6-8-25 Feast of Pentecost

                                                                       


 Our readings on Pentecost bring to an end the Easter season with the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, about the coming of the Holy Spirit.                                                                                                           When the day of Pentecost came the Spirit came upon the apostles and the disciples gathered in the Upper Room.  They have been told to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Spirit.   So much has happened to them since the Resurrection of Jesus.  The mood in the city of Jerusalem that day, was a festive one because of the Jewish feast of Pentecost.  However, it was still one where the apostles and disciples are moving about cautiously still fearing attack or reprisals from the Jewish leadership.  Then, without warning or fanfare, the Spirit of God enters the world.  Those in the upper room and those near that building hear the sound of a great wind but they knew not where it was coming from.  Suddenly, in that upper room frightened disciples become bold and daring evangelists filled with burning fire of courage and are now ready to share the good news (i.e., the gospel) that Jesus came to profess.  They throw open the windows and doors of that room that they are in and begin to proclaim hope, redemption, and forgiveness to all those gathered in Jerusalem.  Empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially the ability to speak in multiple languages, they tell of the peace and power instilled in them by Jesus after the Resurrection (see gospel) and that that peace and power has now been set loose upon the world and waits for all who would accept it.  Instead of frightened men and women, they now become heroes in story of Christianity.                                                                                                       If you were to look up the definitions of “hero” in the dictionary, one of those definitions would be – “One who shows great courage.”   Certainly, given the mood in Jerusalem that day, each of the disciples was demonstrating great courage as they stood among the people and leaders of Jews and proclaimed boldly and freely not only the history of the Jews, but most importantly how Jesus is the fulfillment of God promises.  Promises, initially made to just the Jews, but now available to the entire world.                Pentecost invites us to consider how the gifts of the Holy Spirit are being expressed in our lives, particularly, the gift of fortitude (i.e., courage).  As followers of Jesus Christ, how are we, like those early disciples, becoming “heroes” in our own story of Christianity.                                                      Last year Kathy Miller Perkins, PH.D., wrote an article for Forbes Business Communications entitled-  How To Become The Hero Of Your Story: Eight Steps    She says: “All of us can be heroes. And we do not have to be without fault, nor do we need to prevail in every challenging situation we confront.       Because we are human, we may stumble, make mistakes, and occasionally do harm. Yet we can still seek to be the everyday heroes of our own stories—a powerful metaphor for personal growth, integrity, and self-empowerment.”                                                                                                                             In the article she goes on to outline the 8 steps toward heroism in own lives.  One of those steps is to Act with Courage.  She defines this type of activity in this way-“Courage is a defining trait of any hero. It's not the absence of fear but the willingness to act despite it. In your story, courage manifests in various ways—standing up for your beliefs, taking risks to pursue your dreams, or speaking your truth even when difficult.  Courage involves facing uncertainty with confidence and living with some discomfort. Every courageous act, no matter how small, contributes to one's growth and reinforces one's role as the hero of one's own narrative.”1                                                                                                                    We can see that being a courageous Christians can mean many of things that Perkins describes in her article.  Certainly, those qualities she outlines were present that day when the disciples and apostles left the shelter of their locked room and went among the people to proclaim the truth of God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness toward all humanity.  Certainly, those qualities could be found in St. Stephen's life, from last week’s first reading, when he stood up “filled with the Holy Spirit” and proclaimed to the Jewish leadership who Jesus is and why he came among us.                                                                 Through our Baptism and later our Confirmation, and sustained by the Eucharist, we like those disciples and apostles in that locked room, have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak out the message of Jesus’ good news.   We speak it out not from pulpits and on street corners but in everyday actions with each other, with strangers, with those who society easily forgets.  Every time we reach out in charity, in compassion, in forgiveness to others we live out courageously what it means to be a Christian.   Every time we speak out against injustice, racism, sexism, and all the other type of “ism” that plague not only humanity but also the environment, then we speak out with courage, and we too become “heroes” of our Christian story.  Will people listen to us all the time? No.  Will we be successful and will people change their behavior?  Not always.  But that doesn’t matter, because as Kathy Perkins so aptly put it, courage doesn’t always find a listening audience but being willing to live out that courage does mean we are willing to stand up for our beliefs even if it means discomfort to us.                The strength to do this is the gift of Fortitude with which the Holy Spirit empowers us.  The Holy Spirit can sustain us in our decision to live a courageous type of Christian life.  A type of life that makes us heroes in our own stories as followers of Jesus Christ.  And so, on this feast of the coming of the Holy Spirit, let us realize that we now are that same spirit filled community, as the disciples and apostles were 2000 yrs. ago, We, too have been challenged to go out and spread the good news.                        Recently I came across a small reflection that I believe captures this call to be the courageous, faith-filled Christian heroes.   As a Spirit-filled community, we need to believe we have the power to heal.  As a Spirit-filled community, we need to believe we have the power to redeem.  As a Spirit-filled community, we need to accept the power to bring hope to our families, and to so many more!2                                                                                                                                               

“We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end war; For we know that You have made the world in a way that man must find his own path to peace — Within himself and with his neighbor.            

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end starvation; For You have already given us the resources with which to feed the entire world — If we would only use them wisely.

 We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to root out prejudice, for You have already given us eyes with which to see the good in all persons — If we would only use them rightly.    

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end disease, For You have already given us great minds with which to search out cures and healing — If we would only use them constructively. 

Therefore, we pray to You instead, O God, For, strength, determination, and willpower, to do, instead of just to pray, and to become, instead of merely to wish.”3 

                                                                                                                                                     
1- How To Become The Hero Of Your Story: 8 Steps, Kathy Miller Perkins, PH.D., Forbes Communication, July 2024

2.Sunday Sermons.com

3 – Sabath Prayer, Reimer, J., reprinted in “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” Kushner, H.

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