Road to Emmaus Pentecost Sunday

May 27, 2009

First Reading – Acts 2:1-11

Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 24

Second Reading – 1 Cor. 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Gal. 5:16-25

Gospel Reading – Jn. 20:19-23 or Jn. 15:26-27; 16:12-15

Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home shed a ray of light divine! Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store! Come, within our bosoms shine. You, of comforters the best; You the soul’s most welcome guest; Sweet refreshment here below. In our labor, rest most sweet; Grateful coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. O most blessed Light divine, shine within these hearts of yours, and our inmost being fill! Where you are not, we have naught, nothing good in deed or thought, nothing free from taint of ill. Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. On the faithful who adore and confess you, evermore in your sevenfold gift descend; Give them virtue’s sure reward; Give them your salvation, Lord; Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia. (Pentecost Sequence).

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. This event takes place after the first novena in history (nine days of prayer), but not the first Pentecost in history. In Leviticus 23:15-22 the feast of Pentecost was instituted. It is also called the Feast of Weeks. However, before looking at this, let’s look at what Luke is trying to accomplish in writing the book of Acts, from where the first reading for this Sunday is taken.

Acts of the Apostles

The writer of the book of Acts, where we hear about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is the Gospel writer Luke. In Luke’s Gospel, his main purpose is to present for us the life and teaching of Christ. Luke tells us in the beginning of Acts that in his Gospel he told us about what "Jesus began to do and teach" (Acts 1:1). This implies that Acts will be about what Jesus continues to do and teach, through the Church. Luke depicts the Church as reliving the life of Christ. There are a cycle of themes in Acts which show this very fact.

1. Jesus was chosen to do the Father’s work; There is a choosing of a new man to do God’s work in Acts (Acts 1:15, 6:1, 10:9, 13:1).

2. Jesus prays after his Baptism (Lk. 3:21); the disciples pray as the wait for the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14, 24).

3. There is a descent of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 3:21-22; Acts 2:1, 8:14, 10:44, 19:1).

4. Jesus’ ministry begins with a teaching about the fulfillment of Scripture and the rejections of Jesus (Lk. 4:16-30); The Church’s ministry begins with a teaching about the fulfillment of Scripture and the rejection of Jesus (Acts 2:14-40).

5. This fulfillment is demonstrated by preaching and healing, and the conflict and persecutions illustrates rejection (Lk. 4:21-8:56; Acts 2:41-12:17).

6. Jesus preaches to the Jews (Lk. 4:14-21); Peter and Paul preach to the Jews (Acts 2:14-39, 13:16-41).

7. There is a proclamation of the Gospel in Luke and Acts, with conversion and baptism of hearers (Acts 2:14, 3:12, 8:26, 10:34, 13:16, 17:22, 28:17)

8. There are mighty works, like Jesus’, being accomplished (Acts 3:1, 6:1, 11:27, 14:8)

9. Jesus heals a paralytic (Lk. 5:17-26); Peter and Paul heal paralytics (Acts 3:1-10, 20:9-12).

10. The sick are brought to be healed (Lk. 4:40; Acts 28:9).

11. Jesus gathers a Church; there are multiple gatherings of the Church in Acts (Acts 4:31, 8:14, 11:1, 15:1).

(Column continues below)

12. There is the confounding of a false disciple (Acts 1:16, 5:1, 8:18, 12:20, 13:8, 23:1).

13. Jesus undergoes four trials; Paul undergoes four trials.

Now, let’s consider the Old Testament background.

The Feast of Weeks and the first fruits of the harvest

First of all the Feast of Weeks is connected with the most significant feast of Israel, i.e. the Passover. The feast was to begin seven weeks or 50 days the Sabbath after the Passover. "Pentecost" means "50 days" in Greek.

This feast was one of the three most important feasts for Israel: Passover, Unleavened Bread and Pentecost. All male Israelites had to pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Temple to celebrate these feast. This is why on the Feast of Pentecost recounted in Acts there are so many "devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem" (Acts 2:5). We are told that there were Parthians, Medes, Elamites, etc.

The Feast of Pentecost celebrated two things, one natural and one supernatural. Pentecost celebrated the first fruits of the harvest. Over time it was also given theological significance. It also became a celebration of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. These two realities are brought to bear in what is recounted in Acts.

Pentecost fell 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection. It celebrated the first fruit of the harvest. It is certainly no coincidence that St. Paul says, "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:20).

In Leviticus we are told that the priest was to take the first fruits of the harvest and offer them as a "wave offering before the Lord [Yahweh]…" (23:20). Jesus, the heavenly high priest offers himself in heavenly glory before the Father, as the first fruits of salvation.

It is also not an accident that Jesus says to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Mt. 9:37-38). Following this Matthew purposefully narrates that Jesus "called to him his twelve disciples…first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son Zebedee, and John his brother; Phillip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him" (Mt. 10:1, 2-4). These are the laborers for the harvest who go out early Pentecost morning to labor.

Also significant is that the first fruits which were offered before the Lord represented the whole harvest to come. This means Jesus was the first fruit of the harvest, but he is not meant to be the last. On Pentecost the harvest is waiting to produce more fruits, represented by the gathering of the Jews from every nation. The Apostles certainly did their job that day. "…there were added that day about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).

The Old Law and the New Law

The Feast of Pentecost in the Old Testament also began to be associated with the giving of the law of Mount Sinai. We see this brought to our attention in the Pentecost narrative of Acts.

At Mount Sinai there three signs associated with the giving of the law. First, there is a great sound, "a very loud trumpet blast…and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder…" (Ex. 19:16, 19). Second, there is the sign of fire. "Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire…" (Ex. 19:18). Third, there is miraculous intelligible speech. "…Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder" (Ex. 19:19).

In Acts we also have three signs. First, there is a great sound. "…A sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind…" (Acts 2:2). Second, there is the sign of fire. "And there appeared to them tongues as of fire…" (Acts 2:3). Third, there is miraculous intelligible speech. "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues [languages], as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:4).

The Old Law was given in Exodus, now the New Law is being given in Acts. God, speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, spoke of this time that was to come. "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances" (36:26-27).

Jeremiah spoke of this as well, within the context of speaking of a new covenant. "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke…But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (31:31-32, 33).

Here we see a similarity and difference between the old and the new. The Old Law was written on tablets of stone, and they did not have the Spirit to help them keep the law. The New Law is written on our hearts by the Spirit so that we can keep the law. St. Augustine has said, "The Old Law was given so grace we would seek, and grace is given to the New Law we could keep."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, "The Law of the Gospel ‘fulfills,’ refines, surpasses, and leads the Old Law to its perfections" (#1967). It goes on to say, "It [the Law of the Gospel] does not add new external precepts , but proceeds to reform the heart, the root of human acts, where man chooses between the pure and the impure, where faith, hope, and charity are formed and with them the other virtues" (#1968).

As a matter of fact the New Law is the Third Person of the Trinity. "The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the faithful through faith in Christ" (CCC #1966, original emphasis). The Catechism also tells us that the New Law is a law of love, a law of grace and a law of freedom (cf. CCC #1972).

We need the Holy Spirit

We have already seen one reason why the Holy Spirit is give, that is, so that we might be able to keep the New Law. However, we might ask, what other reasons make it important that the Holy Spirit be sent? Jesus says, "…I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (Jn. 16:7).

Christ must go back to the Father so that the Father and the Son can send the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who makes Christ presence throughout all history possible, in particular in the Eucharist. Christ is now not only present in Jerusalem, but is present body, blood, soul and divinity throughout all time and in all places.

Over and over again Jesus promised the Twelve the Holy Spirit, and he is first and foremost speaking to the Twelve. "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever" (Jn. 14:16). The Holy Spirit will remain with the leaders of Twelve and the successors of the Twelve (the bishops), forever.

The fact that in context he is speaking to the Twelve is crucial for another reason, which is connected to the previous one. Consider the fact that right before he ascends Jesus tells the Apostles to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation" (Mk. 16:15). They are to make disciples of all nations in part by, "teaching them to observe all I have commanded you" (Mt. 28:20).

The Apostles are charged with teaching everything Jesus taught them. Now, unless they were taking really good notes on their laptops throughout Jesus’ public ministry they may have a problem most of us have, i.e. remembering. So what does Jesus says to them? He says, "…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (Jn. 14:26). I sure wish I could remember everything Jesus said, and don’t we all?

In this passage we are being told that Jesus is guaranteeing that the Apostles and their successors will never forget. This is an obvious link with the special charism given to the Pope and the bishops in union with the Pope, i.e. infallibility. The connection with the successors of the Apostles is also obvious since the mission of the Apostles in to extend not just through their own lifetime, but throughout all time.

Also, in one of the options for a Gospel reading this Sunday, when speaking to the Twelve, Jesus says, "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…" (Jn. 16:12-13). This too is linked with infallibility. We might think of the times when Jesus said something to the Apostles and they just kind of said, "Huh!" They just didn’t understand. Well, there are other things Jesus needs to tell them that he is not even going to bother telling them until the Holy Spirit has come, because they will not be able to handle it. The Holy Spirit will guide them into the fullness of truth. Thus it is to their advantage that Jesus ascends back to the Father.

In the other option for a Gospel reading this Sunday we receive another reason why it is important that the Holy Spirit come. Jesus on the evening of the day of the Resurrection enters where the Apostles are gather and "…he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (Jn. 20:22-23). The Holy Spirit must be sent so that our sins may be forgiven. Without the Holy Spirit they are not, and we remain in slavery to sin and its consequences, eternal death.

We conclude: "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of your faithful, grant that by that same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation through Christ our Lord. Amen."