Homily Pentecost Sunday Year B (Mass during
the Day): Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo
·
Acts 2:1-11;
·
Psalm 103;
·
I Cor 12:2-3, 12-13
·
Gal 5:16-25
·
John 20:19-20.
Using the Gifts of the Holy Spirit -Given to Us!
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the
Pentecost, 50 days after the celebration of Easter- the resurrection of Christ.
The Jews celebrated this feast 50 days after the Feast of Passover- thanking
God for the gift of harvest as well for His Sinaitic Covenant with Moses which
also occurs 50 days after the beginning of the Exodus in Egypt. There have been
many harvests in our lives and of course, some more cultivation and work to do- using the gifts that has been given to us!
For us, in our various dioceses and places
of worship, today marks the end of the Easter Season and commemorates the day
that the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles, especially, Peter, Stephen
and Paul as they spread the gospel in the early the Church. It’s the role of this spirit on the Church' evangelizing mission that we celebrate today. Since we are all members of the church, it is also a
celebration of the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives as Christian men, women
and children. We need this gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives today more than
ever. There is need to use them as well, in order for us to be able to function as true Christians and agents of
evangelization without fear and intimidation, despair, quarrel, discrimination
and desire for vengeance, bigotry, division and unhealthy competition.
I remember when I was a kid between the
ages of 4-10. I always wanted to hold onto my mom whom I loved and depended on.
I always cried, sad and disturbed the whole neighborhood each time my mother
would leave me home for grocery store in the local market area. Sometimes we do
feel the same each time somebody we love is about to leave us.
The Apostles felt the same – they were sad
when Jesus indicated last week, in the reading of the Solemnity of Ascension
that he was leaving to go to the Father. But, he promised them the Holy Spirit.
He planned for them. This planned came to be in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
narrated in today’s Gospel (John 20:19-23).
Holy Spirit was important even throughout
the ministry of Jesus. Remember at his baptism the Spirit descended upon
Jesus and named him as his beloved Son of the Father. At the beginning of his
public ministry in Luke chapter 4, Jesus invoked the prophecy of Isa 61- “The Spirit
of the Lord has been given to me. He has anointed me to bring Good news to the
poor, and liberty to the captives….” It was this same Spirit of the
Lord that raised Jesus from the dead, and enabled him ascends to the Father.
Just as it was not easy for me when my mum
would leave me home momentarily to get to the store for groceries or for any us
to lose a dear one, the Bible Readings of today( from Acts of the Apostles,
Paul’s Letter to the Corinthian and the Gospel of John) not only present us with
the challenges that face the early Christian community after the Ascension of
Jesus.
St. Luke tells us in his volume 2, Acts of
the Apostles how the persecuted, frightened and post-ascension church could not
really teach the mission of Jesus to the understanding of everyone from
different tribes and culture until they had received the Holy Spirit. Without
the Holy Spirit the early church was filled with fear, wrangling, uncertainties
and confusions.
It was the Holy Spirit that enables the
Apostles to face with love and patience the ridicule, the rejection they had to
deal with after the ascension of Jesus. It was the Holy Spirit that enables
them to be understood by people of all nations listed in today’s first reading.
The Spirit of unity. The spirit of endurance in the face of persecution; the
spirit of holiness as stressed by Pope Francis in his Gaudete et Exsultate (2018).
It is the Spirit of wisdom, understanding,
counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord, to deal with the
challenges that face us today in our families, in the society, in schools,
offices, and places of work, in our nations as followers of Christ.
Some of these challenges you know better
than I do may include, division, discrimination, quarrels, religious violent (as
in Nigeria and in other parts of the world) pride, boasting, abusing our gifts
and selfishness in our homes and in politics and in our communities. These are
some of the problems that St. Paul addresses in the early Corinthian Church, in our
2nd reading of today (1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13)
For Paul in Baptism we are all one
body in Christ. Just as the eye cannot say I don’t need the fingers or the
nose, my legs or ears are not necessarily, we need one another in
Christ. You can't say your next door neighbor or the next person on your left
or right is not important. Everyone is needed. All the gifts we have are
important and we need your gifts to live in fullness with Christ. None of
us sitting here is a chance factor before God or is not gifted with one gift or
another. We are all gifted.
For Paul the sharing of these various
spiritual gifts enriches the Church, since they all come from the same Spirit
for the common good. In other words these gifts are meant for the common good,
for the community. They may reside in some of us informs of prophecy,
teaching, administration, acts of charity, healing, speaking in tongues,
apostles, prophets, etc . But usually what this spirit brings should be joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
(Gal 5:22ff). We need to use them!
Jesus breathed this same Spirit on the Apostles on the evening of that Easter Sunday in today’s
Gospel. It is the Spirit of peace, shalom, wholeness to be agents of
evangelization and forgiveness. We need to use them!
Let us pray at this Mass for the gift of
the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives, those situations in our home,
state, and political capitals, so that we may constantly not only feel the
presence of God, his peace and joy in our lives, but be able to willingly share
it with our neighbors.
Reflection Questions:
- 1. In the light of today’s celebration can we identify in our lives- those gifts of the Holy Spirit- in us- and how we have used them?
- 2. In moments of despair and persecution (of any kind), how do we trust in the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church?
- 3. In what manner do we share this trust of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church with our world today- as Peter, Stephen, Paul and the early Apostles did?
