Welcome dear friends to the Pentecost Sunday (Solemnity of the Holy Spirit), 28th May 2023

Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13
John 20:19- 23
LORD, SEND FORTH YOUR SPIRIT AND RENEW THE FACE OF THE EARTH

Today, the promise of the Father is fulfilled, in sending to the world; that is, to his children,
another advocate the Spirit of truth, who will dwell with them forever and lead them to the
complete truth (Jn 14: 16).

Before his ascension, Jesus had assured his disciples not to leave them as orphans, He promised
to ask the Father to send them the Spirit and today the Spirit has come. We can rightly call Jesus;
the promise keeper! Because all He said He will do that he has done: He promised to lay done
his life for us and to take it up again, that He did on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. He
promised to ascend to the Father as an indication he came from the Father, that too he did and
He’s now seated at the Father’s right hand to intercede for us. And the promise of the Spirit is
today being fulfilled.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Blessed Trinity. Like His name implies; He is a Spirit,
who is easily felt than seen and no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of
God. Now God’s Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word, his living
utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of himself. The Spirit who “has spoken through the
prophets” makes us hear the Father’s Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him
only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in
faith (CCC 687).

The ministry of Jesus began with the coming of the Spirit at his Baptism, and so the ministry of
the Church begins with the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. This is why Pentecost marks the
birthday of the Church, for there can be no witness to Jesus or his message, no spreading of the
kingship of God, without the Spirit of Jesus. Notice here that the task of the Church and the life
of the Church are the same as those of Jesus himself: which is to bring God’s reign to its
fulfilment by bringing healing, love and joy throught the message of the Risen Christ. In the Old
Testament, we hear of the rushing wind and the tongues of fire, they were the prefiguration of
the coming Holy Spirit. So what we are celebrating today is the fulfillment of the Old Testament,
as we see the Spirit breaking out beyond the borders of Judaism to include all peoples of the
world.

Today’s first reading gives us a glimpse of what truly happened that day of Pentecost; “they
heard what sounded like a powerful wind from Heaven, the noise of which filled the entire
house… and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire…they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak foreign languages” (Acts 2:1-4). It was amazing that
everyone around could understand the apostles as they spoke, Luke describes it in this way:
“there were devout men living in Jerusalem from EVERY NATION UNDER HEAVEN, and at
this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own
language” (vs 5-6). Notice that the Holy Spirit is a unifier of peoples; He comes to bring all
peoples together, whether Jews or Greeks, Igala, Tiv, Efik, Igbo, Yoruba or Fulani, even
Madagascar or Mozambique etc. into the one people of God.

The union of all these peoples, all understanding the one language in their own way, is a
deliberate contrast to the scene at the Tower of Babel, when all the peoples of the world were
split up by their inability to understand one another’s languages.

Thanks to the spirit of God who has come to renew the face of the earth, for the world has never
been so much in need of this renewal as it stands in need of it right now; in our days. Things
seem to be falling apart; there is so much uneasiness in the air. But we trust that the Spirit of the
living God will pour afresh today on us and bring us renewal. For as St. Paul rightly says in
today’s second reading: “no one can say, “Jesus is Lord” unless he is under the influence of the
Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3). We cannot be true Christians, true Religious and Priests without the
influence of the Holy Spirit.

May the Holy Spirit who comes bring us complete renewal with its sevenfold gift to unite us as
one family in Him.

Happy Pentecost to you!

Blessings on your day.

Fr. Cosmas Ukadike, C.M.