THE FEAST OF THE PENTECOST

(LỄ CHÚA THÁNH THẦN)

Author: Jorathe Nắng Tím

Translator: A. Prisca

“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” (Acts 2,1-4)

“They” in this context means all the Apostles.  “All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”(Acts 1,14), “Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, [who] was counted with the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1, 26)

Indeed, the Coming of the Holy Spirit has made a triumphant and thorough completion for the history of Israel, people of God, and from then on, opens a new era for the Church that Jesus has built upon the Apostles : “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…” (Mt 16,18).

This is the crucial key in the history of salvation of God with the preaching of the Crucified Jesus as well as the Resurrection under the guidance and assistance of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised to request for from God the Father before the Passion : “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth” (Jn 14,16-17), that “will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you”  (Jn 14,26) :

1.   The Holy Spirit guides the Church to live in the unity with the respect of diversity

When the Apostles are granted the gift of speaking in different tongues, the Holy Spirit wants the Church of Jesus to be unified in terms of the respect for the differences in all members of the Church : the Church sent forth to all peoples, the Church speaking to all nations in all languages, the Church willing to go across all boundaries in the world for spreading the Good News, the Church not isolated in an ivory tower as those who built the Tower of Bable in the Old Testament : “The whole world had the same language and the same words. When they were migrating from the east, they came to a valley in the land of Shinar  and settled there.They said to one another, “Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.” They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.” (Gn 11,1-4). 

The image that the tongues of fire appeared to the Apostles and they “began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2,4) expresses clearly the unity in diversity when receiving a variety of  gifts or abilities from the same Holy Spirit. It is so far different from those who built the Tower of Babel with the ambition of “unity of identity”, which

“confuse their language, so that no one will understand the speech of another.”  (Gn 11,7), and their ambitious plan is broken down when “the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth.” (Gn 11,7)

The Feast of the Pentecost has become God’s equipping His Church with the power of His Spirit so that the Church is sent forth to every tribe and tongue and people and nation and is form in the unity in the midst of diversity in Jesus Christ, the only Savior of human beings..

2.   The Holy Spirit is the Love of the Most Holy Trinity remaining in the deep heart of the Jesus follower:

The image that “suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were” (Acts 2,2) reminds another one that “peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain,… Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had come down upon it in fire… and the whole mountain trembled violently (Ex 19,16.18) when God made a covenant to His own people. “As all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blast of the shofar and the mountain smoking, they became afraid and trembled” (Ex 20,18) and  10 Commandments, carved on two stone slabs.

Unlike the context in which God’s own peolple got the covenant, on Sinai mountain, the descent of the Holy Spirit, though it is like a strong driving wind, did not frighten the Apostles, yet “they were all filled with the holy Spirit” : those are the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord together with other charisms to build and serve Church.

Likewise, different from the 10 Commandments carved on stone slabs, the descent of the Holy Spirit carves the Rule of Jesus’ Love into the heart of each human being, and make it rejoice and be glad by the Fruits of Love as “patience, kindness, no jealousy, no pompousness, not being inflated, no rudeness, not seeking its own interests, no quick temper, not brooding over injury, not rejoicing over wrongdoing but rejoicing with the truth.” (1 Cr 13,4-6).

With these essential gifts, all of the Apostles bravely and joyfully departed for their mission of evangelization and witness for Jesus Christ regardless of any hardships, challenges and persecution.  

3.   The Holy Spirit revitalizes and rewew the world:

The Holy Spirit is the One as the mighty wind sweeping over the water in the time of  Creation as well as the One that revitalizes the world by another creation in which the people of God is granted with the hope and the life as the prophet Ezekiel said : “rophesy over these bones, and say to them “Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Listen! I will make breath enter you so you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put breath into you so you may come to life. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ez 37,4-6)

It is the Holy Spirit that  “breathe into these slain that they may come to life : they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army” (Ez 37,10), an image of the people of God as they were brought back to the land Israel though [their] bones are dried up, [their] hope is lost. (cf. Ed 37,11-14).

In the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has revived all creatures, given life to broken souls and revived the hearts of despair. As the Giver of Life, the Holy Spirit revitalizes the Church , renews the life of the faithful and refreshes all other things to create  “a new heaven and a new earth” as the prophet Joel said:  “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” (Jl 3,1). This is confirmed again through St.Peter’s speech  at Pentecost. (Acts 2, 14-21).  

4.   The Holy Spirit makes us become children of God:

 St. Paul affirmed : 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. (1 Cr 12,3).

Likewise, the Spirit makes us become children of God, “not slaves any more” (Gl 4,7) as the Apostle of the Gentiles wrote to the Galatians : As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (Gl 4,6). “In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. 27 And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.”  (Rm 8,26-27).

5.   The Holy Spirit is within the Church in the mission of evangelization:

The Church cannot become the Church of Evangelization without the Holy Spirit; and the missionary cannot preach the Good News and witness for Jesus without the Holy Spirit, because the Resurrected Jesus,  when appearing to the disciples and granting them peace, said that : As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (Jn 20,21-23).

With the Holy Spirit, the Church is at peace to depart for the mission of evangelization, vigorously preach about the Jesus and courageously witness for Jesus. With the Holy Spirit, the Church is always full of vitality, love, peace and hope on the way to all nations as Jesus’wish. With the Grace from the Holy Spirit, the Church will loyally fulfill the assigned missions.  

Come, Holy Spirit, and melt our cold hearts as You made the tongues of fires parted and came to rest on each one of the Apostles in the Pentecost. Revitalize and sanctify us so that we can become children of God, togther with the others to form the Church, fervently and devotedly set out beyond all boundaries for spreading the Good News that God loves all mankind under the guidance and assistant of The Spirit of Love.