Pentecost Sunday Year A - 4/6/2017 - Gospel: Jn 20:19-23
Making the difference
Making the difference in our lives is the role of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the special gift Jesus promised to give to his disciples and she would help them to deepen what Jesus had taught them during his public ministry on earth. On various occasions Jesus promised to give the Spirit. In times of difficulty and trial The Spirit will teach you what you must say Luke 12,12. She is the life giver; The Spirit is seen as a unending source of living water Jesus gives Jn 7,37-39. The promise Jesus fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and at Pentecost. Jesus breathed on them and said receive the Spirit Jn 20:22. Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began their mission proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus. Peter declared that this outpouring of the Spirit is the new era in Acts 2:17-18. Those who believed in Jesus would be taught by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will activate the gift of faith that God had already implanted in their hearts and that enables them to embrace the teaching of Jesus. It begins with the conversion of the heart of each individual. The conversion of the heart begins with the love of the Risen Christ and through it they will taste the goodness of the Lord and share that goodness to others to enjoy. Pentecost in Greek means fiftieth. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. The name is taken because it happens nearly fifty days after Easter. The Christian faith adopts the observation from a Jewish festival. It is known as Whitsunday (White Sunday) from the practise of newly baptise persons wore white garments on the day of receiving the Baptism.
The arrival of the Holy Spirit was affirmed in Acts 2:1-11 when we heard: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages. Being baptized in the Spirit was affirmed in 1 Cor. 12:3b-7, 12- 13 that: In the Spirit we were all baptized into one body. The Spirit empowers us to be active in our mission, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus and it is recorded in St John 20:19-23 that: As the Father has sent me, so I send you.
On the day of Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the beginning of the new era. In this new age Christ will be invisible acting in the Church and through the sacraments. If we want to see the physical Christ we need to see with the eyes of faith through his believers. They are the hands and feet of Jesus for other. The Spirit has the power to transform their lives to be more like Jesus. To be hands and feet of Jesus for others would meet opposition from the world and they need the peace of Christ in their hearts to accompany them in both their journey of faith and at the mission fields. Twice Jesus said to the apostles 'peace be with you' vs.20,21 to remind them that they need to remain with Jesus to maintain peace; apart from Jesus they will fail in their mission. At the end of each Eucharist celebration the sending is 'The Mass is ended, go in peace to love and serve the Lord' is a reminder of their mission for the Lord.
The arrival of the Holy Spirit was affirmed in Acts 2:1-11 when we heard: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages. Being baptized in the Spirit was affirmed in 1 Cor. 12:3b-7, 12- 13 that: In the Spirit we were all baptized into one body. The Spirit empowers us to be active in our mission, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus and it is recorded in St John 20:19-23 that: As the Father has sent me, so I send you.
On the day of Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the beginning of the new era. In this new age Christ will be invisible acting in the Church and through the sacraments. If we want to see the physical Christ we need to see with the eyes of faith through his believers. They are the hands and feet of Jesus for other. The Spirit has the power to transform their lives to be more like Jesus. To be hands and feet of Jesus for others would meet opposition from the world and they need the peace of Christ in their hearts to accompany them in both their journey of faith and at the mission fields. Twice Jesus said to the apostles 'peace be with you' vs.20,21 to remind them that they need to remain with Jesus to maintain peace; apart from Jesus they will fail in their mission. At the end of each Eucharist celebration the sending is 'The Mass is ended, go in peace to love and serve the Lord' is a reminder of their mission for the Lord.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia