Pentecost

1

Happy Birthday Church!

Today after celebrating the resurrection and the ascension, Jesus’ return to the Father,

we celebrate that He wanted to remain with His disciples, and with us, always

so He sent the Holy Spirit to be with them.

Thus united as one in Christ, the Church began.

Amidst fear of the outside world,

those first disciples hid themselves behind locked doors.

They were afraid to defend the story of the risen Christ.

The gospel tells us that Jesus entered the room

despite the locked doors.

This Pentecost, He sends His Spirit like a strong driving wind that rests on them

to calm their fear.

2

I think that we easily think of Pentecost as a boost.

The shot in the arm the disciples needed

and we need sometimes too

to enliven and renew our consciousness

that The Holy Spirit dwells among us.

We think of Pentecost as the inspiration for activity, the Church alive and on the move.

However, this Pentecost I invite you to listen closer to the words that Jesus speaks to His

disciples as He returns to them after the resurrection.

Jesus appears and says: Peace be with you.

and He repeats it again. Peace be with you.

Above all, it is peace that Jesus wishes for His disciples.

In a world where strong driving winds

demands of work, family, community and parish activity

certainly keeps us on the go

we need to hear the wish of Jesus - a wish for peace.

Do the strong driving winds have to stop for us to receive this peace?

Not necessarily!

Remember, He offers a peace like the world can not give.

It is a peace that can always be found, tapped into.

It is not necessarily about the stuff in our life slowing down

or going away or being accomplished or resolved.

Pentecost is a reminder to us that peace is always available to us

we just have to accept its power.

3

How do the disciples

remain open to this peace?

How do they invite others to know it?

Jesus tells them: “Forgive sins and they will be forgiven”.

As long as you do not bound yourself and others,

you will be free to enjoy peace.

Jesus makes it sound easy.

We know how difficult it is for us.

Sometimes we just have to stop and ask ourselves

-

what is important in life?

Where are our priorities?

What is holding us back from resting in His peace?

Most often we will find that it is ourselves

or what we allow others to do to us. Bind us, trap us, get a hold of us.

We all have had the experience when life’s realities

put a strain

on a relationship,

thus a strain on our environment at home, at work or among extended family or friends.

At times those issues are not resolved easily.

We can not do anything to make another see things the way we see them

and so we have to live amidst the tension and be patient.

It is exactly in these difficult times

when we need to discover the power of God’s Spirit which offers us peace.

4

Have you ever been asked:

How can you smile when I know what you are dealing with?

We hear it and ask ourselves:

It’s not denial of reality.

I am not masking emotion.

It’s about being reminded daily that resting in God’s Spirit brings a profound peace.

When we see ourselves, find ourselves in the midst of realities

that we do not see a resolution to in our limited capacity

– we as Christians, followers of Christ are offered the same gift He gave

to His first frightened disciples

who did not know how to defend their association with the Risen One

– they were given peace as the motivating force, the driving wind, the voice from heaven.

May this Pentecost once again remind us to

Choose to be moved by it.

Choose to lifted up by it.

Choose to hear it spoken.

PEACE.