UNITY AND RECONCILIATION

 PENTECOST SUNDAY - Acts 2:1-11

Chapter eleven of the book of Genesis begins with the story of Babel about human pride and arrogance. Humanity does not accept its limitations and frailties and continuously attempts to climb higher and excel until they reach God’s place and takes it over. However, such attempts end in failure, producing cracks and leaving scars that reopen time and again. When humanity decides to take God’s place and play God’s role, it produces division, violence and war. The effort of self-affirmation may end in self-destruction. When someone is born, he is born into a world tainted by sin. We may try, but we are unable to liberate ourselves and establish a world built on love, peace and communion. 

To enter the Kingdom of God, we must be born again (Jn 3:3), that is, we must be born from above, through water and the Spirit. The Spirit, granted to us by the Father, at the Son’s request, renews and recreates us, establishing a new humanity that dedicates itself to unity and reconciliation. We live in a divided world, but by giving us the Spirit, Jesus has sown the seeds of communion and peace.

On the day of Pentecost, after receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples came to the public square to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ. And, by the power of the Spirit that leads to Jesus, the situation of division is healed by a spirit of union and peace. People coming from all corners of the world could hear the message in their own language: “We hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God”.

As Saint Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, there is a great variety of gifts bestowed on us by the Holy Spirit, but this diversity is at the service of communion. We make the body of Christ, each one of us playing a different role and occupying a different place. And all of this is for the good of the community.

The Church is a well-organised body with different services. Certainly, we still live in this world, thus being affected by divisions, and we may contribute to those divisions. That’s why there is a need for reconciliation. And the Gospel deals with that. Jesus granted the Holy Spirit to the Apostles to enable them to exercise the ministry of reconciliation. The practice of reconciliation in the Church should serve as a model and an incentive for others to practice reconciliation.

WITNESSES TO THE END OF THE EARTH

ASCENSION SUNDAY - Acts 1:1-11

We celebrate today the Ascension of the Lord. Jesus himself had explained to the disciples, "I came from the Father and have come into the world and now I leave the world to go to the Father.” (Jn 16:28). The ascension is this return to the Father. As the eternal Son, He had accepted to put aside His glory, humbling Himself and becoming a human being in everything, like all other human beings. He took “the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Fil 2:6-11).

Jesus said goodbye to his disciples and rose to glory, to the glory He has as the beloved Son of the Father. Reading about that event in the Acts of the Apostles, we get surprised by the disciples’ attitude. 

The desire for power was so embedded in them that they had a last go at it. They asked, “Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Their expectations were about an earthly kingdom, and Jesus had to be straight with them: “It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority”, Then, he promised them the Holy Spirit, who would be bestowed on them so that they might proclaim the Gospel and be witnesses of Jesus Christ. They are entrusted with the mission to give witness to “the ends of the earth”. And they remained there transfixed, looking to heaven. They had to be called back to reality, keeping hope in the Lord Jesus, who will come back in glory to finish the work of salvation, taking us into plenitude. Up to then, we must proclaim the Good News to all peoples, making disciples of Jesus Christ. All those who accept the Good News must be baptised, and Jesus’ commands must be taught to them. This is the mission entrusted to the Church, and every Christian is called upon to carry it out. The final word that Jesus gave his disciples is one of reassurance: “I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.”.

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH GUIDES US TO CHRIST

 VI EASTER SUNDAY - John 14:15-21

As we come to the end of Easter Time, our attention is drawn to the Holy Spirit, promised to the disciples by Jesus and received by them on the day of Pentecost. The resurrection of Jesus served as a gathering event for the disciples, who began to assemble on the first day of the week. However, they gathered in silence, avoiding calling attention to their group, afraid of being caught and punished by the authorities. It was only on the day of Pentecost that they got emboldened by the Holy Spirit who came upon them like a mighty wind, putting them on fire to proclaim without fear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Since then, the Holy Spirit would play a vital role in the life of the Church. When the Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and the members of his household, who heard the word, Peter was forced to accept in amazement that God shows no partiality and calls both the Jews and the Gentiles to salvation.

The first reading (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17) makes clear the connection between the Holy Spirit, the proclamation of the Gospel and the building of the Church. The deacon Philip went to Samaria, and there he successfully proclaimed the Good News, with many people asking to be baptised. “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.” Since “they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus”, “they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Thus, the receiving of the Holy Spirit is connected to the ministry of the Apostles, who prayed for them and laid their hands on them. This link with the Apostles and this dependence on them is necessary to be fully empowered as disciples of Jesus Christ and recognised as members of the Church.

The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus as the Advocate (παρακλητον), the Spirit of truth, who is with us and in us. Through him, Jesus goes on being present among us. As the Spirit of truth, He leads us to an ever-deepening understanding of the relationship between Jesus and the Father. Through Jesus, we are being introduced into that relationship: “On that day you will understand that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you.” It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to keep Jesus’ commandments, thus living in a deep relationship of love with Him and with the Father. “Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them will be one who loves me; and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and show myself to him.”

JESUS, THE LIVING STONE

V EASTER SUNDAY - 1 Peter 2:4-9

Speaking of Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter tells us that He is “the living stone”, “chosen by God and precious to him”. Despite being rejected by men, there will be no building that may last but the one built upon this stone. He is the cornerstone that becomes a stumbling block that will bring down all those who refuse to believe in Him. Thus, Peter invites us to become living stones in communion with Him. The Church is the “spiritual house”, built upon Christ, that is to be our home. In Christ, we become “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God”.

In the gospel, Jesus presents himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14:1-12). Through him, we come to the Father, and we must realise that “He is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). Thus, when we see him, we see the Father. In communion with Him, we are in communion with the Father.

In the first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 6:1-7), we see the struggle of the Early Church to live out that communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Since the beginning, the Church has had a social dimension, paying attention to the most vulnerable, looking after the widows. However, being human, the good intentions become easily tainted by selfish interests. And signs of discrimination on a tribal basis appeared: "The Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked.”

In an attempt to solve the problem, the apostles “called a full meeting of the disciples”. Indeed, matters affecting the Church are matters that must be the concern of all. The apostles made it clear that they should concentrate on the proclamation of the word of God. That is their ministry: they must be at the service of the word, accompanied by prayer. The community must take responsibility for other matters. Thus, it was decided to create a new ministry – the ministry of deacons – to be at the service of the community and its needs. As the Church grows, all members must be actively involved in the search for solutions to the arising problems and involved as well in the actual service of the community. That is what nowadays is called the synodal dimension of the Church. However, to the apostles belongs the great duty of giving witness to Jesus Christ and dedicating themselves to the proclamation of the word and to worship.