RECEIVE THE SPIRIT AND BE READY TO FORGIVE

Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-11/Ps 104/ 1Cor 12:3-7.12-13 or Rom 8:8-17/ Jn 20:19-23

We are all familiar with the song, “let there be peace on earth.” For me, that is not only a simple song of peace; undoubtedly it is also everyone’s everyday prayer for peace!

Families pray for peace in the home, most especially when the husband loves the wine more than the wife, or when the wife finds more joy in money rather than in her honey.

Workers also pray for peace in the work-place especially if the boss, nga bati na gani’g nawong, bati pa gyud ug batasan, is around.

Indeed, peace is everyone’s prayer… it is everyone’s dream!

Today, we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. In the first reading, we heard the Lukan version of the sending of the Spirit which took place fifty days after the Lord’s Resurrection. Liturgically, today also marks the end of the Easter season. But our Gospel today narrates to us the Johannine Pentecost that took place on the same day of Easter. Now I do not want to talk about the nuances of both accounts because we are not having a class in Exegesis here. Rather, let me guide you into reflection: on the giving of the Spirit as narrated to us by Saint John.

Standing in their midst, Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” And after having said these words, he breathed on his disciples and said, “receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven; and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Reflecting on this Gospel, we notice that the peace which we have longed for has long been given to us by Jesus. And the way to that peace is through the reception of the Spirit. In Baptism, we too have already received the Spirit. But sadly today, it seems that we still do not enjoy peace. And so we ask ourselves, “why?”

Going back to our Gospel, when Jesus said, “receive the Holy Spirit,” he goes on to say, “whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Here we see that the proof that the Spirit is with us is when we open ourselves to forgiveness “…for it is only through the power of forgiveness that we can breathe in the peace of the Risen Christ.”

This is therefore our challenge: to open ourselves to that gift of the Spirit. And the proof that we have received that gift is when we are ready to extend forgiveness to our brothers and sisters. As we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, may I invite you to show to the world that the Spirit is within you by slowly forgiving your enemies, especially the new found enemies during the recently concluded election season. Only then, when we forgive others, that we can truly breathe in the breath of Christ’s peace.

In the book, “Why Forgive?” we find the story of Steven McDonald who was a young police officer in 1986. He was shot by a teenager at New York’s Central Park. That incident left him paralyzed for the rest of his life. With that, McDonald wrote, “I forgave the shooter because I believe the only thing worse than receiving a bullet in my spine would have been to nurture revenge in my heart.” Steven is paralyzed until today but I can say that with his disposition he has been living in peace because he has always been breathing in the spirit’s forgiving power. How about us? What kind of air do we breathe, we may ask? Do we have a bad breath or the Spirit’s breath?

Yes, we are all familiar with that song, “let there be peace on earth” and that line goes on to say, “and let it begin with me.” To me, that is not only a simple song or an ordinary prayer. Rather, it is everyone’s everyday mission – to tell the world that there can only be peace on earth if, after having received the Spirit, forgiveness begins with you and me. Amen.