A new breath of life

Jn 20:19-23

Pentecost Sunday

We celebrate the birth of the Church and the fulfillment of Easter with the coming of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised His disciples before His passion when He assured them,“I will not leave you as orphans.” Originally an agricultural festival, Pentecost now commemorates the historical event of the covenant (50 days after the Exodus). It is the feast of the gift of the Spirit, which inaugurates the New Covenant on earth. The Spirit is given so that a witness may be carried to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8; 2:5-11).

The Gospel of John includes a magnificent scene. It is the moment when Jesus is resurrected. According to this account, the birth of the Church is a “new creation.” As He sends out His disciples, Jesus “breathes on them” and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

This rebirth of a new people through that divine breath is reminiscent of the creation of humankind in the Book of Genesis: “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground. Then He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And so man became a living being.” God created them in His image, male and female.

Let us recall the opening rite of Lent, when ashes are placed on our foreheads. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” We must never forget that life depends on God’s life-giving breath. Clearly, we cannot walk on feet of clay or view life or love in the same way.

The disciples were sad and heartbroken over Jesus’ execution, as St. John tells us (Jn16). The only thing that gives them a sense of security is “locking the doors.” They are gathered together, but Jesus is missing. There is a void that no one can fill. They can no longer hear His passionate words. They no longer see Him blessing and welcoming the sick and children. No one can console them until Jesus suddenly appears, full of life, and gives them His peace. Everything begins anew, driven by His creative Spirit.

In both the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, written by St. Luke, we see theophanies of wind and fire that symbolize the Holy Spirit.

At the beginning of His public life, Jesus declares, “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze!” This happened when He breathed His last and unleashed the fire of his re-creating Spirit.

In Jerusalem, the mighty wind of the Spirit opens the doors of confinement, allowing Jesus’ disciples to join the Jews who have come from every corner of the known world (Dt 16:16). There, the Spirit of God sets the hearts of all present ablaze as if with tongues of fire. To everyone’s surprise, each person understands the language of love and unity in diversity (the opposite of Babel) in their own language: a new covenant. A new people.

United with all peoples, we pray: Come, Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.