28 May 2023: Pentecost: Mass during the day A

Lectionary note: Vigil of Pentecost or Pentecost Sunday
The Lectionary presents two sets of readings for Pentecost Sunday: the Vigil/Extended Vigil of Pentecost or Pentecost Sunday. This commentary uses the readings for Pentecost Sunday.

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Acts 2:1-11	Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34	1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13	Jn 20:19-23
RCL: Acts 2:1-11		RCL: 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13	RCL: Jn 20:19-23

Pentecost: the Spirit comes dramatically and intimately

Pentecost, the final day of the Easter season, celebrates the Spirit’s outpouring on the ekklesia. Throughout the Easter season, Jesus has revealed himself in the upper room, appeared to his disciples and explained his resurrection’s meaning; taught about true shepherding and the way to the Father, promised a perpetual paraclete, and prayed for those who are in the world. The Pentecost readings ask us how we see and experience the Spirit in and though the believing community.

First reading (Acts 2:1-11)

The first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles, written by the same author as Luke’s gospel in the late 80s. Acts continues the story of Jesus and his believing community: the resurrected Jesus returns to the Father and sends the Spirit. Luke’s sequel is the story of the Spirit’s continuing actions in Jesus’ believing community, primarily in the words and actions of Peter and of Paul.

In today’s pericope, Luke describes the outpouring of the Spirit on the believing community during the Jewish feast of Pentecost, which commemorates God’s gift of Torah at Sinai. Luke borrows imagery from Hebrew scripture to symbolize God’s presence. First, Luke mentions wind (“a noise like a strong driving wind”), recalling God’s presence at creation (“a mighty wind sweeping over the waters,” Gn 1:2). Luke highlights the wind to remind his community that the spirit of God, first present at creation, is present at the Pentecost event. Next, Luke mentions fire (“tongues of fire“), recalling God’s manifestation at Sinai (“the LORD had come down upon it in fire,” Ex 19:18). Throughout Hebrew scripture, fire indicates God’s presence. Luke’s detail about “tongues of fire” suggests that the Twelve’s post-Pentecost preaching will express God’s presence in human words. Finally, Luke mentions the confusion of languages. In the tower of Babel story (Gn 11:1-9), God creates a “confusion of languages” to prevent humans from blurring the boundary between heaven and earth. In the Pentecost story, a diverse group who speaks many languages are eager to hear God’s word. Miraculously, they hear the Twelve speaking in their own language. Luke suggests that the Spirit reverses Babel’s “confusion of languages,” giving people a new ability to hear, and empowering them to become a new community.

The Lectionary editors chose this reading because it describes the Pentecost event.

Second reading (1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13)

The second reading is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinth ekklesia. Paul writes to real flesh-and-blood people working out how best to live their faith. Paul teaches disciples to reject any words, actions, or distinctions that disrupt the community’s unity and holiness. Love is the basis and context for community life.

In today’s pericope, Paul corrects the Corinthians’ misunderstanding of spiritual matters. For Paul, real spirituality is given by the Spirit, and allows a believer to confess that “Jesus is Lord” and to live accordingly. Paul defines “spiritual matters” as “gifts.” No one merits these spiritual gifts; God, through the Spirit, freely gives each gift to build up the community (“for some benefit”). Along with gifts, the Spirit also gives “services” and “workings” for the common good. No gift is greater or lesser than any other gift; the community needs all gifts equally. Paul admonished the Corinthians that the Spirit gives different gifts to different people for the good of all. Paul then introduces his “body/members” analogy, a common figure of speech in antiquity. Speakers and writers compared human society to a human body, whose well-being depends on each citizen knowing his or her role and place. Paul changes the analogy: now the body of believers is Christ; the body of Christ (“so also Christ”). In baptism, the Spirit binds believers in a living unity to Christ (“in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body”). Within this unity, God calls diverse believers to different and necessary roles.

The Lectionary editors chose this reading because it describes the Spirit’s presence and effects in the believing community.

Gospel (Jn 20:19-23)

John’s gospel gives his version of the outpouring of the Spirit on the believing community, which happens on the evening of the resurrection. Like Luke, John borrows imagery from Hebrew scripture to show God’s presence and to connect the Spirit to the disciples’ new mission.

• Jesus turns fear to peace and joy. The disciples have not yet seen the risen Jesus, and remain fearful. Despite the locked door, Jesus appears in their midst offering a blessing of peace/shalom. Jesus shows them his hands and side to confirm he is Jesus, the man they knew.
• Jesus commissions the disciples. Repeating his peace/shalom blessing, Jesus commissions the disciples to continue his mission: to be the revealers and revelation of God in the world.
• Jesus gives the Spirit-paraclete to the believing community. To empower the disciples’ work, Jesus breathes the Spirit into his believing community. This sign of breath/wind/spirit (in Hebrew, ר֫וּחַ/ruaḥ; in Greek πνεῦμα/pneûma) recalls God’s spirit creating the world (Gn 1:2) and God breathing life into Adam (Gn 2:7). Jesus’ creative breath imbues his community with the Spirit’s continuing presence, and gives the community power and authority to forgive sin, as Jesus did in his ministry.

Summary and reflection

Jesus’ resurrection has many meanings and many implications. Throughout the Easter season, the readings have invited us to reflect on this cosmos-changing event. Acts uses dramatic images from Hebrew scripture to describe God as present in the outpoured Spirit. Paul describes the Spirit’s effects in empowering and uniting a diverse community. John describes Jesus giving the Spirit, who empowers his community to continue to reveal God to the world.

The Spirit’s coming can be as dramatic as a windstorm or as intimate as a breath, but the Spirit comes always to unify communities and to empower every believer. Where do we find the Spirit at work in our communities and ourselves? Are we using the Spirit’s gift of new hearing to listen to others? Are we practicing the Spirit’s gifts of service and work to build up our communities? Are we empowered by the Spirit to reveal and to be the ongoing revelation of God to others?

—Terence Sherlock

23 May 2021: Pentecost Sunday B

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Acts 2:1-11	Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34	1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Gal 5:16-25	Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15
RCL: Acts 2:1-11 or Nm 11:24-30		RCL: 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13	RCL: Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 15:26-27; 16:4b-16

Lectionary note: Pentecost celebrations
The Lectionary presents two sets of readings for Pentecost Sunday: the Vigil/Extended Vigil of Pentecost or Pentecost Sunday. This commentary uses the standard readings for Pentecost Sunday.

Easter time: the gift of the Spirit and start of the ekklesia

In the Easter season, Jesus appeared to his disciples and explained his resurrection’s meaning. He revealed himself as good shepherd, true vine, and one who laid down his life. He prayed for us whom he sends to continue his mission. Pentecost is the final Easter season celebration. This week’s readings ask us, the believing community, what the Spirit’s outpouring means.

First reading (Acts 2:1-11)

The first reading is from Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. In today’s pericope, Luke describes the outpouring of the Spirit on the believing community during the Jewish feast of Pentecost. In Luke’s time, the Jewish people understood Pentecost as a celebration commemorating God’s gift of Torah to Moses and the Israelites at Sinai. Luke uses the images of sound (“rushing wind”) and fire (“as tongues of fire”) to connect the giving of the Torah with the giving of the Spirit. Wind and fire also echo the Baptizer’s description of the messiah’s baptism “with the Holy Spirit and fire” in Lk 3:16. Pentecost fulfills Jesus’ repeated promise and prophecy that the disciples would receive “power from on high” (Acts 1:8). The Pentecost event begins the restoration of the remnant people: first, the Twelve and the disciples, then offered to the Jews of Jerusalem. The Spirit’s coming is about a disciple’s personal spiritual transformation, not the theophany’s external pyrotechnics. The “Jews from every nation” does not refer to temporary pilgrims in Jerusalem for the feast, but to Jews from the diaspora who had returned to live in Jerusalem. These returned exiles (or remnant) hear the disciples’ proclamation in their “own languages;” Luke stresses communication of the good news, rather than ecstatic speech (“speaking in tongues”). The Lectionary editors chose this reading to show the risen Lord’s continued working in the ekklesia.

Second reading (1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13)

The second reading is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinth ekklesia, which he founded in the early 50s AD. Paul’s letter expands on ideas he taught while visiting the Corinthians, and corrects errors or misunderstandings. In today’s pericope, Paul discusses two ideas: first, that the one God gives the community diverse spiritual gifts, and second, that the spiritual gifts given at baptism should unite the diverse believing community. The first idea is that God gives different “spiritual gifts,” “forms of service,” or “workings” to each believer for the benefit of the whole believing community. (Paul is correcting the Corinthians’ mistaken belief that a gift indicates the recipient’s importance.) Paul affirms that all Christians are charismatics; everyone receives a gift and has a corresponding obligation to exercise the gift (Rm 12:6b-8). The second idea is that baptism unites the diverse believing members (“many parts”) into a unified believing community (“one body”). Baptism literally incorporates (a Latin word meaning “to include into the body”) individuals into Christ’s body. “Drink of one Spirit” refers to the Eucharistic cup; the early Rites of Initiation included baptism and Eucharist. The Lectionary editors chose this reading for its description of the Spirit’s effects in the believing community.

Gospel (Jn 20:19-23)

John’s gospel is a post-resurrection appearance in which Jesus bestows the gift of the Spirit. Luke presents the resurrection, ascension, and coming of the Spirit events using a symbolic chronology (40 days, ten days); John presents the same events in narrative groupings (Peter and the other disciple, Mary Magdalene, the disciples without and with Thomas). Today’s pericope shows the connection between Jesus’ commission and the gift of the Spirit.

• So I send you. As the Father consecrated and sent Jesus into the world (Jn 10:36), Jesus now gives the Spirit to empower his disciples to continue his work. Jesus promised (Jn 14:16-17) the Spirit to help them make the Father’s name known and love one another. Like the Father and Son, the Spirit remains or abides within the sent disciples, enabling them to bear witness (Jn 15:26-17).
• Gift of the Spirit. Jesus’ breathing on the disciples is John’s version of Luke’s Pentecost event. Just as God breathes life into the first human (Gn 2:7), so Jesus breathes the Spirit into the disciples, giving them his power to complete his mission. The Spirit unites the disciples to the risen Jesus and makes the disciples a “new creation.” The Spirit is with the community and in the community and will abide (remain, dwell) with the community forever, but the community must reach beyond itself (“so I send you”) to accomplish Jesus’ instruction.

Summary and reflection

Jesus’ resurrection has many meanings and many implications. After Eastertime’s reflection on this cosmos-changing event, we enter the age of the Spirit, who comes to inhabit and to guide the believing community. Luke describes how the Spirit’s outpouring affects the disciples and their hearers. Paul teaches how the Spirit’s gifts affect each believer and the community’s unity. John shows how the Spirit enables and emboldens the disciples to continue Jesus’ mission. How has our receiving of the Spirit changed our lives and the lives of others? Has our encounter with the Spirit enabled us to communicate the good news? Are we using the Spirit’s gifts to benefit others and build up the community? Is the indwelling Spirit leading us to make the Father’s name known and to love others?

—Terence Sherlock