just as they are. The risen Lord appears in their midst in the most unexpected way. He shows them his hands and his side, signs of an irrevocable past. Nothing can change what happened. But just as truly as he is free from death, he offers them freedom from being determined by their past. This is a new time for the followers of Christ, then and now.
So, why is the Holy Spirit so important in our lives? As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states so well:
The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit” (§ 1830).
The Church also speaks of the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit, derived from the Letter to the Galatians 5:22-23: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity. The fruits of the Spirit, as the Catechism explains, “are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory” (§ 1832). So, the Holy Spirit helps us to make good choices in our daily lives as we journey to join with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. During Holy Week and the Easter Season, we focus on the great work that Jesus did, suffering and dying for us, overcoming death in the resurrection and returning to the Father after completing his work here on earth. With Pentecost, we turn our focus on how all of this work for our salvation effects our daily lives and on how we need to respond – with the same generous love and forgiveness that Jesus showed us while he was with us in the flesh.