May 31, 2009 Pentecost Sunday

PENTECOST SUNDAY 5-31-2009
Readings: ACTS 2: 1-11 PSALM 104: 1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
Psalm Response: "LORD, SEND OUT YOUR SPIRIT AND RENEW THE FACE OF THE EARTH."
1CORINTHIANS 12: 3B-7, 12-13 JOHN 20: 19-23


In John's Gospel, just before Christ's Ascension into Heaven, He appears, in a locked room, where His Apostles were gathered for fear of their lives. He quieted their fears when He showed them His hands and side, ate a bit of food, to show He had truly overcome death. HE WAS ALIVE!!

Then He said encouraging words. " As the Father has sent me", with His full authority over everything, " I also send you". Then He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." The belief of the Jews in Jesus time was all ills and misfortunes, which befall mankind, are the result of their personal transgressions against the Law.

Now, Jesus, the true Son of God, God incarnate, was granting them the power to forgive sins.

To them, it was awesome!! Had they been devious humans, they could have been zillionaires. Instead, they not only freely gave of the Grace of forgiveness, they, with the power and authority of God Himself, passed the authority on to this day, whereby, our Priests have the same authority and power to forgive as they did.

Moreover, the clergy are not exclusive! We also have the awesome power to forgive!!

The Apostles forgave sin and people were healed of many infirmities. We can forgive and heal a rift between family members or acquaintances, otherwise, the rift festers and becomes an open, running sore, incapable of healing.



St. Paul showed how far we must go in forgiving. Christ told the Apostles to forgive 7 X 70 or symbolically infinitely.

Paul takes on all the barriers against love and dissolves them in love. "

There is neither male nor female, slave or free, Jew or gentile, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord.

We become one body with Christ as the Head. We are His brothers and sisters, true heirs with Him of the throne and life of Christ, through the Holy Spirit, in Union with the Father, God.

On Pentecost, the Disciples of Christ, all 120 of them were in the house hiding, when they heard the rumblings of the wind. (Ruah)The Holy Spirit(Ruah) entered each of their lives in the form of fire, the ancient symbol of God with them.

They were so filled with the burning of love, they burst into the streets and began to declare God's message. " Repent and be Baptized". Though they spoke in fractured Greek or Aramaic, being hicks from Galilee, all the pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, heard the message in their own native tongue.

In chapter 11 of Genesis, the people of the time tried to make a name for themselves, a euphemism for becoming gods, by building a tower into the heavens so they could intercept divine power.

God confused their speech, so, they couldn't communicate with each other. We call their speech, Babel after the tower they intended to build.

Here, the reverse is true. God wanted His message to spread among all the nations of the world. So, He unconfused their mouths and ears so they could all understand each other.

We need to recognize, in God's Holy Word, the simple message He brings. We are all from one species, humankind. As Paul so eloquently wrote, " There is neither male nor female. slave or free, Jew or gentile. We are all one in Christ Jesus, the Lord .

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