Receive the Holy Spirit

Receive the Holy Spirit

Jn 20: 19 – 23

Solemnity of Pentecost

Intro

Today is Pentecost Sunday. In today’s reading Jesus breathes upon his disciples and gives them the gift of the Spirit.

The Gospel

¹⁹ When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Reflection

Today is Pentecost Sunday. On this day we recall how the Spirit was given to us as a gift. When we recall how the Spirit was given to us, the image that most often comes to mind is the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles on Pentecost day. As the Spirit descended on the apostles, tongues of fire appeared above their heads. This version of the Spirit’s descent is Luke’s version narrated in the Acts of the Apostles.

There is, however, another version that also recounts how the Spirit was given. This other version belongs to the Gospel of John which happens to be the Gospel for this Sunday. In John’s version, we see the Spirit being given to the apostles by the risen Jesus as he breathed on them. John’s depiction of the Spirit has similarities with how the Old Testament depicted the Spirit. In the first chapter of Genesis, the Lord God breathed life on Adam, the first human being. Through this breath, God gives and infuses life into Adam’s lifeless body.

Similarly, as when God breathed on Adam, so did Jesus breathe on his disciples. As God infused life in Adam through his breath, so did Jesus infuse life into his disciples through his breath. In these similarities and close parallelism between God and Jesus, it can be gleaned from here that the Spirit was God’s breath. God brings forth life through this breath. This breath is divine, it is distinct from the Father and the Son but equal in nature. This is why we call this divine breath the third person of the Holy Trinity, one whom we commonly call the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit or “Holy Breath” is the very principle of life, the font from where life springs and begins. It is for this reason that we call the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life.

With John using the appearance of the risen Lord as the backdrop for the giving of the Holy Spirit, one can take a glimpse of John’s understanding of the Holy Spirit and its relationship with Jesus.  The merging of the story of the appearance of the risen Jesus and the giving of the Spirit into a single pericope points to us a theme that speaks about “newness of life.”

With the resurrection of Jesus, there is clearly a newness of life, a passing from death to life. The resurrection is a new life that sits on the foundation of the old life. The old life, the life of suffering and death, as symbolized by the wounds of Jesus on his hands and his side, are not taken away or removed. In fact, after the resurrection, Christ’s wounds remained visible. The new life in the resurrection will bear the scars of sufferings, not so much as a reminder of the pain one has gone through but more as symbols of one’s triumph and victory over suffering and death. The scars are no longer  viewed with bitterness and regret but rather as sweet reminders of how God has kept and sustained one during times of trouble.

The reconciliation with our past wounds and scars brings with it our  ability to give peace and be at peace. Peace is mentioned in this Gospel twice, giving it almost a central place in this gospel. The absence of any feelings of bitterness, revenge and regret about the past, makes peace possible. In this newness of life, peace is not withheld but readily and generously given. Peace is shared by the risen Jesus with his apostles who denied and abandoned him as he suffered. None, however, of their cowardice, disloyalty, limitations and shortcomings were ever mentioned, singled out or even reprimanded by Jesus in this new life of peace.

Lastly, this newness of life springs forth from the Spirit. Anything new begins with the life giving power of the Spirit. The Spirit has set into motion the gradual transformation of the disciples as he turned their fears into joy; their cowardice into boldness as witnesses sent by Jesus. Finally, the Spirit gave them the power to forgive sins. They who experienced the boundless forgiveness and mercy of the Lord whom they have betrayed and denied, will become the worthy bearers and proclaimers of God’s mercy and forgiveness. A new race, a new generation springs forth from the face of the earth as God reconciles the world to himself. The Spirit brings this newness of life. As one proceeding from the Father and the Son, the Spirit is the gift of God who will stay with us and will become for us God’s love poured into our hearts.

Prayer

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.

“ By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.” – Gal 5: 22 - 23