1. Pentecost is the public manifestation of the Church. As Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at the beginnning of his ministry, so the Church receives its anointing from the Holy Spirit at the beginning of its period in salvation history. In the narrative of Acts 2:1-11, Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit filled up the room where the disciples were. Remember that for Luke, the whole of salvation history is divided into three periods: (a) from the beginning until the time of the prophets, (b) the time of Jesus and (c) the time of the Church. The coming of the Holy Spirit then is the public inauguration of the Church and of the mission entrusted to it by the Lord. "Äs the Father has sent me, so I send you..."
Reflect. We are in the time of the Church. It is a time characterized by the work of the Spirit. In John's Gospel selection it is a work associated with peace and forgiveness of sins. How does your own community of faith bring forward the mission of the Church? How are you contributing to the mission of the Church?
2. What we traditionally call the gifts of the Spirit is based on a text that the Church uses to refer to Jesus' anointing, Isaiah 11:2
The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of piety
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
On this feast of Pentecost, which gift would you ask from the Lord? Why?
3. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul writes about the fruits of the Spirit which are also the fruits of Christian freedom
(T)he fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
During this feast of Pentecost, try to make an inventory: which of these fruits do you already have? Which of these fruits do you still need to cultivate?
