Homily, Pentecost 2022

Readings: Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13, John 20:19-23

Today’s feast of Pentecost is celebrated as the birthday of the Church. When the Apostles were gathered together, the Holy Spirit came to them as a strong wind, descending upon them as tongues of fire. Inspired and empowered by the Spirit, Peter and the others began preaching the word. We are told later in this chapter in verse 41, that about three thousand persons were baptized that day. The Church was born. 

Now, over 2000 years later, Jesus is still alive in the world and the Spirit continues to work through us, his followers. You and I are ordinary people capable of extraordinary things because of the power of the Spirit in us and in the world. His grace inspires us to spread his word, to care for those in need, to comfort those who suffer, and to live as believers in this world in need of God’s love.

We love and enjoy birthdays. They are often an occasion for gift-giving. Pentecost is no exception. The Holy Spirit bestows abundant spiritual gifts on believers. These gifts may not come in a brightly wrapped box, but their worth is beyond measure. They give us strength when we are weak, and courage when we are afraid. We are granted the gift of wisdom to inform our judgment, and the gift of understanding to help us see God in what surrounds us. The gift of counsel allows us to be directed by God in matters necessary for our salvation. Fortitude and fear of the Lord give us a firmness of mind to do good and avoid evil and help us understand God’s power as we hold him in awe and adoration. We are granted the gift of knowledge to correctly judge matters of faith and right action, and piety to devote ourselves to God and open ourselves to his will.

These gifts are freely given and provide all we need to live as daughters and sons of God. We are called to use these gifts to fortify our faith and serve God. If someone gave us a gift, we would not keep it hidden in its box. Instead, we would put it to good use and likely think of the person who gave it to us whenever we used that gift. In the same way, the Holy Spirit remains with us and wants us to use his gifts to help us grow in our faith and become closer to God. These gifts are not meant to be kept hidden or to be used only for our own needs. They are meant to be shared. They are meant to inspire others and invite them to join us in the family of God.

A story is told of an elderly woman who had four grown sons. The woman lost her home to fire, so the sons thought it would be good to build their mother a new home. They encountered some trouble. The first son was a carpenter, but he didn’t know anything about plumbing, masonry or electrical work. He thought there was no way he could build his mother a home. Each of his brothers – an electrician, a plumber, and a bricklayer – had similar thoughts. They didn’t know anything about the other building trades, so thinking only as individuals, they each decided there was no way any of them could build a new home for their mother. So, the house never got built.

Maybe our life as a Church is sometimes like that story of the mother and her sons. How often do we think that the Church could not possibly need or make use of our God-given talents? Sometimes, we might say to ourselves that I can’t become an usher, a greeter, or a reader at mass! Perhaps we think that the Church simply doesn’t need us because we can’t do anything spectacular. Maybe we feel we don’t have any special talents to share with anyone, so why bother? St Paul clearly tells in today’s second reading “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord;…..To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit”( 1 Cor 12:4-7). Yes, some gifts are used more visibly, but all those God-given gifts are necessary.

Pentecost is seen as reversing the disaster of Babel. Whereas Babel divided and confused the unity of the human family, Pentecost creates from the many languages of people one voice to profess one faith. In the story of Pentecost, difference is harmony; people didn’t all start talking the same language, but all the different languages started telling the same story – the story of the marvels of God; the story of God coming among us to share our life, and to invite us to share God’s life. At Babel they tried to rival God; at Pentecost they joined together to praise God. What mattered was that they all expressed the same story. Pentecost is about building a house, together, that no one person can do alone. It is about building up the Church. We need the Holy Spirit to energize us and to remind us of our mission-to recreate us and make us new creatures. Veni Sancte Spiritus.