Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR B PENTECOST SUNDAY Acts 2,1-11; 1 Cor 12,3-7.12-13; Jn 20, 19-23 "Possessed" by God's Spirit Many
Symbols - One Reality. Perhaps the most elusive aspect of our Faith is the fact that God is 'pure spirit'; therefore every attempt we make at describing 'who-&-what-is God-like', becomes a poor image, a poor 'seems like' or 'sounds like', that will never measure up with the 'mystery' of God. We tend to use a grossly concrete & materialistic language. Indeed, philosophers in past ages spoke in anthropo-morphic' language, & Jesus himself used a language of parables, which by its very nature is meant to trip us in admitting, that we can be so easily wrong in our understanding of God as 'pure spirit': yes, whatever we say of God is true in a way, but it's not God, it's an analogy of God. Of course, the only language we have is our own inadequate human language, with our poor human imagery. The most common biblical images & symbols that of 'God-as-Spirit' are: dove - pillar of fire & fire - God's finger or ear - tongues of fire - lamp - wind - breath -spring or gushing of water - the colour red - oil & Chrysm -. In the Bible, the word 'spirit' is masculine & comes from 'spiritus' (Latin) & 'pneuma' (Greek); but in Jesus' language, the Hebrew for 'spirit' is 'ruah' & it's not masculine but feminine, thus carrying better the idea of creator & nurturer of life. In these 3 languages 'Holy Spirit' (in Latin: Spiritus Sanctus - in Greek: Haghios Pneuma & in Hebrew: Ruach ha Kodesh) carry nuances of: breath, wind, air, current of air, blast of wind, breeze. Such nuances allow us to say that we are 'caught-in, taken up, possessed kindled & fired by, swept away, alive & active, devoured by love, unquenchable love... No
Holy Spirit - No Church unity. Jesus spoke in parables, to teach Christians of
all times & cultures - schools & persuasions - prayer groups &
associations - languages & mind-sets, that God's ways are not our ways and
God's spirit works in all & through all. By its nature, the parabolic
language tells us that we are in the wrong, when
we claim to score a point against the faith-understanding of other
sincere fellow believers. When all is said & done, our poor human language
will always remain inadequate to reach a full understanding of God's mystery. In
our Church across the centuries, saints & scholars, preachers &
theologians, believers & searchers have succeeded one another in offering
ever new insights & discoveries, in understanding how God's Spirit works in
our life. In today's Gospel, Jesus presents the Holy Spirit as 'Advocate' -that
is: the one who always stands by us, in time of trials or difficulty, defending,
guiding & instructing-. At the same time, Jesus is saying that his own
on-going presence is also with us always, until the end of time. Thus, he gives
an eloquent instruction on how we experience God's Spirit in our lives.
Christian tradition & the Catechism have handed to us 7 gifts & 12
fruits of the Holy Spirit. Gifts are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude,
knowledge, piety & fear of the Lord. Fruits are: charity, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty,
self-control, chastity. Across the centuries, saints & teachers have said:
we are -like you- sinners in need of constant grace. All we've done is: we've
allowed God's Spirit & presence to possess us in heart, mind & soul,
until slowly that Spirit & Presence radiated through us with miracles &
wonders. Now, we are urging you to do what we did: allow God's Spirit & pre-sence
to take over & possess you. Lesson: Let's be smart & say with St
Augustine: "If these men & women have done it, why couldn't I?... (Si
isti et istae, cur non ego?)". ______________________________________ |
