Sunday Gospel Reflection
"Receive the Holy Spirit!"

Introduction:

The Holy Spirit, The Force of Forgiveness
How is God's Spirit different from the Force in Star Wars?

George Lucas has released Star Wars onto video and DVD. Children of all ages can now relive the saga of the most profitable series in movie history. They can root for the Light side of the Force, and boo the Dark Side.

The Holy Spirit found in Christianity does not mirror the dual nature of the impersonal Force. Why? The Holy Spirit brings us love and hope. Love and hope do not have a dark side. And, both love and hope begin with forgiveness.

The Holy Spirit we worship, the Holy Spirit we possess, is the Spirit of divine forgiveness.

First Reading
Acts 2:1-11

1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.
6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
7 And they were amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God."

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13

3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
6 and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good
...
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Gospel Reading
John 20:19-23

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came  and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

Bible Study/Meditation

It is hard to think of an analogy that would depict what the Christian life would be like without the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the closest analogy would be to picture the chaos and impotency that would come if language, verbal and non-verbal, were suddenly to cease existing. One can only begin to imagine the sense of hopelessness we would experience not being able to communicate with even one other person. The powerlessness would be overwhelming. We would be unable to accomplish much of anything. There would be no information system, no books, and no written instructions on how to do things. The sense of isolation and dislocation would be unbearable. Love, appreciation and belonging would not be able to be expressed or received. Needs would not be able to be communicated nor could help be provided. Communication, one of the essential elements that make us distinctively human, when removed, would change life beyond recognition or description.

Pentecost Sunday celebrates the Father and Son's gift to us of the Holy Spirit. Similar to the above example, the Holy Spirit is the essential ingredient that makes us distinctively Christian, the absence of which would change our life beyond recognition or description. To appreciate the Holy Spirit's presence we want to think for a minute of what life would be like without him, if history was suddenly turned back, and the Holy Spirit was removed. How would our Christiasn life be different?

There would be:
No belonging-"But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." (Romans 8:9)

No assurance-"In him you...were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it." (Eph 1:13,14)

No revelation (Scripture)-"The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (John 14:26)

No illumination-"So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God." (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)

No power in prayer-"...we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words...the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26,27)

No power to witness-"...you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses." (Acts 1:8)

No unity-"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body..." (1 Corinthians 12:13,) "...maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit..." (Ephesians 4:3-4)

Scary isn't it? These are just a few of the things made possible to us by the Holy Spirit's presence.

Fortunately, the Holy Spirit was given to us, his Body, and his presence will remain with us until Jesus returns. How can we more fully express our appreciation for the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday? We can do this by fully opening our heart and life anew to his indwelling presence.

"In our day too, the Spirit is the principal agent of the new evangelization. Hence it will be important to gain a renewed appreciation of the Spirit as the One who builds the Kingdom of God within the course of history and prepares its full manifestation in Jesus Christ, stirring people's hearts and quickening in our world the seeds of the full salvation which will come at the end of time," (from On the Coming of the Third Millennium, by Pope John Paul II).

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for the gift of Pentecost and for new life in the Holy Spirit.  Fill me with your Holy Spirit and set my heart ablaze with the fire of your love that I may serve you in freedom and joy.