This weekend we celebrate, Pentecost, a celebration of the Holy Spirit and the end of the Easter season. In our Gospel today, we hear of Jesus appearing to them in the upper room as they are gathered in fear. He brings them a greeting of peace and breathes upon them the presence of the Holy Spirit. We can see this moment of the coming of the Holy Spirit as a special moment in the life of the Church. The coming of the Holy Spirit marked a special form of renewal in the lives of those first disciples. Continuously, the work of the Holy Spirit here on earth renews our lives of discipleship as well.
As disciples of Christ, we are to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives and into our hearts. The spirit is there to give up hope and strength in the midst of our fears and misgivings. In the Gospel, Jesus live-giving breath reflects the breath of God that gives life to the human race at the beginning of creation, taking the clay of the earth and making human beings a living creation. As Jesus states in the Gospel, this divine indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives us the power to forgive and to continue Christ’s saving mission and ministry here on earth. The incarnation of the risen Lord is present in our lives of faith, in the body of Christ in the Church, in our mission and ministry. Through our mission and ministry, through acts of forgives, we can help the Holy Spirit renew the face of the earth.
In a world where there is a lot of violence and division, our celebration of Pentecost this weekend is a good reminder of the connection between the gifts of peace and forgiveness that we receive as disciples of Christ and the actions of the Holy Spirit. We as the Church are called to be God’s reconciling and healing presence in the world. This reconciling presence is to be a way of life for us. In situations of conflict and anger and tension, we are to be agents of peace and harmony.
Our Gospel today comes from the 19th chapter of John’s Gospel. Elsewhere in John, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Paraclete, a Greek word meaning Advocate, Counselor, Comforter, Helper, Encourager, or Enabler. We might not be aware how the Holy Spirit works quietly within us and through us each day behind the scenes in the everyday events and activities of our lives and in the lives of the people around us. The Spirit is there in all his fullness wherever people worship and pray in the name of Jesus. When we believe and trust in Jesus, we have that faith through the Holy Spirit working within us and filling us. The Holy Spirit helps us to turn away from our sins, reassuring us that we are still loved in spite of the ways we sin and our struggles with temptation. The Spirit is there to confront us and urge us to examine ourselves and to head in the right direction. The Spirit not afraid to challenge us and to go above and beyond to do things in the name of our faith, perhaps things we have never done before or things we could never imagine ourselves doing. The Spirit calls us out of our self-centeredness and to put the focus on Christ, to allow our faith to be the center of our lives.
As our Easter season comes to an this weekend, may the joy of our faith and the joy of the risen Christ always be in our hearts and our minds.
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