Homily for the Solemnity of Pentecost (Cycle A)
Abbot Cuthbert Madden
The principal reading today is the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles – and if we are to understand its significance we do well to place it into a clear context. The Apostles have witnessed the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus Christ. Although they had not seen the moment of resurrection, they had seen the Risen Lord and had eaten and drunk with him. They had seen him depart from this earth, had returned as a group to the Upper Room in Jerusalem where they had met frequently to pray together. They knew that they had some kind of mission which involved proclaiming the truth about Jesus Christ and for that reason they had chosen Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot and to share this mission with them. But it is clear from the verses which immediately precede our first reading that the Apostles were waiting for something to happen which would tell them what that mission would involve. Then, on the Jewish feast of Pentecost, fifty days after the Passover, the waiting was at an end.
What happened? Luke says that the Apostles heard a sound like that of a powerful wind and saw what looked like tongues of fire descending on the heads of those around them. It is difficult to know what to make of this description. It is not something that most of us have heard or seen. Perhaps Luke is drawing on images found in the Old Testament. There we read of the sound of God being like that of a breeze and God is often described in terms of fire: the burning bush seen by Moses, the pillar of fire which led the Chosen People in the desert. We are more certain about what happened after this encounter with the Living God: the Apostles went out and communicated the Good News to all whom they met.
What was the Good News they gave to those around them? Their message was about the God who was light in darkness; the God who was healing and consolation in time of trial and need. The preached God with us, God within us, God who transforms us so that human beings become the image and likeness of God for those around them. Their message was so powerful that the Acts tell us that thousands joined the group of believers in Jerusalem and formed a new community which they called the Ecclesia – the Congregation of God’s Chosen People, the Church.
Was this descent of the Holy Spirit something for the Apostles and their time alone? The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit acts when and where He wills – but also that He acts within the Church in the hearts and minds of believers who call for God’s help. We do not usually see tongues of fire or hear a rushing wind – but still the Spirit is at work. The Spirit is at work when we settle down to listening to the Word of God in Scripture. The Spirit is at work when we receive the sacraments which Christ left us: It is the Spirit who descends into the waters of baptism so that we can be washed clean from sin. It is the Spirit who transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ which sustains us on our pilgrim way through life. It is the Spirit who enters into our lives to release us from the burden of our sin in the sacrament of reconciliation. It is the Spirit who works within us to transform marriage so that this becomes the means of sanctification for countless men and women as they cooperate with God’s loving design and bring new life into our world. It is the Spirit who consecrates men for service in his Church as priests; the same Spirit who comforts us and strengthens us as we prepare for death, our gateway from this world to eternal life in God’s presence.
We need this Holy Spirit to be active in our lives and in our world. We do not know exactly how he will act in our lives – but we know that human life is fragile, and that it is frequently accompanied by suffering of one kind or another. Jesus does not promise to deliver us from all pain, from all adversity or all suffering. Many of us already know from experience that this is the case. But what he does promise is that he will be with us in our suffering, that he will strengthen us to meet all life’s challenges, that he will transform our human lives into images of his divine life. And so let us, today, ask the Lord to enter into our lives anew that we might become the men and women he created us to be.