Scripture Reflection for Pentecost Sunday:
Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23
Did you hear that?
Right about now, in a world torn apart by war and division and unrest in so many places, we need to hear this. Sit up. Listen. Take note. Hear once again the first words Jesus spoke to his gathered disciples after the Resurrection, the very words in this Sunday’s Gospel: “Peace be with you.”
It doesn’t get much simpler than that, does it? Above all else, this is what Jesus wanted his friends to know, what he wanted his frightened followers to hear: A kind of one sentence valedictory speech declaring his triumph over death and foretelling a better future for them and for the world.
No wonder “they rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” Suddenly, everything changed. The pieces came together. Something new had begun.
This Gospel makes for a striking counterpoint to the first reading, from Acts, describing the arrival of the Holy Spirit amid wind, tongues of flame and a confounding atmosphere of shock and awe.
What are we to make of all this? We can take two things away from these readings this Pentecost:
1. The Spirit is a powerful supernatural force that is also not bashful about using nature – earth, wind, fire – to make a point. He strikes when you don’t expect. And he can upend life as we know it.
2. If that worries you, take a breath and (repeat this phrase often) do not be afraid. Ultimately, if we feel any anxiety or dread, we need to remember Christ’s first gift after his Resurrection: Peace.
Pope Leo knew that. When he stepped onto the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square and faced the world for the first time as pontiff, he quoted the Lord after the Resurrection.
Christ’s first words to his worried and anxious friends became Leo’s first words to the world: “Peace be with all of you.”
The subtle addition of “all” was surprising but appropriate. Leo wasn’t just addressing a gathering in the Upper Room. He was speaking to anyone and everyone, believers and unbelievers, disciples and dissenters, even those just passing by who might have wandered into St. Peter’s Square out of curiosity. Leo left out no one.
That message made the very first Christians rejoice 2,000 years ago. It should have the same effect on us – but it should also revive something that is often missing in our lives today. Hope.
Hearing it now, it should give a sense of renewal, relief and regeneration. This Pentecost, it is a declaration of something so basic and true.
It’s this: what we, as Church, are built on. The very foundation of our faith is supported by all those gifts the Spirit brings: Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord.
And when we hear the Spirit evoked this Sunday, we need to respond with a spirit of our own – one of generosity, prayer and trust.
In short, we need to embrace the Holy Spirit by embracing the spirit of this feast, because it is a spirit of great beginnings.
Those gathered in the Upper Room got that. They seemed to grasp that the world had shifted, something unexpected and new was taking place.
The climate, literally, was different. Calm became wind. Silence became a roar. And, mysteriously, the message and mission of the Holy Spirit was something that could be understood by everyone. No translators were needed; no subtitles were necessary. In a sense, this was the world the way it was meant to be.
We need to carry that idea with us as we mark this “birthday of the Church.” We need to work quietly but deliberately to keep Christian fervor growing and thriving – both within ourselves and within our war-torn, peace-challenged world.
Doing that, we can’t help but keep the flame of Pentecost burning.
Deacon Greg Kandra is an award-winning author and journalist, and creator of the blog “The Deacon’s Bench.”
