Pentecost: The Spirit Fires Us Up

Holy Spirit Window in St. Peter's Basilica

Today we celebrate Pentecost – the outpouring of the Spirit upon the early disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem. The lesson of Pentecost: the triune God lives in us; and we live in that trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To paraphrase St. Paul: we are living temples of God.
An awesome truth!

“Pentecost” is a Greek word meaning “fiftieth” – the fiftieth day after Passover. In the Christian tradition, Pentecost celebrated the descent of the Spirit.

The Book of Acts describes the Jews coming to Jerusalem for the harvest festival. Suddenly the Spirit – described in images of wind and fire (symbolizing power and energy and
vitality) – was poured out upon the disciples and fired them up to preach the Gospel
fearlessly throughout the then known world.

The letter of Paul to the Christian community at Corinth in Greece speaks about all the
gifts the Spirit bestows upon us: all to build up the community. We often overemphasize the
individual at the expense of the community. Paul’s words are a powerful reminder to seek the
common good.

The Gospel according to John describes a post-resurrection appearance of Jesus. The
risen Christ breathes upon the disciples (as God originally breathed life into us in the Book of
Genesis) and in that gesture bestows the Spirit. It’s an awesome truth of our faith: the God of the
universe lives within us. You may ask: what does God’s Spirit do within us?

The Spirit transforms us into new creatures, with a destiny beyond this earthly life: eternal life
with God. That life has already begun in us, in the waters of baptism, and is nurtured in today's word and sacrament.

To see what the Spirit can do, look at the early disciples: initially cowards hiding in a room; and then suddenly transformed into heroes proclaiming that Jesus Christ is gloriously alive.

The image I like best for Pentecost is the “breath of God” or “gush of wind.” It's something you can
feel, “catching” the Spirit. The power and force and energy and vitality of the Spirit is within us. The Spirit inspires us, moves us, so that we can be a channel of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-discipline.

As the Spirit moves where it will, it can inspire whoever sees its effect. So keep alert for
God’s Spirit. Yes, only humans receive the “breath of God” but all living things inspire us if we
are alert for God’s creative spirit.

Pentecost begins the mission of the people of God, your mission and mine, to continue
the saving work of Jesus Christ until he comes again in great glory. We can continue that work
by embodying the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom (to recognize what really matters in life),
intelligence (to discern what's true), courage (to step up for what's right), compassion (for the
needy), good judgment (to do right), and wonder and awe (to worship the great God of this
universe).

Let us pray that the Spirit whose gifts we already possess by virtue of our baptism will empower us to live more fully the results of the Spirit’s presence in us – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, self-discipline.

Our Destination: Home with God

Rembrandt's Storm on the Sea of Galilee

Happy Mother's Day.  My prayer for all mothers is this: May the Lord bless and keep you. May He show his face to you and have mercy upon you. May He turn his countenance to you and give you peace. Kudos to all mothers for all you do.

In Sunday's Gospel, Jesus says we have a dwelling place with God. What precisely will this place be like? We don’t know! In death, we will have to let go of our earth-bound existence, with unconditional trust that God will bear us away within himself forever.

Sunday's word of God in the Book of the Acts takes us back to the beginnings of Christianity. The early Church is beginning to diversify. The challenge then and now is how to stay united as we diversify.

Suddenly in today’s passage, a problem arises: the community is neglecting some people in need. The community solves the problem by ordaining some as deacons. The Greek word diakonia means service. And that is why the Church continues to have so many agencies that do so much good for others, especially the needy.

The letter of Peter evokes the image of a spiritual house, a living temple of God. The living Christ is the cornerstone or center of this community.  And we are the stones.

One of my favorite images of the church, one of the oldest, is a boat. We are on a journey, with
a map and stormy weather, people slipping, survivors being pulled in, mutinies, getting off
course, being attacked. A boat needs a captain. Peter didn't seem ideal, yet what his crew and
subsequent crews managed to do has lasted over two thousand years. Today there are more than 1.2
billion Catholics.

Perhaps we might best describe the Church as a community who believe in God as Triune
and in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the redeemer of humankind, and who shape their lives
according to that belief; a community which remembers that belief ritually in the Eucharist, and
recognizes the Bishop of Rome as the foundation of its unity.

Like many things in life, this global community lives with some messiness and muddles through as best it can. We continually have to strive to do the right thing, to forgive, to let go of feelings of resentment and bitterness and, as the prophet Micah said centuries before Jesus: "do right and love goodness and walk humbly with our God."

We remember and celebrate the awesome presence of the Living Christ, gloriously alive, in our midst. He is our way into eternal life, our true Good News who scatters the “fake news” all around us, and our life who overcomes death. We retell the stories of Jesus;we  celebrate the sacramental presence of the living Christ in liturgical signs. The same Spirit who transformed the disciples from cowards hiding behind closed doors into heroes proclaiming fearlessly that Jesus is alive, that same Spirit lives within our global community, within us, and can fire us up to do wonders for God if we will only let the Spirit do so.

Jesus: Our Source of Eternal Life

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well

I ask you to take common sense pre-cautions against the coronavirus. If you're sick or not feeling well or afraid of catching the virus in gatherings, stay home. Please check the
CDC's guidelines to protect yourself against the virus.

Each Sunday in Lent reflects on life as in a prism. First Sunday, a hungry Jesus tells the tempter what nourishes life: not bread alone but every word from God. Last Sunday, Transfiguration, the disciples saw the unique and awesome presence of God in Jesus.  They saw the future of Jesus and theirs. And that's ours as well. This Sunday, Jesus is life-giving water for the woman at the well.

Sunday's word of God carries us back to the exodus: the deliverance or freedom of the Hebrews from their oppressors in ancient Egypt. They are wandering and complaining! Our favorite past-time. Where is God, they wonder. Moses cries out to God, and God demonstrates his presence among them. Water suddenly flows from a rock and quenches their thirst.

The life-giving waters allude to our baptism and the promises made to God. Now Baptism is a rite of initiation into a global Catholic faith community of disciples of Jesus. Water can be death-threatening (think, e.g., of a hurricane) or life-giving (imagine, e.g., you're in a desert).  Baptism symbolizes a dying to a self-centered life and a rising to an other-centered, God-centered life. The author may be asking whether we live a God-centered life.

Paul in his letter to the Christian Community at Rome speaks about the saving work of Jesus Christ. Through him we have friendship with God whose love and life is poured out upon and into us in baptism so that we can reflect the presence and glory of God in our lives.

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus asks for water from a woman of questionable character and from a despised people (the Samaritans), only to engage her in a conversation about thirst. Jesus reveals who he is. He is a prophet, the messiah, the source who gifts us with eternal life, living water who can satisfy our quest for meaning in life. In faith, this woman discovers new purpose in life through her encounter with Jesus, and she heralds the good news to her townsfolk.

We all thirst like Jesus and the woman at the well, don't we? But what are we thirsty for? Some simply thirst for a decent livelihood. Others for health, wealth, pleasure, power and fame. Still others, like the Samaritan woman, seem to thirst for purpose.

Today Jesus urges us to live our everyday lives to the fullest. This Lenten season is a time for deciding what we believe to be truly important and meaningful, and then acting upon it today.

We can participate in God’s triune life not only here and now but hereafter by living a life of regular prayer, by fasting from attitudes and behaviors that jeopardize our relationship with God and one another, and by living a life of generous service.

The Purpose of my Life

Rublev's Icon of the Trinity

Happy Fathers Day! The word “father” or “dad” evokes various images and traits. I think of qualities my father possessed in abundance (qualities all good fathers possess): Love, commitment, communication, spirituality. We spent time together. And my father had a good sense of humor.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the feast of the triune God, the fundamental and distinctive truth of Christianity. We begin every liturgy “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” and are sent forth at the end with the blessing of the “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

Now when we hear the word “God,” what images do we think of? The Bible gives us many. A walking companion. As loving as a mother. A God who wants to share his wisdom with us. The parables of the good shepherd and the prodigal son are balanced with the parable of the last judgment.

The images cannot capture fully the inexhaustible reality of God.

And no human relationship can completely satisfy us. St. Augustine wrote, “Thou hast made us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.” Yes, we were born to live in relationship with God -- the triune God.

The book of Proverbs personifies wisdom as a woman, as creative energy, as a playful companion of God who witnesses the mighty acts of God. The early Christians saw Jesus in this wisdom image, God’s Word made flesh among us. St. Paul waxes eloquently about the saving work of Jesus Christ. Through him we have a right relationship with God.

In the Gospel, Jesus alludes to the mystery of the triune God: The Spirit that comes through Jesus and the Father will guide us into all truth.

The mystery of the triune God (one yet distinctive in modalities or movements of "persons"--Father, Son, and Spirit--none is the “other”; a God who is love) invites us to reflect upon our relationship with God and one another.

We are forever trying to make better sense out of our lives. Especially in moments of crisis, people often ask fundamental questions: What is the purpose of my life? Where is my life going? Through the cycle of our own human development, at times, we wonder. We accomplished so little, and now it is almost over. What was it all about? Life seems marred by too many tragedies.

We also have awesome experiences. A starry sky, the joy of friendship, the golden rays of a sunrise or sunset, the accomplishment of a goal. Such experiences can take us out of ourselves and into the presence of an awesome power. We begin to experience the transcendent dimension of our lives.
Yes, a purposeful and gracious God is responsible for this magnificent universe and for our very lives. Yes, this God became flesh in Jesus and is alive among us by the power of the Spirit.

This triune God, the model of self-giving love, empowers us to reach out in love to one another with compassion, forgiveness, a ready smile, a kind word, a helping hand.  And in reaching out in love, we become like the triune God in self-giving love.

Pray for the grace today, to quote the musical Godspell, to see God more clearly, love God more dearly and follow God more nearly in our daily lives. Amen.

The Spirit of God within Us

St. Peter's Basilica  Holy Spirit Window

Today we celebrate Pentecost – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem. The lesson of Pentecost is that the triune God lives in us; and we in God. Yes, as St. Paul taught: we are living temples of God.

There's not much to see visually on Pentecost Sunday. But the description I like best is “breath of God” or “gush of wind.” Not destructive like a hurricane, but life-giving. It's “catching” the Spirit of God. It's feeling the Spirit moving wherever it wants to recreate whatever it touches.

The vitality of the Spirit is within us. It inspires us, moves us, so that we can be a channel of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-discipline.

Pentecost concludes the Easter season and begins the mission of the Church, the people of God, you and me, to continue the saving work of Jesus Christ until he comes again. We can continue that work by embodying the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom (to recognize what truly matters in life), intelligence (to discern what's true), courage (to stand up for what's right), compassion (for the needy), good judgment (to do right), and wonder and awe (to worship the great God of this universe).

“Pentecost” is a Greek word meaning “fiftieth” – the fiftieth day after Passover. The Hebrews initially celebrated after harvesting the spring wheat. Later they associated the festival with the covenant God made with their forebears on Mt. Sinai. Pentecost gradually celebrated one aspect of the entire paschal mystery.

The Book of Acts describes how the Jews had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival. Suddenly the Spirit -- described in images of wind and fire (symbolizing power and energy and vitality) -- was poured out and emboldened the disciples to preach the Gospel fearlessly in Jerusalem and throughout the known world.

The letter of Paul to the Christian community at Corinth in Greece speaks about the gifts the Spirit bestows upon us: all for the common good.

The Gospel according to John describes a post resurrection appearance of Jesus where he breathes upon the disciples (as God breathed life into us in the Book of Genesis) and in that gesture bestows the Spirit.

It’s an awesome truth of our faith: the God of the universe, the triune God, lives within us. So we are new creatures, with a destiny beyond this earthly life: eternal life with God. That life has already begun. And to see what the Spirit can do, look at the early disciples: transformed from cowards locked in an upper room into heroes proclaiming from the rooftops that Jesus Christ is gloriously alive.

Let us pray that the Spirit will empower us to live the results of the Spirit’s presence. The same Spirit of God who spoke through the prophets, overshadowed the Virgin Mary, enlivened the disciples, and lives within the Church community and guides human history toward its ultimate fulfillment—a new heaven and a new earth—that same Spirit lives and breathes within us and can transform us ever more fully into "living temples of God."

So we pray today,
“Come, Holy Spirit anew into our lives,
and re-energize us so that we can see God more clearly, love God more dearly and follow God more nearly. Amen.”

Finding our Way to God

Doing good as long as ever you can

GPS apps are a splendid way to navigate, and to route around obstacles. It’s a powerful spiritual metaphor. We have a “voice” to guide us: our conscience, informed by the bible, the guidance of the church, and the wise counsel of holy women and men.

As I have learned to trust the GPS electronic voice while driving, so I need to learn to trust my informed conscience, as I navigate to my ultimate goal: eternal life with God.

Sunday’s word of God carries us back to a defining moment. Moses experiences the awesome presence of God in the image of “fire flaming out of a bush.” God reveals himself as the creator of this universe: “I am the one who causes to be all that is,” as one biblical author translated this mysterious phrase. And then God empowers Moses to free the Hebrews from their oppressors.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Christian community in Corinth, compares the Hebrew Exodus experience to our baptismal experience; just as God was a rock in the wilderness, out of which flowed life-giving waters, so too Christ is our rock, from whom comes our salvation, eternal life.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus deals with the question of evil. There is of course no satisfactory answer. Why mindless killings in New Zealand, why so many people suffering violence? Evil is ultimately a mystery.

And then Jesus speaks about a barren tree. The point of the parable: yes, God is patient, but God will hold each of us accountable for our life, our attitudes, and our behaviors. Jesus urges us to repent now, to turn to a God-centered/other-centered life. Yes, live in light of your ultimate purpose, life in relationship with God here and beyond.

Often people live in the future. Some imagine, My life will begin when I get a new job, when I rebuild my home, etc. Life will begin in the future? Naomi Levy, in her book Hope Will Find You, wondered, while caring for her critically ill daughter, when could she realize her dreams and goals. She wrote: “… just then something snapped inside my soul:…all of us have to learn to live inside the imperfect lives we have here and now.”

Lent is a time to re-assess our lives again, to decide what we believe to be truly important, and then act on these priorities now.

Our Christian faith proclaims that life has meaning, that there is indeed an all-good, compassionate, and merciful God who seeks us out in our everyday experiences. This God became incarnate in Jesus, and renewed God’s covenant with us through his death/resurrection and thereby opened up to us life beyond this earthly life. This same God is alive among us today by the power of the Spirit.

We can participate in God’s triune life: by regular prayer, by fasting from attitudes and behaviors that jeopardize our relationship with God and one another, and by living a life of generous service.