Today is the last day of May and the Solemnity of the Pentecost. It is also hoped that after this Sunday, The Cebu Archdiocese will finally decide to open our closed churches so that the Christian faithful can go attend Mass which they have been denied for nearly three months, thus we are denied partaking of the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ who gave us his body 2,000 years ago during the Last Supper in the upper room, the same room that the Holy Spirit came in. Today’s gospel comes from John 20:19-23 where Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit to his disciples.
“19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
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Actually the Holy Spirit came down to the upper room during Pentecost Day written by St. Luke in Acts.2:1, “2When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongue as the Spirit enabled them.”
I just reprinted the first version which has the coming of the Holy Spirit. So instead of hiding in the upper room scared of being caught by the Jews, the disciples came out with confidence that they can do the mission entrusted to them. You have to understand why the disciples were scared; they were an ordinary group of people, mostly fishermen, workmen, and shepherds who had no prior knowledge of the affairs of God. But after the Holy Spirit came, they were suddenly emboldened with confidence as they were able to speak foreign tongues so they could communicate with the people of other nations.
If you did not know, the Jews also had a Feast of the Pentecost, which is actually older than the Christian Feast of Pentecost. The difference is that the Catholic feast of Pentecost is the fulfillment of the Old Testament while the Jewish feast of Pentecost was instituted by God through Moses. This is why we call the Jews our brothers before God.
In Hebrew, it is the feast of Shavuot (“Weeks”) that occurred 49 days (seven weeks) after the Feast of Passover. Since it was the 50th day after Passover, it acquired the Greek name of Pentecost, meaning “fiftieth.” Pentecost marked the end of the grain harvest and designated a time of prosperity and joy. Moses stipulated that an offering of two loaves of bread be offered to God on this day as a sign of gratitude (Lev 23:15-21).
Just as Passover signified the liberty of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, the Feast of Pentecost signified the presentation of the Law to Israel through the prophet Moses.
Meanwhile, in the Catholic Church, the Christian feast of Pentecost is exactly 50 days after Easter Sunday. This holy day recalls how Christ poured out the Holy Spirit on the apostles and the Church (Acts 2). Just as the Law was given to Israel on the feast of Pentecost, so the Spirit was given to the Church on the feast of Pentecost. For Catholics, the Jewish harvest theme is an allegory of the harvest of souls gathered in by the apostles of Christ.
What we have learned today is that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God himself. As we pray our creed or profession of faith about the Holy Spirit, we pray, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.”