Pentecost
There are almost as many stories of the Holy Spirit in scripture as there are in our ongoing lives. Going back to the Old Testament, we hear from 1 Samuel 16:13 that the prophet Samuel was sent by God to Jesse’s home in Bethlehem. The story says, “…and the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David and Samuel broke the horn of oil over David’s head and anointed him as king.”
In Isaiah 61:1 we hear the great prophet proclaim, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor…to heal…to proclaim freedom.”
We hear from the Gospel of John this weekend the very words of Jesus to the disciples on the first Easter Sunday evening, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you retain are retained.”
But, perhaps the most familiar story of the Holy Spirit comes to us in the first reading at Mass this weekend from the Acts of the Apostles. It tells us that 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead, all 12 apostles were together (remember that Matthias had replaced Judas in fulfillment of an Old Testament prophesy that the twelve would be a complete community again).
People started gathering because they heard a noise like a strong driving wind coming from the place where the disciple were; they were indeed all together. Then a common flame separated and rested on each of their heads. This powerful sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit empowered them to speak in different languages so they could share the good news of Jesus Christ with the entire world. This empowering event left those observing amazed, astounded and even a bit confused.
The common effect of the power of the Holy Spirit in each story is EMPOWER. David was empowered into leadership at a time when the chosen people were hungering for a true king. The Holy Spirit empowered Isaiah to speak the very message that God wanted all people to hear – a message of healing, freedom and hope to those who needed it.
The empowering energy of the Holy Spirit at that first Pentecost was a movement out to the entire world, a movement that in many ways has been completed. Christianity, and in particular the Catholic Church, is present in every country on the face of the earth. The Holy Spirit has empowered people to preach the good news of Jesus Christ in every language on the face of the earth.
Now that does not mean that every person is Christian, or every Christian is who they should be or who God intends them to be. On the contrary, we have a long way to go, particularly in that last category.
It is with this in mind that I want to both challenge and invite all of us here at Holy Family to be particularly inspired this Pentecost. The event 50 days after the first Easter was a significant start to a movement that continues today. The same Holy Spirit that came upon those early apostles comes upon us. The energy of that same Holy Spirit can empower us to Be More.
This movement into our future growth as a parish will involve conversations in the style of a synod. A synod is a comprehensive gathering of church members to discuss certain issues and topics. It differs from a Vatican Council that gathers experts to come together with the goal of creating a document on specific areas. A council tends to be a top down process. A synod is more grass roots or ground up.
My hope is that this synodal discussion will create a movement for growth in our community. My hope is that it will help us carve a future for Holy Family together.
Certain issues and topics have already been surfaced by recent surveys that many of you have participated in, and also a diocesan survey called The Disciple Making Index that many of you also participated in. The Archdiocesan Renew My Church process has also given us valuable tools and additional suggestions for programing. My hope is that this synodal process of discussion, prayer and conversation will achieve something simple in structure yet empowering us into our future as a parish.
Simply put, I believe it will help us to build on the strong foundation created here at Holy Family and through the same Holy Spirit that came upon the disciples at Pentecost – EMPOWER us into a bright and strong future.
I will be sharing much more with you about all of this in the next few months.