June 12, 2011- Pentecost Sunday
Reading 1 - Acts 2:1-11
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”
Responsorial Psalm - Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O Lord! the earth is full of your creatures;
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme; I will be glad in the LORD.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
Reading II - 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13
Brothers and sisters: No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
Gospel - Jn 20:19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, 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.”
Reflection: Part II, “Pentecost—The Birthday of the Church”
For last week’s reflection, on the Holy Spirit, click here
Water never gets the credit it deserves. Only negative stories about water seem to make the news. Go to CNN’s website or turn on cable news, and you’re likely to hear about how water has affected people’s lives in some adverse manner. “Hurricane destroys city.” “Floods devastate region.” “Child’s death ruled a drowning.” And yet, water does immeasurable—and untold—good. It sustains life on this very earth and allows humans to engage in myriad daily activities, from agriculture to bathing to cooling off on a hot day. Nevertheless, you’ll never open up the Sunday newspaper and encounter the following headlines: “Water allows farmers in California to irrigate the Central Valley and grow tomatoes.” “Family escapes 90 degree heat by spending afternoon at the lake.” Or, “Water allows group of basketball players to rehydrate following vigorous pickup game.”
The Church is a lot like water. It pretty much only ever makes the news when something bad happens. “Priest indicted on charges of abusing children.” “Bishop issues controversial statement on [hot-button political issue].” “Four hundred years later, Church officials apologizes to Galileo for condemnation.” Yet, similar to water, most stories about the Church—were they to receive the same attention—would detail incredibly positive contributions to the wider world. “Group of nuns runs orphanage for HIV-positive orphans in Kenya.” “Church volunteers rebuild homes following hurricane.” “Catholic Charities offers free medical care to the homeless.”
With all that we hear about in the media about the downfalls of individual Church members, it can be easy to forget that “the Church” is not equivalent to any one pastor or bishop, any more than the term “water” does not describe a storm in Mississippi or a flood in Pakistan. Nor does that phrase, “the Church,” refer to the worldwide collection of bishops and priests, much less the Pope and Curia, who so often seem to be the referent when someone insists that, “The Church says X” or “The Church teaches Y.”
Rather, WE are the Church. At the Second Vatican Council, bishops and other leaders came together to discuss countless topics from the relationship of Christianity vis-a-vis other religions, to the role of the laity in the life of the Church. Among the documents produced were two Constitutions—one, Gaudium et Spes, sets forth how the Church ought to engage the wider world, and the other, Lumen Gentium, elucidates the internal organization of the Church itself. What Lumen Gentium makes unambiguously clear is that the term “Church” is not restricted to bishops, clergy, or those employed by the local parish—the Church is the entire “people of God,” all of us believers, living and deceased.
Pentecost is celebrated as the birthday of the Church, and so it is a celebration for all of us. It is thus that Jesus says, not only to those first disciples gathered in the upper room, but to each of us two thousand years later, that, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” In doing so, he leaves us the Holy Spirit, which continues to sustain us and infuse us with the grace of God necessary to carry out this immense undertaking.
Like water, we more than likely will never receive recognition for our role. It would be unusual if camera crews showed up to document our waking at 5:30 am to serve breakfast at a homeless shelter or sent field reporters to interview us after we had spent a week comforting family members during a particularly tough time. Nor can we hope to affect all that we might like to. A single drop of water cannot irrigate a field, much less support farming across the entire country. But like individual drops of water, we are never alone. Water pools—in clouds, lakes, in oceans. The whole point of Church is that we are never left as individual drops of water, as isolated followers of Christ tasked with carrying out this mission of spreading the Gospel.
Frequently, people will remark that they have a personal relationship with God, but that they do not see the point of organized religion or “going to Church.” That is a bit like a single drop of water saying, “I don’t know what all the rest of the water drops are up to, but I’m just gonna do my part to water this field.” It is not that a single water drop can do NOTHING—certainly it does something—but in order to water a field, or even fill a single water bottle at the gym, millions of water drops must come together for that common purpose.
Like water, the Church is made up of countless individual parts working in unison, capable of bringing life to the world around us. Skimming headlines, it can be easy to forget why we come together or to doubt the possibility that the larger body acts as a force for good. But it is essential to remember that “the Church” is not an abuse scandal, any more than “water” is the recent tsunami that devastated Japan or the hurricane that leveled New Orleans. Even as these horrible events were taking place, billions of other drops of water were allowing farmers in Africa to grow crops, fishermen off Alaska to catch crabs, and college freshmen to do laundry. Whatever else may be going on, it is important for us, on this feast of Pentecost, to recall that we are sent by Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, and joined by the whole communion of believers, to bring life to those around us.
For a supplemental reflection on the history and evolution of “The Church,” whose birthday we celebrate on Pentecost, click here
Reflection Questions
1) If someone were to ask you, “What is the Church?” what would you say?
2) How does it make you feel to read news stories about things going on in the Church? How do you respond? Do you ever take any action? If so, what?
3) What specific sorts of things might you do to carry out the mission given to us by Jesus? How can you do that as an individual, and how do you think being part of a larger Church might help? (Do you think it will help?)
