June 8th 2014. PENTECOST SUNDAY

Gospel: John 20:19-23

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL: John 20:19-23

In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.

‘As the Father sent me,

so am I sending you.’

After saying this he breathed on them and said:

‘Receive the Holy Spirit.

For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven;

for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Don Fabio’s homily focusses on two themes from Sunday’s readings: the wonderful communication abilities of the apostles on the day of Pentecost as recounted in the book of Acts; and the link between the gift of the Spirit and the forgiveness of sins in the Johannine account.

            The book of Acts tells us how the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues of fire and the disciples were driven out on the street to preach the good news. Their preaching was understood by people from different parts of the world, as if each listener was hearing the words in his own language. Don Fabio says that this remarkable fact is not the central message of the reading. Our ability to communicate with others is enabled when we stop talking about ourselves and start talking about the salvific action of God. The greatest barrier to communication is the fact that our discourse is largely in the service of our own egos. Once we stop trying to attract attention to ourselves, once we stop seeking the admiration of others, then we develop the capacity to speak in a way that will be readily welcomed by our listeners.

            In John’s account of the gift of the Spirit, Jesus appears to the disciples, breathes the Spirit on them and sends them out. How are we to understand the words “ . . whose sins you shall retain, they are retained”? Don Fabio does not agree that this statement concerns the ability of the ministers of the church to withhold forgiveness at their discretion. Instead he believes that it refers to the fact that if we do not carry the forgiveness of God to others, then those sins will be retained because they will not experience the effects of the redemption. If we do not carry the forgiveness of God to the world, then people will remain in their sins. John’s account makes an inextricable link between the action of the Spirit and the forgiveness of sins. Sometimes we yearn for the gifts of the Spirit, expecting to attain the ability to speak eloquently or understand deep mysteries. But the gift of the Spirit is primarily concerned with the sanctifying action of God’s mercy in the world. This is the most urgent task of the Church. This is what Jesus sends us out to do at Pentecost.

Pentecost is the completion of Easter

The wonderful feast of Pentecost brings to completion what happens at Easter. We must never forget that the true goal of the resurrection of Christ is not actually his own resurrection but ours.  He wishes to regenerate us and bring us to new life, and this cannot happen without the gift of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost does not simply mark the end of the Easter season; it is the end goal of the Easter season in which we become partakers of the life of God himself.

The central message for us from the first reading is not the wonderful linguistic abilities of the apostles. What really enables communication with others is when the speaker is filled with the fire to speak about the great works of God, instead of simply talking about himself

The first reading recounts the events of Pentecost Sunday. These particular events are not described in the Gospels themselves, although the Gospel reading from John expresses the Johannine way of understanding the gift of the Spirit. The version in Acts tells us about the Holy Spirit coming in the form of tongues of fire. Afterwards the disciples go out on the street and preach the good news, with listeners from different parts of the world able to hear what was being said in their own languages. Sometimes we are inclined to focus on this miraculous ability to communicate, the reversal of the scattering of people into different language groups that happened at the destruction of the tower of Babel. At Pentecost we marvel at the way in which communication problems seem to be resolved! But this is perhaps an incomplete way of looking at what happened on that day. The central point is not the fact that the listeners could understand what the apostles were saying in a different language. If someone asked Peter, “What time is it?” in Greek and Peter responds in Aramaic, this would indeed be impressive in itself, but it is not the point that the passage wishes to make. What is much more important is that these peoples from different parts of the world all understand what the disciples tell them about the great works of God. It is the work of God that underpins the new found communication between peoples, not our mode of speaking and the content of what we say, which can often be inconsistent to say the least. Sometimes we think we are saying something important, but it might have little meaning for the person who is listening. What brings about communion is not our ability with languages but the activity of God. What helps is get through to others is not our wonderful words, but the action of the Spirit through those words.

We learn how to communicate when our discourse is no longer in the service of our own egos

When we talk about ourselves, we raise barriers to communications. But when we speak about the works of God, then we can break down barriers even with people very different to ourselves. The great discourse given by Mary is the Magnificat: “What wonderful things the Lord has done; holy is his name!” Each one of us finally learns how to communicate when our discourse is no longer in the service of our own egos. We learn how to connect with others when what we say is immersed in the source of joy, life and love. If I speak only of myself, then I don’t really care about the welfare of the listener who is in front of me. But when my speaking concerns that which saves him and me, then we are united by what is authentically life-giving, powerful and true. In that case the listener will welcome my words willingly. How often we speak with the intention of glorifying ourselves, of making ourselves look good and admirable! How often people in the Church use religious occasions to speak about their own wonderful works. All of us like to be appreciated and esteemed by others, but let us not forget the words of Matthew 5. Here Jesus exhorts us to be the light of the world so that people may see these good works and glorify our Father in heaven.

John’s account: the gift of the Spirit is linked inextricably to the mercy of God

John’s Gospel presents the coming of the Spirit as occurring on the evening of the day of the resurrection. In this account, the gift of the Spirit is intrinsically bound to the forgiveness of sins. After Jesus breathes the Spirit on the disciples, he says, “Whose sins you forgive they are forgiven; whose sins you retain, they are retained.” Sometimes this phrase is understood to mean that the minister of the church has the power to withhold the forgiveness of sins at his discretion, or even at his whim. But the deeper meaning of this phrase is surely very different. What Jesus intend to say is this: “Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; but if you do not carry the forgiveness of sins to others, then there will be no-one to forgive them, and those sins will be retained. They will never experience the salvific effects of the redemption.” This prompts the question: What is at the heart of every true evangelist? The true evangelist has the conviction that he has something essential to carry to the world; something that no one else can carry because this something is not a book, or a philosophy, or a theory. We are a Church that is infused with the Spirit of forgiveness and commissioned with the mandate to carry that Spirit to the world.

The gift of the Spirit is not so much about developing marvellous abilities to speak, understand or accomplish heroic deeds. The primary activity of the Spirit is the forgiveness of sins, the sanctifying action of God’s mercy in the world

Let us be crystal clear about this. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of pardon. It is not in any way comparable to the gift of money, or of objects, or of abilities. It is the gift of liberating someone from their impoverished state. Only God can give this gift; only God can forgive sins; only God has the power to act in this sphere of human affairs where we have abused our glorious freedom. The Holy Spirit directs his sanctifying activity to the errors of humanity. The reception of the Holy Spirit does not mean that we are suddenly enabled to say wonderful things, give our bodies to the flames, or understand all mysteries. As St Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, what counts is to have love, and this is none other than the capacity to pardon. For the risen Christ, the most urgent task for the disciples is to bear the forgiveness of sins to others. It is the first thing he says when he bestows on them the gift of the Spirit. Still today, the most important matter is that people experience the mercy of God. This is more urgent than any other rebuilding work we can do in the Church.