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Receive the Holy Spirit








Receive the Holy Spirit
Pentecost Sunday
Jn 20: 19-23

Today is Pentecost Sunday. On Pentecost Sunday, the Church celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit. It is a day when Jesus, having ascended into heaven and is seated at the Father’s right hand, sends his Spirit, the Holy Spirit to his disciples. The descent of the Holy Spirit is normally associated with Luke’s account in the book of the Acts of the Apostles in Chapter 2.
However, this Sunday’s Gospel reading is taken from John’s Gospel. John has a different take on how the Holy Spirit came. His account is in contrast to Luke’s own version of the Spirit’s coming written in the book of Acts.  In John’s Gospel, the Spirit is given to the disciples by Jesus himself who has just risen from the dead saying: “ Receive the Holy Spirit.”
It is interesting to know how John portrays the risen Jesus as the one from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds. More interesting is his use of the phrase:  “ and when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit. ” In John, Jesus actually breathes upon the disciples as he gives them the gift of the Spirit. This gesture of breathing is reminiscent of what God himself did in the book of Genesis when he formed man from the dust and then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" ( Genesis 2:7).  It was through this breath that man became a living being.
John seems to suggest that God’s creative action in Genesis is now at work in and through Jesus as he breathed the Spirit on his disciples. The disciples of Jesus, John notes, were closed in and were afraid for fear of the Jews. By breathing on them he gives them the Holy Spirit who infuses new life in them, much in the same way that the breath of God infused life into Adam’s lifeless body.
For John, Jesus’ resurrection would signal the new creation that God was now doing in and through Jesus. It is only through Jesus’ resurrection that this new creation was possible. Only after Jesus conquered death and sin, can humanity hope for redemption and renewal.
In breathing forth the Spirit, Jesus brings about new life. The first fruits of this new life is peace. The risen Jesus says to his disciples: “ Peace be with you.” He says this twice to them. It was like telling them that now there is no more enmity between heaven and earth, between God and man, between man and his fellow men. Peace has once more been restored through the Lord’s death and resurrection.
Another fruit of the Spirit is the boldness to witness. Jesus tells his disciples: “ As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” From being locked up and afraid, the disciples were now, through the gift of the Spirit, being sent into the world, just as Jesus was sent by the Father.
Lastly, the fruit of the Spirit is the power to forgive sins. Through the forgiveness of sins, man could once again be reconciled with his creator and would be able to live peaceably with both God and man.
We often invoke the Holy Spirit to come when we say our prayers. We invoke the Spirit and ask him to renew the face of the earth. The Spirit is life. The Spirit is light. The Spirit is love. The Spirit is warmth. The Spirit enlightens. The Spirit emboldens and empowers. The Spirit guides. The Spirit is fire. The Spirit consoles. The Spirit helps. The Spirit is comfort. The Spirit is the Love of God in our Hearts.
The Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus in our hearts given to us as a sign of God’s outpouring of his love to us. The gentle and the unknown Spirit lives within each one of us, continuing Jesus’ mission of love and reconciliation in a world in need of love and redemption. To the Spirit we say, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen. “


“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. “  ( Romans 5:5)

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