Liturgical Year A-Cycle I
Pentecost Sunday
By Dcn. Bob Villarreal
Topic: The Holy Spirit
+ + +
Gospel:
John 20: 19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
The gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost moved the Apostles to give witness to Jesus and empowered them to feats of courage and eloquence way beyond their capacities. As the Spirit was in Jesus, now the Spirit was in the church. But to seek the Spirit requires replacing our egos with love. Freedom of the Spirit is Love and Life . . . it is Life giving.
In Genesis, the Lord God formed man out of clay and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and so man became a living being. Life came from the breath of God. Man lived in harmony with God until he succumbed to the temptations of Satan.
In today's Gospel reading from John, Jesus said to his disciples, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
Why would Jesus combine the gift of the Holy Spirit with the forgiveness of sins and what is the connection between sin and Satan?
A ccording to an old Jewish tradition, God was in his heaven and all was well. At that time, Satan was a most exalted angel in heaven. But there came a time when God chose to add one more living creature to earth and this new living creature was to be very, very special. God decided that this new creature was to be so special because he was to be capable of being loved and of freely returning love. God would create this creature, not with the fullness, but with a share in His attributes such as intellect, freedom, self-determination, and awareness of transcendence, and most importantly, a great need to love and be loved. Therefore, he made humans in His own image and likeness and proceeded to love them.
Satan and some other angels were not pleased with God's creation because they thought that mankind should be lower than the angels. They refused to acknowledge the great dignity God had given to His new creation and, led by Satan, they rebelled.
There was Michael, an angel who obeyed God's will for mankind. As quoted in the Book of Revelations, "Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against Satan, also called the Devil and the Dragon. And the Dragon and his angels fought but were defeated by Michael and there was no longer any place for them in heaven." Michael was to become St. Michael, the Archangel or chief angel. "And, the great dragon, that ancient serpent, was thrown down to earth along with his angels." Satan was cast into hell where he has become the great deceiver and accuser who unceasingly tempts man because by disfiguring the image of God in man, Satan can confront God and say, "See, I told you so! Mankind really should be lower than us. Give mankind freedom and he will choose selfishness and not holiness."
However, because of the great love God has for mankind, the Father sent his own Son, to help mankind in his struggle to overcome the temptations of the devil and to overcome sin. The key stages in the victory over the demons were the Incarnation, death, and glorification of Jesus.
In Luke's Gospel, Jesus appointed 72 disciples to go out to proclaim the kingdom of God and they all came back rejoicing and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." Then Jesus said a curious ting, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky."
However, Satan continues to tempt us, deceive us, and to accuse us day and night before God. So Christ, aware of our propensity to sin, sent us the Holy Spirit to be our Intercessor and Advocate so that we could repent and be saved from our sins and achieve salvation with him in heaven. The coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus was glorified was prefigured when Christ's side was pierced and blood and water flowed out.
A description of the Holy Spirit as flowing water is given in the Book of Revelation as related to us by John's vision of heaven. "And I saw no temple in the City of God, for its temple is the Lord God and the Lamb. Then he showed me a river of the water of life, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb through the middle of the street and on either side of the river was the tree of Life." This is interpreted to be the Holy Spirit flowing, eternally from God and his Lamb. That is why it is appropriate to profess, "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son."
Perhaps, one of the most reassuring and yet frightening statements in Scripture comes from the final chapters in the Book of Revelation. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I give water without price from the fountain of the water of life. For the one who conquers (sin), I will be his God and he shall be my son." "But for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their life shall be in the lake that burns . . . "
In this Scripture there is no universal salvation! This is frightening because we know that we are full of ourselves and can rationalize away any sin or fail to even recognize sin.
As most of you know, I was raised in the Gila Valley in southwest New Mexico. We lived and farmed in a canyon or arroyo near the head-waters of the Gila River. At that time, houses were constructed in the canyons for protection from floods, elements, Gila Monsters, and attack by Indians. One Canyon up from us was the home of Anastacio Gomez, an Apache Indian, who at one time rode with the great Chiefs. He typically raised a garden for food for his family and grass for his ponies. He didn't talk to hardly anyone but he did talk to my dad because my dad talked to everyone.
When I graduated from grade school, it was a custom that high school boys were to go out and steal watermelons at night. It was a sort of passage ritual for boys. Girls were not part of this. I had learned to steal watermelons from my older cousin and I eventually was considered to be one of the best. I would get calls from several groups so that I could lead them in stealing watermelons anywhere in the valley. By the time I was a senior, I was considered to be THE expert. I never got caught. I was so sneaky and I knew every trick. No one could catch me. Included in my resume was the watermelon patch of Anastacio Gomez. I know that acreage like the back of my hand and there was no chance of my ever getting caught. I graduated from high school and stealing watermelons was no longer the thing to do for me.
I learned later that Anastacio had talked to my dad and he told him that he knew that I had stolen from his watermelon patch. He had said that he knew far more than I did about being sneaky because for many years, he would sneak up on game, white men, and other Indians. That was his life and he was one of the best. He told my dad how he knew I had stolen the watermelons. He had even loosened a fence wire to make it easier to get to his watermelons and to lessen the damage to his watermelon patch. He had raked the area where the barbed wire was loose and had my footprints. He knew everything. But he told my dad not to tell me because I had not vandalized anything and the loss of a watermelon, every now and then, was alright. But my dad told my uncle and years later he relayed the conversation to me.
I was so full of myself that I did not think anybody was actually better than me. I never considered that this was a sin. I did not confess this as a sin because I was just using my God-given talents to the max. I did indeed fall into Satan's trap. Satan deceived me by increasing my pride so that it was supreme. The Holy Spirit could not possibly help me.
So, where was the Holy Spirit in all of this? Someone at last night's Mass told me that the Holy Spirit was under all those watermelons. The Holy Spirit could not reach me because of my inflated ego. I learned that Satan is very alive in this world and relished every moment of this game. Worst of all, because of my sins, I allowed Satan to confront God and say, "I told you so. Even Bobby V. will choose selfishness over holiness."
What can we do if we wish to achieve the kingdom of God, to achieve salvation? We must mature with the Holy Spirit through the good habit of attending Mass, seeking confession, partaking of the Sacraments, regularly. We can start by living the truth of the Holy Spirit in our life.
We can recognize that when Father John, at this Mass, prays to the Father with the words, "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ," that the body and blood and water are sanctified by the Holy Spirit and what was once tangible human gifts become the LIVING body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Our offerings are now a living sacrament of the RISEN Christ.
If we really believe this teaching of the Church, we cannot leave this Altar, this Church, without being changed. If we do not believe, we do not change, the symbols are dead and we are dead, dead to eternal life. But, if we truly believe, then we can live in the Spirit of God and Satan and sin is conquered, and contrary to his accusations, we ARE made holy! With the Spirit of God, we, like the Apostles, are free to give witness to Jesus through our feats of courage and love even beyond our capabilities.
John 20: 19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Catholic Church
has been described as a church born from the pierced side
of Jesus on the cross, founded
at Pentecost, and established
when Jesus gave the apostles the authority to forgive and retain
sins. The gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost moved the Apostles to give witness to Jesus and empowered them to feats of courage and eloquence way beyond their capacities. As the Spirit was in Jesus, now the Spirit was in the church. But to seek the Spirit requires replacing our egos with love. Freedom of the Spirit is Love and Life . . . it is Life giving.
In Genesis, the Lord God formed man out of clay and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and so man became a living being. Life came from the breath of God. Man lived in harmony with God until he succumbed to the temptations of Satan.
In today's Gospel reading from John, Jesus said to his disciples, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
Why would Jesus combine the gift of the Holy Spirit with the forgiveness of sins and what is the connection between sin and Satan?
A ccording to an old Jewish tradition, God was in his heaven and all was well. At that time, Satan was a most exalted angel in heaven. But there came a time when God chose to add one more living creature to earth and this new living creature was to be very, very special. God decided that this new creature was to be so special because he was to be capable of being loved and of freely returning love. God would create this creature, not with the fullness, but with a share in His attributes such as intellect, freedom, self-determination, and awareness of transcendence, and most importantly, a great need to love and be loved. Therefore, he made humans in His own image and likeness and proceeded to love them.
Satan and some other angels were not pleased with God's creation because they thought that mankind should be lower than the angels. They refused to acknowledge the great dignity God had given to His new creation and, led by Satan, they rebelled.
There was Michael, an angel who obeyed God's will for mankind. As quoted in the Book of Revelations, "Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against Satan, also called the Devil and the Dragon. And the Dragon and his angels fought but were defeated by Michael and there was no longer any place for them in heaven." Michael was to become St. Michael, the Archangel or chief angel. "And, the great dragon, that ancient serpent, was thrown down to earth along with his angels." Satan was cast into hell where he has become the great deceiver and accuser who unceasingly tempts man because by disfiguring the image of God in man, Satan can confront God and say, "See, I told you so! Mankind really should be lower than us. Give mankind freedom and he will choose selfishness and not holiness."
However, because of the great love God has for mankind, the Father sent his own Son, to help mankind in his struggle to overcome the temptations of the devil and to overcome sin. The key stages in the victory over the demons were the Incarnation, death, and glorification of Jesus.
In Luke's Gospel, Jesus appointed 72 disciples to go out to proclaim the kingdom of God and they all came back rejoicing and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." Then Jesus said a curious ting, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky."
However, Satan continues to tempt us, deceive us, and to accuse us day and night before God. So Christ, aware of our propensity to sin, sent us the Holy Spirit to be our Intercessor and Advocate so that we could repent and be saved from our sins and achieve salvation with him in heaven. The coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus was glorified was prefigured when Christ's side was pierced and blood and water flowed out.
A description of the Holy Spirit as flowing water is given in the Book of Revelation as related to us by John's vision of heaven. "And I saw no temple in the City of God, for its temple is the Lord God and the Lamb. Then he showed me a river of the water of life, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb through the middle of the street and on either side of the river was the tree of Life." This is interpreted to be the Holy Spirit flowing, eternally from God and his Lamb. That is why it is appropriate to profess, "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son."
Perhaps, one of the most reassuring and yet frightening statements in Scripture comes from the final chapters in the Book of Revelation. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I give water without price from the fountain of the water of life. For the one who conquers (sin), I will be his God and he shall be my son." "But for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their life shall be in the lake that burns . . . "
In this Scripture there is no universal salvation! This is frightening because we know that we are full of ourselves and can rationalize away any sin or fail to even recognize sin.
As most of you know, I was raised in the Gila Valley in southwest New Mexico. We lived and farmed in a canyon or arroyo near the head-waters of the Gila River. At that time, houses were constructed in the canyons for protection from floods, elements, Gila Monsters, and attack by Indians. One Canyon up from us was the home of Anastacio Gomez, an Apache Indian, who at one time rode with the great Chiefs. He typically raised a garden for food for his family and grass for his ponies. He didn't talk to hardly anyone but he did talk to my dad because my dad talked to everyone.
When I graduated from grade school, it was a custom that high school boys were to go out and steal watermelons at night. It was a sort of passage ritual for boys. Girls were not part of this. I had learned to steal watermelons from my older cousin and I eventually was considered to be one of the best. I would get calls from several groups so that I could lead them in stealing watermelons anywhere in the valley. By the time I was a senior, I was considered to be THE expert. I never got caught. I was so sneaky and I knew every trick. No one could catch me. Included in my resume was the watermelon patch of Anastacio Gomez. I know that acreage like the back of my hand and there was no chance of my ever getting caught. I graduated from high school and stealing watermelons was no longer the thing to do for me.
I learned later that Anastacio had talked to my dad and he told him that he knew that I had stolen from his watermelon patch. He had said that he knew far more than I did about being sneaky because for many years, he would sneak up on game, white men, and other Indians. That was his life and he was one of the best. He told my dad how he knew I had stolen the watermelons. He had even loosened a fence wire to make it easier to get to his watermelons and to lessen the damage to his watermelon patch. He had raked the area where the barbed wire was loose and had my footprints. He knew everything. But he told my dad not to tell me because I had not vandalized anything and the loss of a watermelon, every now and then, was alright. But my dad told my uncle and years later he relayed the conversation to me.
I was so full of myself that I did not think anybody was actually better than me. I never considered that this was a sin. I did not confess this as a sin because I was just using my God-given talents to the max. I did indeed fall into Satan's trap. Satan deceived me by increasing my pride so that it was supreme. The Holy Spirit could not possibly help me.
So, where was the Holy Spirit in all of this? Someone at last night's Mass told me that the Holy Spirit was under all those watermelons. The Holy Spirit could not reach me because of my inflated ego. I learned that Satan is very alive in this world and relished every moment of this game. Worst of all, because of my sins, I allowed Satan to confront God and say, "I told you so. Even Bobby V. will choose selfishness over holiness."
What can we do if we wish to achieve the kingdom of God, to achieve salvation? We must mature with the Holy Spirit through the good habit of attending Mass, seeking confession, partaking of the Sacraments, regularly. We can start by living the truth of the Holy Spirit in our life.
We can recognize that when Father John, at this Mass, prays to the Father with the words, "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ," that the body and blood and water are sanctified by the Holy Spirit and what was once tangible human gifts become the LIVING body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Our offerings are now a living sacrament of the RISEN Christ.
If we really believe this teaching of the Church, we cannot leave this Altar, this Church, without being changed. If we do not believe, we do not change, the symbols are dead and we are dead, dead to eternal life. But, if we truly believe, then we can live in the Spirit of God and Satan and sin is conquered, and contrary to his accusations, we ARE made holy! With the Spirit of God, we, like the Apostles, are free to give witness to Jesus through our feats of courage and love even beyond our capabilities.