Gospel John 20:19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Homily
A young friend of mine commented to me a few days ago how intrigued she was to discover people of different languages falling in love with each other even though they could not speak well the language of the other. It is a well-known saying that love knows no boundaries; not even the boundary of language.
Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, the feast which celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit, (who essentially is personified love) with whose coming the boundaries which separate people, symbolized by language, were removed.
In the first reading, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, we are told that “They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?” There were at that moment in Jerusalem people from all corners of the known world and they could all understand Galileans, not known for their cultural formation, speaking about the marvels of God.
In the second reading we are told, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,” Again through the Spirit, the boundaries between persons very different culturally as Jews and Greeks and socially as slaves and free persons are removed. Together they form one body, all depending on the other.
It comes in blue and generic cialis online opacc.cv white color without any extra accessories. Client’s assertions are not a great help considering that results maybe different from each individuals. on line levitra opacc.cv It can opacc.cv buy women viagra cure different skin related issues inclusive of dandruff. When the body does not get enough nutrients india viagra online or vitamins, inner toxicity occurs.
In the Gospel passage, Jesus breathes on the disciples and gives them the power to remove sin which is the major obstacle to harmony. It is sin which creates boundaries and divisions. The disciples are given the power to remove them. “he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.”
As we celebrate this feast of Pentecost, we remember that through our baptism and confirmation, we, like the first apostles and disciples, have also been given the Holy Spirit, Personified Love, who penetrates every aspect of our being, and like the first disciples, we too are have been sent into the world, through the same Spirit to speak a language which everyone understands, a language which does not divide but rather unites. Of us too, it must be said, “How does each of us hear them in our own native tongue?”
The spirit also sends us to remove the boundaries which prevent us from collaborating with each other so that together we form one body, all of us together with our unique gifts continuing the work that Christ began and for which we were chosen. We remember the words of Christ, “You did not choose me, no I chose you so that you may go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”
Last but not least the Spirit has been given to us so that we can remove sin from our personal lives and the structures of sin from our society. Sinful structures create and maintain divisions between peoples and ethnic groups and social classes.
As we celebrate this event of Pentecost, we thank God for those who give us the example of living in the Spirit. We thank God for those who have dedicated their lives to removing the boundaries which do not permit or which impede the coming of the Kingdom. We thank God for Nelson Mandela and the truth commission. We thank God for Mother Teresa and her sisters. We thank God for the many nameless peacemakers throughout our countries and throughout the world.
May this celebration of Pentecost help us to be faithful to the impulses of the Spirit, so that together we may remove the boundaries which keep us separated from each other.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God we thank you for your continued presence with us through the Holy Spirit. May this Spirit so penetrate our beings that we become removers of boundaries and peacemakers in our divided world. Fill us with the confidence which your Spirit brings so that discouragement may not deter us as we face a world which does not believe in you. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and Jesus your Son. Amen
