WelCom June/July 2022
Pentecost Sunday – John 20: 19-23
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’
20 After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.’
22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins you retain, they are retained.’
Pentecost Sunday: Appearance to the Disciples
Tom Gibson
Then came Pentecost, known as the birthday of the Church. What a celebratory day it was. The Holy Spirit came down on fearful Apostles locked together in a room under the protection of Our Lady.
Courage came to them as the Holy Spirit breathed fire into their bellies and fixed power to their minds. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles began to speak in the native languages common to those attending.
During that day that has come to be known as Pentecost Sunday, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If you love me you will keep my commandments. I shall ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever.’ (Jn 14:14-15)
From the eleven simple followers of Christ on that Pentecost day, three thousand Jews committed their lives to their Saviour. But that was not the end of it.
As later, Peter and John while visiting the Temple, came across a man who was lame from birth and was carried to the Temple daily to beg for alms. Peter and John invited him to look at them saying:
‘Silver and gold we have not, but what we do have we give you willingly. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, walk!’
Peter then took him by the hand and helped him stand up. Instantly, his feet and ankles became firm, he jumped up, stood, and began to walk, and he went with them into the Temple walking and jumping and praising God as he went.’ (Acts 3:8)’ Everyone in the Temple knew who he was and were amazed at what had happened. However, they were unable to understand or explain it.
In this age of proliferate fake news and social media, we have become immune and deaf to miracles like this. But Jesus himself often downplayed the importance of these types of spectacular events.
He was more interested in what was happening inside a person’s heart. Those were the true and most important miracles, and many of us know matters of the heart can be truly stupendous.
Pentecost Sunday heralded the beginning of these events which can occur daily – particularly to those ‘poor in spirit’, as we often find ourselves in our spiritual journeys.
Christ has promised us today, the Holy Spirit will ‘be our Advocate forever’. But with the power of the Advocate, we may need to be careful!