Image by Doris Klein, CSA
(Previously Posted)
It
is said that at one time Rabbi Lot went to see Rabbi Joseph and said, “Rabbi,
as much as I am able, I practice a small rule of life, all the little fasts,
some prayer and meditation, and remain quiet, and as much as possible, I keep
my thoughts clean. What else should I
do?” Then the old Rabbi Joseph stood up
and stretched out his hands toward heaven, and his fingers became like the
torches of flame. And he said, “Why not
be turned into fire?” (From
the Desert Fathers and Mothers)
Today we celebrate the feast of the Spirit and
God’s unrelenting, never-ending, eternal invitation to us, much like that to
the early disciples, to become People of the Flame! For they became on fire with the mission of
Jesus and set the world ablaze with their message of God’s love by their bold
witness of life! These followers of Jesus were given the power promised by
Jesus to further the reign of God.
We have today in the first reading, the story of
God’s astonishing revelation of the Spirit in which Luke gets our attention
through the images of a sudden, cosmic, divine event abounding with a strong
driving wind and flames of fire that rest upon all those gathered in the upper
room. For Luke, Pentecost happens sometime after the
Easter appearances of Jesus and his ascension.
It is on the Jewish feast of Pentecost that the Spirit descends upon the
disciples in a dramatic, mysterious, and powerful way. They experience a strong
wind blowing through the house, are touched by flames of fire, and begin to
speak in other languages. There is a radical transformation in the disciples .
. . from fearful, unbelieving people, to courageous and bold women and men with
a mission.
Throughout the rest of the
Chapters in Acts, we will hear stories of their conversion of heart again and again.
They will preach about the love of God, uniting them in mind and heart to other
Jews, Arabs, Cretans, Gentiles, and those beyond the borders and boundaries of
their limitations; and all will understand. This is the mission of God’s Spirit
. . . to unite and bring together people of every nation and language. Now the Spirit's language unites the hearts
and minds of the believing community. It
is not bound by any limitations. The fringes of faith are flung open,
unrestricted by language, culture, or ethnicity. Every cultural expression is
able to find the divine. No one who loves God can be excluded; for the gifts of
the Spirit are diverse, and we share in the mystery of Pentecost when we
celebrate each contribution with gladness and gratitude.
John, in our Gospel, brings us back to Easter
night, when the frightened disciples are huddled in the upper room; the risen
Jesus comes to them through locked doors and speaks the language of the Spirit
to them. He greets them . . . breathes
the breath of God upon them and blesses them with peace, comfort, and
forgiveness. He does not hold them captive with such words as, “Where were you
when I needed you most”? Instead, Jesus
offers them healing and peace in the midst of their fear and turmoil from the
post-traumatic stress of the past days in Jerusalem.
Jesus,
knowing their doubts and insecurity, reveals to them the wounds in his hands
and side. There can be no doubt: it is
the crucified Jesus himself, risen from the dead. As their fear changes to an unspeakable joy,
Jesus again wishes them peace and the life of his Spirit, saying: “Receive the
Holy Spirit.”
He goes on
to say, “Those whose sins you forgive are forgiven…” This is no mere authority of the law in which
people are declared free of guilt. It is
much more than that. The disciples are
being given the power to bring people back to God, to reconcile those who have
become separated from their God, and to discern which people are not yet ready
for reconciliation. And, then he declares their mission, the same as his own:
continue doing what he did – the celebration and expansion of God’s reign.
So what is the good news for us
today?
It is written that every generation
needs to experience a Pentecost. It
needs God’s Spirit in its own particular way.
Pentecost
is the feast that calls us to be willing and courageous to become people of the
flame. We all are people of the Spirit
filled with gifts that the “world needs so desperately . . .wisdom for a world
searching for meaning, knowledge, and
understanding for a world seeking truth and insight, healing for a world torn
apart by violence, and the gift of discernment for a world in need of direction
and inspiration.”
So, let us ponder the closing
thoughts, as we reflect on our call to become people of the flame:
“To live a life of the Spirit takes
all the life we have. To live a life of the Spirit takes the heart of a hermit,
the soul of a mountain climber, the eyes of a lover, the hands of a healer, and
the mind of a rabbi. It requires total immersion in the life of Christ Jesus
and complete concentration on the meaning of the Gospel today.” (Adapted/Joan
Chittister – Fire in These Ashes)
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