When historians rank events of history, they ponder what most influenced the course of world events. To narrow the list down to 100 historical events can be challenging. There is no one way to measure the relative importance of any moment but one criteria to consider are those events that impacted more people over a longer period of time.
Some of the biggest moments began with words or gestures that touched off a new way of thinking, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Others began as small and unrecorded incidents, like the invention of the wheel or the start of farming or most recently the emergence of the Covid19 virus in rural China.
Pentecost commemorates an event that could very well be considered among the most significant events in history. On that day, Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles, “When the time for Pentecost had been fulfilled, they were all in one place together.” The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and the Church was born. From that day forward, the Church impacted the lives of people in nearly every corner of the world. Without a doubt the Holy Spirit was and remains influential in shaping world history.
Pentecost was an annual major Jewish feast, back then, a thanksgiving celebration that combined gratitude for the year’s harvest with a gratitude for the Sinai covenant. This feast occurred fifty days after Passover, hence the name, Pentecost.
Jews from all over gathered for this great Jewish feast in Jerusalem. They spoke many different languages. Humanity had become fragmented, divided, split into groups, different from one another. The Holy Spirit on Pentecost aimed to reverse that situation.
The people speaking different languages were astounded. They understood what they were hearing. They were transformed by the apostles’ message, who themselves had been transformed from being a confused group of human beings into a courageous body of Christian believers.
This band of believers became a single body of witnesses, which we now call the Church. Hence, we think of this feast as the birthday of the Church. The Christian movement that began that day spread so quickly that within three decades its influence was felt in faraway Rome.
What began on Pentecost 2000 years ago was left for us to complete now. During the pandemic, we could not gather as a congregation in church, so the Church adapted to the changing times, ever mindful that we are church wherever we are. As the Body of Christ, we take on an active role, each in our own way, of living the Gospel. This mission is more critical today than ever.
Jesus is speaking to us just as readily as he spoke to the disciples in the upper room on the eve of Pentecost. “Peace be with you. Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Those are reassuring words we need to hear.
Peace is the message we are to announce to our wounded world. Peace is the promise that Pentecost proclaims. Peace is not the absence of war. Rather, peace that Jesus offers is a unity of mind, heart and will to live in the manner that God urges us to live. True peace is what Jesus came to establish on earth but we are slow to put into practice his lessons of love, compassion, and humility. His peace emerges when people come together with mutual understanding, respect and forgiveness for one another. This peace cannot be fostered unless we die to sin and what divides us.
We convey the Gospel to others by what we say and do and the values we hold. The Spirit gives us the power to boldly proclaim our faith yet how willingly do we stand up for its values in the face of social or political opposition? The power of the Spirit enabled countless Christians to do just that in the past and empowers us to do so today.
Elsewhere in his letters, Paul notes, “God has not given us the Spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” This is the Spirit that came upon the disciples on Pentecost and this is the Spirit we are personally blessed with through our baptism and confirmation.
Those of us who witnessed Vatican II know well that the Holy Spirit is a disruptive force, constantly challenging the status quo and prodding us to do more toward making the kingdom of God a reality. But disruptive does not mean destructive for the Spirit is also a creative force, constantly remaking things anew. Lest anyone here still thinks that their presence and participation in the life of this Catholic community does not matter, I invite you to reflect on what Amado Nervo, a Mexican poet, said a century ago:
Alone we are only a spark, but in the Spirit we are a fire.
Alone we are only string, but in the Spirit, we are a lyre.
Alone we are only an anthill, but in the Spirit, we are a mountain.
Alone we are only a drop, but in the Spirit, we are a fountain.
Alone we are only a feather, but in the Spirit, we are a wing.
Alone we are only a beggar, but in the Spirit, we are a king.