Today is the 50th day after the Resurrection of our Lord when
we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost which completes the
Season of Easter. "Pentecost" is a Latin word which
has its origin in the Greek word "pent?kost?" meaning
"the fiftieth day".
After His Resurrection, on several occasions Jesus promised
His disciples that He would send them an Advocate to counsel
them. In His farewell discourse in Saint John's Gospel, Jesus
clearly explains His intention to send this Advocate. On this
50th day after His Ascension, Jesus fulfilled His promise to
the disciples. The Holy Spirit descended upon them as tongues
of fire and rested upon each of them, giving them the assurance
of His presence to go out to the whole world to continue His
mission.
Dear friends, what did the "tongues of fire" symbolize?
Fire is light and God dwells in inaccessible light. In the Old
Testament, God was a pillar of fire Who walked before the Israelites
to give them light (Exodus 13:21). In the New Testament, the
birth of Jesus was announced as "a great light to the nations"
(Isaiah 8:23-9:1,2). Jesus Himself said to people, "I am
the light of the world." (John 8:12). Therefore, as the
Father and the Son made their presence to people as light, on
Pentecost Sunday, we also see that even the 3rd person of the
Holy Trinity Himself is present to the Apostles as light by
tongues of fire.
Before Pentecost, the Apostles were confused about many things:
the teachings of Jesus; the meaning of His Passion, Death, and
Resurrection; and their future mission. But after Pentecost,
infused with the light of the Holy Spirit, they were clear about
their mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus among the nations.
Before Pentecost, the Apostles were fearful even for their own
lives. But after Pentecost, they were fearless and unstoppable,
preaching the Word of God to the crowds with all boldness. What
happened to the many people who witnessed the zeal of the Apostles
for Christ and heard their powerful preaching? They were converted
on the spot! Thus, after Peter's Pentecost sermon, 3,000 people
immediately embraced the faith and were baptized.
My dear friends, even today, the blowing of this Holy Wind continues
to transform and sanctify our lives just as He did during the
Apostolic Time. But unfortunately, today we are so busy and
occupied that we do not recognize the presence of His working
in our lives. Just the same way people are possessed by the
evil spirit, the Holy Spirit also possesses us to take out "the
God-given Sanctity and Holiness" from our lives through
our words and deeds to spread the Gospel of Jesus. Let us feel
the blowing of this Holy Wind of God in our lives who gives
us wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety,
and fear of God — Amen.
