Pentecost

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Pentecost

Breathe   Spirit

Bestowing   Commissioning   Forgiving

Peace Be With You

Mission

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   John 20:19

Jesus appeared to the apostles in the upper room on Easter Sunday evening and said,

"Peace be with you."

Reflection

What was that very first Easter really like?

I am thinking it must have been an amazing transformation from acute disappointment to utter shock. If I was there, I would have been tempted to think that my eyes were deceiving me. In our experience when you are dead, that's it. 

Jesus knew very well that this was going to be very hard for the apostles to really understand. He had prepared them as best He could. Resurrection was going to be too overwhelming for them to really comprehend. The apostles were going to need help with this one!

This is where Pentecost comes in. Jesus is going to send the Holy Spirit to assist us and guide us. We will not be alone. Jesus has promised this; but, again, it was hard for the apostles to understand exactly what this might mean.

Just as breath is a sign of life, Jesus was going to breathe the Holy Spirit into the apostles so that they could have the strength to proclaim the Good News. As Jesus bestowed the Spirit upon them, first on Easter and then on Pentecost, He commissioned them to bring the gift of forgiveness for all who were in need of healing.

Jesus knew that the one thing that can stand in the way of our accepting all the Love that He wants to give us is our inability to both give and accept forgiveness. When our hearts are loaded with anger and hatred, we cannot let the Holy Spirit in. We become consumed with the desire for revenge and self loathing.

Aware of this only too well, Jesus comes to the apostles on Easter Sunday evening with a gift. It is the gift of peace. It is the shalom that only Jesus can give.

This is the Peace that we all need. It is not the absence of war or conflict. It is rather the presence of a genuine love and caring for each person we encounter. It is seeing her or him as a child of God. It is beholding that person through and with the eyes of the Holy Spirit.

This is the mission that Jesus has given to us on Easter Sunday and confirmed in us on Pentecost. We are called to see each person as Jesus does. We know this is not easy. Jesus knew also how challenging it would be for us. 

The Holy Spirit has been given to us to strengthen us so that we will be able to overcome our weaknesses and selfishness and fulfill the mission we have been given.

It might seem to us to be a Mission Impossible; but we know with Jesus and the Holy Spirit nothing is impossible.

Come Holy Spirit!

1. What do you think the apostles were feeling on that first Easter?

2. Why does Jesus send the Holy Spirit on Easter Sunday evening and Pentecost?

3. How has your inability to forgive others and to accept forgiveness forced the Holy Spirit out of your life?

4. How would you describe the peace, the shalom, that you need in your life now?

5. What do you see as you contemplate Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John McNamara)