Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk
Pentecost Sunday: Year B - May 20, 2018.
Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1-24,29-31,34;
Galatians 5:16-25; John
15:26-27; 16:12-15.
Theme: Let
the Fire of the Holy Spirit Come Down Again
Introduction
Friends in
Christ, today is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost comes from the Greek Pentekoste which means fiftieth. It was
the second of the 3 most important annual feasts in Jewish Calendar which occurred
7 weeks after the Passover and was primarily a feast of thanksgiving for
harvest; first fruits of wheat crop were offered to God on that day. It later
came to be associated with the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. All
Jews at home and in the diaspora were expected to attend. Thus, there was no
fitting day for the descent of the Holy Spirit than this. This dramatic event
we hear in our first reading the Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11. This is the birthday
of the Church.
It is a
celebration of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity. The
word “Holy” means sacred, awesome and usually associated with God’s majesty.
“Spirit” comes from the Hebrew word “ruah” which means breath, air or wind; it
connotes the transcendent newness of him who is personally God’s breath, the
divine spirit. What comes to mind is the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus
(John 3:5-8). The two words “Holy” and “Spirit” are divine attributes common to
the three divine persons namely, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Catechism of
the Catholic Church says, “The Holy Spirit is the proper name of the one whom
we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son.”
On this day, we celebrate
the titles of the Holy Spirit. The titles of the Holy Spirit are: Paraclet or
Consoler – John 14:16; Spirit of Truth – John 16:13; Spirit of Promise – Gal.
3:14; Eph. 1:13; Spirit of Adoption – Rom. 8:9 and Spirit of Glory – 1st
Pet. 4:14. The symbolism of fire which dropped on the heads of the apostles today
designates the “…transforming energy of the Holy Spirit’s action. At contest at
Mount Carmel, the prophet Elijah’s prayer “arose like fire-burned like a torch”
and brought fire down from heaven on the sacrifice. That is why the Holy Spirit
which changes/transforms whatever it comes in contact with (Kings 18:38-39). The
forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit and the
power of Elijah. He prophesized: “...he will baptize with the Holy Spirit and
fire (Luke 1:17;3:16). Incidentally, Jesus says: “I have come to bring fire to
the earth and how I wish it were blazing already…” (Luke12:49).
Summary of Our Readings
The first
reading (Acts 2:1-11) recounts the Pentecost
event. He discloses how Christ’s Passover was fulfilled with the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit in forms of tongues of ‘fire’ which strengthened and empowered
the disciples for the Great Commission of Evangelisation. According to St. John
of the Cross, “the symbolism of fire is retained in the Church as one of the
most expressive images of the Holy Spirit’s action.” Aside from being the
birthday of the Church, the Pentecost event reveals the marvels of and the
unification of the Church, the body of Christ.
The second
reading (Galatians 5:16-25) states that indulgence is the opposite of the
spirit. St. Paul gives, fornication, gross indecency and sexual
irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad
temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness and orgies as
inordinate indulgent behaviours which are opposite to living the life of the
spirit. On the contrary, the Apostle lists what the spirit brings as: love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and
self-control.
