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Pentecost Sunday Year A - 28/5/2023 - Gospel: Jn 20: 19-23
God of Life
Fear has the power to destroy life; while peace restores life, and has the power to annihilate fear. Fear is the opposite of peace. Where there is peace, fear disappears; and in contrast, where fear dominates, life has no peace. Fear paralyses life, shatters joy, and dims hope; while peace brings joy, happiness, and life. A bright future, full of life, and hope is what the risen Lord instils His apostles' hearts when He appeared to them. The risen Lord is the Lord of peace. It is not an ordinary human peace, but a peace the world doesn't have to offer. It is the heavenly peace that Jesus will give to his disciples. The risen Lord appeared to his apostles with the greeting 'Peace be with you'. He repeats the same word twice.

His greeting restores life, and calms the apostles' hearts. The greeting destroys fear. As soon as Jesus' voice reached the apostles' ears; their hearts were filled with joy. Their hearts were closed; now wide open. The text says; the doors of the upper room were closed, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus didn't come to open the physical doors of the room. He went through the closed physical doors. He came neither to remonstrate their disloyalty nor their slowness to understand his message. He came with the greeting of peace, and that opened the door to the disciples' hearts.

Jesus brought with him the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift Jesus promised before His Passion that after He has gone; He will give them the Holy Spirit. He also told them that before the coming of the Holy Spirit; there would be a short period of mourning; but their mourning soon turned to joy. This 'soon turning point' happened at his greeting of peace. His greeting set them free from all fears and anxiety. They were strengthened by the new life. They became the new creation when Jesus breathed on them. This 'breathing' instils them with the Spirit and that gives them the power to bring the Good News to the entire world. They aren't set aside, apart from the world; but actually are engaged into the world. Their task is to make others to be Jesus' disciples.

Finally, Jesus told them,

'For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained'.

Some theologians dispute this teaching, saying the disciples have no power to forgive sins. The disciples took charge of the mission. They preached not of their own message, but the message of the risen Lord. It is the same for forgiveness, they would not forgive others by the power of their own, but by the power of Jesus; they pardon sins. They act in the place of Jesus to affirm a repentant, that God has forgiven his sins. Responsibility and authority are inseparable; because they coordinate with each other. Authority without responsibility is a dictatorship; Responsibility without authority would cause chaos, because there is no clear and unified universal instruction. Any workable organization needs to have both responsibility and authority.

Jesus breathed on the disciples. The breathing implies that Jesus gives them the authority to preach and to forgive. The message of the Good News would make a home in a sinful heart, not before, but after the power of darkness is dispelled. Forgiveness needs affirmation from the minister of the Word, who affirms that they are at right with God. Jesus once told his disciples to obey the Scribes' teaching, but not their behaviour (Mat 23,3). He once sent his disciples in pairs to do the mission. He gave them the power to cast down a devil. The disciples returned full of joy saying, even evil spirits submit to them (Mat 10).

We pray to be at home with the Spirit.
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