Breath of the Spirit

RVC’s Weekly Spiritual Essay

May 15, 2005: PENTECOST

Readings

Acts 2:1-11

I Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13

John 20:19-23

One of the reasons Luke wrote his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles in the mid-80s was to explain how a Jewish reform movement begun in the early 30s had, within 50 years, developed into a religion appealing exclusively to non-Jews from all over the known world. Luke was convinced that the Holy Spirit both motivated and guided the Christian community during this process. That’s why, before anyone in Acts starts thinking about converting Gentiles, the Spirit must be embedded in those who will eventually make the decisions which lead to this essential change in direction.

Differing from John, who in today’s gospel pericope, posits the Spirit’s arrival on Easter Sunday night, Luke has the Spirit unexpectedly come down on the disciples on Pentecost Sunday. Because many Christians today know little or nothing about our Jewish roots, we don’t understand why the third evangelist locates this event on this particular Jewish feast.

Pentecost (or Weeks) is the annual commemoration of the Sinai covenant between Yahweh and the ancient Israelites; an event which formed a band of runaway slaves into the people of Yahweh. With this in mind, Luke has the Holy Spirit form those gathered in the upper room into Yahweh’s new people.

Anticipating the church’s mission to all people the evangelist mentions, “There were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem” . . . all able to hear the Spirit-filled followers of Jesus speaking in their native languages. Though these difficult-to-pronounce place names strike terror into the hearts of lectors, it’s important that Luke names the localities which later will be evangelized in Jesus’ name.

Such a distinctive change in direction helps explain why Luke uses wind, fire and noise to describe the spirit’s arrival. Each of the three dramatically changes the community’s “status quo.” Things and people are never the same afterward. That’s why Paul begins his famous I Corinthians 12 reflection on the Spirit’s gifts by reminding his community, “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.”

Because there’s always some who will insist that such Spirit-instigated changes are from the devil and not from God, Paul emphasizes the necessity of the Spirit’s presence and actions. He believes every other Christ is blessed by and filled with the Spirit. One cannot even proclaim, “Jesus is Lord!” unless he or she gives themselves over to the Spirit. No matter how violent and divisive the Spirit seems, the Spirit has just one purpose: to constantly form us into the body of Christ, one presence of the risen Jesus in the world.

This is where John’s gospel comes in. We can forget the contradictions between Luke and John on when the Spirit arrives. The important dimension of the Spirit’s presence for John is that, without using Paul’s terminology, the spirit also forms us into Christ’s body. The way this is accomplished is by following Jesus’ command to forgive. (Scholars presume he never wanted his followers to withhold forgiveness.)

Jesus reminds his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so I sent you.” Notice the parallel to Paul’s insight that we’re Christ’s body. John simply says that it’s up to us to carry on the risen Jesus’ ministry, to be other Christs to all around us.

Forgiveness is probably the most essential of all the Spirit’s gifts. It’s the only way communities can exist for long periods of time. And it also mirrors the ministry of forgiveness for which the historical Jesus was so well known, and for which he was put to death. And remembering the Pentecost phenomena, it’s the one of the most disturbing actions anyone can perform.