Today's Gospel
The season of Easter concludes
with today’s celebration, the feast of Pentecost. At Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the
Holy Spirit upon the apostles gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem, the
event that marks the beginning of the Church.
The story of Pentecost is found in the Acts of the Apostles, today’s
first reading. The account in today’s
Gospel also recounts how Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to his
disciples. Yet the event in John’s
Gospel takes place on Easter Sunday. There is no need to try to reconcile these
two accounts - it is so we know that after his death, Jesus fulfilled his promise
to send to his disciples a helper, an Advocate, who would enable them to be his
witnesses throughout the world.
In the context of the feast of
Pentecost, John reminds us about the
integral connection between the gifts of peace and forgiveness and the action
of the Holy Spirit. Jesus greets his
disciples with the gift of peace. Jesus
then commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He breathes the Holy Spirit upon the
disciples and sends them to continue his work of reconciliation through the
forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ act of
breathing the Holy Spirit upon the apostles mirrors God’s act of breathing life
into Adam. In fact, both the Greek and
Hebrew words for “spirit” can also be translated as “breath.” This Gospel reminds us that the Church is
called to be a reconciling presence in the world. The reconciling presence of Christ is
celebrated in the Church’s sacramental life.
In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are cleansed of sin and become a new
creation in Christ. In the Sacrament of
Penance, the Church celebrates the mercy of God through the forgiveness of
sins. This reconciling presence is to be
a way of life for Christians. In
situations of conflict, we are to be agents of peace and harmony among people.
