Solemnity of Pentecost
As the Blessed Mother, the Apostles, and the disciples were in the Upper Room between the Ascension and Pentecost, perhaps they were afraid. Over a month before they had seen their leader, whom they thought to be the Messiah, arrested, charged, and executed in the most horrible way. That’s what made them stay in the Upper Room between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday. St. John the Evangelist tells us that the disciples were in the locked room, “for fear of the Jews,” for fear that their fate would be the same as Jesus’ fate. And yet, Jesus breaks through and says to them, “‘Peace be with you.’”
So in that Upper Room again on Pentecost, after Jesus had ascended, maybe there was some fear. It had been nine days since Jesus ascended, they were waiting in prayer, they had chosen Judas Iscariot’s successor, St. Matthias, but the Holy Spirit had not yet come.
But, when the Spirit did come, as we hear in Acts, chapter two, their fear was gone. The fear of the Jews that filled them during the three days between Jesus’ arrest and Resurrection was turned into preaching to the Jews, in languages heretofore unknown to Mary, the Apostles, and the disciples, but understood by the many visitors who were in Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Pentecost. The gift of the Holy Spirit led the followers of Jesus from fear to boldness, from cowardice to courage.
Today as we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, that same spirit is renewed in us, not only in memory but in fact. Today we “stir into flame” the tongues of fire that have been given to us, in most cases invisibly, through baptism and confirmation. Today we are invited to move from fear to boldness in proclaiming and living our faith.
Over the pandemic, we have been conditioned to fear. At first, we learned to fear a microscopic virus that was new (novel was the word that was used). Any time there is a new virus that can cause serious health problems and even death it is easy to fear. We then became quite afraid that there wouldn’t be enough toilet paper (which I still don’t quite understand). But then our fear turned into fear of each other. And then previously existing racial divisions were exploited to pit one race against the other. Political parties, too, became both aggressors and victims of fear-mongering, as each major party accused the other of being seditious and treasonous. Even in churches we were encouraged by some to fear simply worshiping God, even with different hygienic practices in place to keep people as safe as possible.
I lost at least one of my grandparents to COVID, and I have other friends who died of it. I have known many who have contracted the virus, some still with lingering side-effects. So I don’t mean to suggest that we should be cavalier with our own or other people’s safety and health. I feel like I have to say that these days, because of the fear that people will think that I don’t care about them or their health, or don’t understand the cost that COVID-19 has had for some families.
But the Holy Spirit does not call us to fear. And as we gather for the first time without the dispensation from our obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays, we assemble, not to pretend that there are not serious issues in the world, but to proclaim that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are not afraid. We have been empowered by the Holy Spirit both to make prudent decisions about our health, but also to say with St. Paul that if God is for us, who can be against us? We have been empowered to remind ourselves and our friends that we all need God, and that our Sunday obligation is meant to give us a nudge to give God His due and be strengthened by the graces of the Eucharist to share God’s truth and love with people who need it, with people who need our courage to be courageous themselves.
We have been empowered not to give in to division and the fear of the other, whether due to race or political party, or whatever other label can divide us, but to unite, in the Holy Spirit, in loving each other, in working for justice for every person, for working towards the common good and the dignity of each human being, not just my platform and my agenda.
It’s easy to be afraid. The disciples were at one point. But we are not called to fear, but to be models of courage, so that others can lean on us for a little bit of that courage that they want for themselves. The enemy wants us to be afraid; he wants our fear to silence us. But God gives us, today and every day, the Holy Spirit, that we might follow the example of those first disciples on Pentecost, and proclaim by word and deed, in ways others can understand, the wonderful love and truth and work of our God. Do not be afraid!!
