A Reflection For Pentecost 2013
* Sister Anastasia Young, SSS
Pentecost brings the Easter season to its fulfillment and closure. The promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit by Jesus has once again been fulfilled in living out the Christian mysteries in our daily lives. How well have we done or how have we neglected to do this?
When we say “Come, Holy Spirit” we had better know what we are asking. In both the Hebrew and New Testament Scriptures there is nothing gentle or soft about the Spirit. Stupendous power accompanies the Spirit of God at any time or place remaining as vigorous as ever even if the Spirit is interior. At Pentecost it was a fiery wind that descended like tongues upon the disciples of Jesus huddled together in the upper room resulting in bewilderment and confusion. They were endowed with various gifts and, in different languages, proclaimed the wonderful works of God. Accompanying this there would be challenges and confrontations along the way because what the experience of Pentecost did NOT do was remove problems. It only caused more difficulties than as it does today.
This is the way it is with the outpouring of gifts by the Spirit. The two go hand in hand: the presence of the Spirit and gifts given. While gifts are used to build up a strong church community of talented people, they can also turn against us making us competitive, jealous, defensive – even aggressive. For this reason, Jesus also gave the apostles the power to forgive sins. We have to be big enough to be ready to forgive others when somehow the excess of the use of their good gifts can become their worst sins. Our glory is to follow Jesus` way of the cross when the going gets tough. If we are united in prayer and shared ambitions we do not need to fear the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The gospel calls us to conversion and change. It requires trust and confidence in something much more powerful than our own human resources. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, getting us fired up, pushing us into the future. We can`t always see the Spirit coming and we may, at times, feel queasy about that powerful inner urge that beckons us to action. However, we can see the fruits at work with the eyes of faith. The transformation Jesus invites us to bring about is to continue, with courage, to ask for the coming of the Holy Spirit, to enkindle in us the fire of his love so that the face of the earth will be renewed.
The mystery remains the promise!