Pentecost Sunday / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
In the Church’s liturgical year, only Easter and Christmas eclipse Pentecost. The importance and grandeur of these feasts of course derive from the events being commemorated. The Church also sees them all as important because of the lessons to be learned from the biblical readings at the Masses celebrated, lessons useful for growth in the spiritual life and for understanding the faith.
Pentecost was an ancient Jewish feast, celebrating the first harvest. Set for the 50th day after Passover, it received its name of Pentecost, taken from the Greek for 50, as the Hebrew culture increasingly was influenced by the Greek civilization.
For Jews, this feast celebrated the identity, unity and vocation of the Hebrew people. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, and in the overall context of salvation in Christ Jesus, Pentecost took on a greater meaning for Christians, a meaning centered on the Gospel.
The first Christians predominantly were of Jewish origins. The Apostles were Jews. So, they were observing the Jewish feast of Pentecost.
For Christians, this feast celebrated the identity, unity and divine origins of the Church. So, Pentecost is a great Christian holy day, recalling the moment when God the Holy Spirit filled the souls of the Apostles with life. Receiving strength and power from the Holy Spirit, the Apostles then went forward to proclaim salvation in Christ to the entire world.
For the second reading, the Church presents a passage from St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians. Absolute faith in Christ as God and Savior is key. The message is challenging. Discipleship is not static or private. It is uniting with the Lord and with all who follow him in redeeming the world.
St. John’s Gospel is the source of the last reading, which is a resurrection narrative. The Apostles are afraid, clustered together, hiding in fear. Then the risen Lord appears. Their fear vanishes. He grants them supreme confidence and the divine authority to forgive sins.
The reading is profoundly relevant for Catholics. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus’ action, then, in sharing that authority with the Apostles, is extraordinary. The Apostles then in turn gave this authority to their successors, the Church’s bishops and the priests who assist them.
Reflection
For weeks, the Church has rejoiced in the resurrection, excitedly proclaiming that Jesus is, not was, Lord.
Throughout the Easter season, the Church has called us in the readings at Mass to realize the effect that the resurrection has upon us and human history. Salvation achieved by Christ on Calvary continues, available for all time and for all people.
How is this accomplished? It is accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Lord’s disciples in every consecutive age.
The bond between disciples and Jesus is experienced by every authentic Christian. It is so strong that all Christians themselves are bound together themselves. In this bond, they form the Church.
In union with Christ in the Church, they share in the mission of Christ, which is to bring God’s mercy and wisdom to the world. It is an individual role but also collective, the collective dimension seen in the visible, active ministry and witness of the Church.
Acts explicitly reveals that essential to the early Church was the need of disciples to be near the Apostles, clearly under the leadership of Peter. No interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles can avoid this fact.
This feast commemorates an event long ago, yet it offers a very contemporary lesson. Today, as it was 20 centuries ago, our Church is the Apostolic Church created by God to bring divine mercy to weary and wandering humans. As was the case in Jerusalem so long ago, it still loves all, serves all and reassures all, expressly gathered around the Apostles, with Peter at the center.
Christian commitment necessarily is personal and individual. It also is collective. †