Pentecost Sunday B

The speaker shares a statement by Father Gerhard Lohfink about faith not being a religion of the book but rejoicing in the Holy Spirit. They invite listeners to prepare for Pentecost by quieting themselves and reading a passage from John's Gospel. They emphasize that Pentecost is the resurrection of Jesus made present and alive in us. The speaker describes the Holy Spirit as our interior master and the artisan of new birth. They encourage listeners to be open to the Holy Spirit's movement and reflect on their personal experience of the Spirit. The speaker concludes by asking listeners to allow Jesus to breathe his Holy Spirit within them and to carry the word they have received throughout the week ahead. Greetings friends. What a joy to share the gospel. Christ is risen. Truly he is risen. Happy Easter everybody. I recently came across this wonderful statement by one of my favorite teachers of Scripture, Father Gerhard Lohfink. He said this, quote, everything experienced since Abraham in the unceasing experiment of faith stands in the one unique book, the Bible, and yet our faith is not a religion of the book, it is rejoicing in the Holy Spirit, close quote. We come now, my friends, 50 days after our celebration of Easter Sunday, to the celebration of the Holy Spirit, the solemnity of Pentecost. And yes, by prayerfully pondering the book, we come to rejoice in the Spirit. Let's prepare ourselves by taking a moment to quiet our inner selves so as to yield our spirits to the gospel we will share together. If you will, take a deep breath, slowly in and slowly out. Come, Lord Jesus, allow your Holy Spirit to bring your word to life in me. May I hear your voice, Good Shepherd. The ancient prayer of Lectio Divina invites us, first of all, simply to read a passage from the Scriptures. In reading, we begin to become familiar with the Word so as to open ourselves increasingly to what is beyond the Word, the movement of the Holy Spirit carried on the words of the gospel. On this solemnity of Pentecost, we read from John's Gospel, chapter 20, verses 19 through 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. You recognize this gospel, I hope, as the first part of the same gospel passage we read for the second Sunday of Easter on the eighth and final day of the great Easter octave. After fifty days, the church is eager to return us to the evening of the day of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Notice what this says about Pentecost. Pentecost is the resurrection of Jesus, made present and alive in and for us, the disciples of Christ Jesus. This account of the evening of Easter Sunday in John, notice as well, is also John's account of Pentecost. I love what Father Donatian Mollet says about John's description of the giving of the Holy Spirit. He contrasts John with the account of the outpouring of the Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles. Here in this narrative we just shared, we see that the Spirit's coming, according to Father Mollet, quote, does not take on the spectacular aspect which characterizes the narrative in the Acts of the Apostles. No mention is made of the great cosmic convulsion prophesied by Joel. No external demonstrations. The experience will be wholly interior. The Spirit will come sent by the Father and by the glorified Jesus to be with the disciples as Jesus was with them, close quote. Friends, Jesus breathes on his closest friends and they receive his divine Holy Spirit. As Jesus walked with his disciples on this earth, he now abides by his Spirit with us, every moment and every place. I love the titles also Father Mollet gives the Spirit. The Spirit, he tells us, is our interior master and the artisan of the new birth, bringing Jesus's divine life to life in us. This passage is, I hope you see it, rich in the extreme. It is capable of touching us if we open ourselves to it in the deepest, most interior of ways. Let's turn now again for a second time to read it. Notice as we do what stands out to you. Be sensitive to that word or phrase or what moves your imagination. This is to say, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. In this word that moves within you, Jesus is seeking to breathe the life of his Holy Spirit within us. We read now again from John 20, 19 through 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. This brings us now to the second step of Lectio Divina, which is after reading meditation. In meditating, we seek to surrender to the movement of the Spirit carried on that word. We become curious about what it is that is stirring within us. What is speaking to you at this moment? What touches me is that this is an Easter Sunday gospel, as we've already shared. On the evening of that first day of the week, it begins. For 50 days now, we have been one another with Christ is risen. Truly, he is risen. What this gospel tells us placed on Pentecost is that it is equally true to say to one another, I am risen. Truly, I am risen with Christ in the Holy Spirit. Or to say you are risen. Truly, you are risen with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. By the Holy Spirit, we share in the divine life of Jesus through his resurrection from the dead. St. Luke describes this outpouring of the Spirit in dramatic fashion with tongues as a fire and a mighty wind. St. John here shows us its more gentle interior unfolding deep within us as by the breath of our Savior Jesus Christ. How would each one of us, I wonder, describe our experience of the Holy Spirit? What is the encounter with and ongoing experience of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity, like for us? Can we share our personal Pentecost story with the people we encounter day by day? Could we describe the presence of the Spirit moving within us even now? Come Holy Spirit, enkindle in us the fire of your love. Friends, continue please to remain with this gospel a bit longer. In the word you hear, allow Jesus to breathe within you his Holy Spirit. Before leaving prayer, be sure to intentionally place the word you have received deep in your spirit where the Lord might bring it growth throughout the week ahead. And friends, it is a joy to share the gospel with you. Happy Pentecost.