When was the last time the Spirit came upon you?
If the Pentecost Vigil readings are meant to make us focus
on the anticipation of the manifestation of the Spirit in our lives, Pentecost
Sunday’s readings celebrate that event in a big way. Today we hear Psalm 104 again, but with a slightly
different twist; this time, the psalmist hopes that the content of his prayer
will be to God’s liking: Pleasing to him be my theme. And what is that theme? Lord,
send down your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth…
And voilà! Wind and
fire! In the Acts of the Apostles, the transformation that the
disciples undergo is radical: they are
purified by the tongues of fire,
their lives are shifted by the strong
driving wind – and the Spirit is upon them.
Changed in that instant, they are led to leave the upper room and go
right out into the street to proclaim the Good News. There, in an extraordinary reversal of Babel,
the multiple languages of this group are understood by all, signifying that the
renewed relationship with God is accessible to all, no matter what their
tongue. Flowing out from the apostles,
the Spirit transforms all present, astounding
and amazing them.
John’s Gospel has its own Pentecostal event, one we also heard
very early in the Easter season. There,
Jesus breathes on the disciples with
the invocation, Receive the Holy Spirit. It is their call to be mercy and forgiveness
and grace to the world. They will do this
from a place of peace: Shalom. Peace be with you, Jesus says to them.
Even more extraordinary still: the Spirit is given to us, too! Paul tells the Corinthians that, To each individual the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for some benefit.
And when we allow the Spirit to work in us, it doesn’t just benefit us;
the Spirit works for the good of all – how could it be otherwise? We, too, are to bring God’s mercy and
forgiveness and grace to the world. We,
too, are told to Go in peace (to love and
serve the Lord) at the end of Mass. Radically
transformed by the Spirit in our lives, we are sent – we are an apostolic
church, after all – to heal the world.
So when was the last time the Spirit came upon you?
Let’s hope your answer is, today and every day!
This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
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