| Readings for May 27, 2012
"When the time of Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly their came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were." (Acts 2)
Pentecost! In our minds it is automatically followed by an exclamation point: an image of fire, a fervent spiritual experience.
The Holy Spirit has returned, as Christ promised in the Ascension, to enlighten the Apostles and to reveal their destiny to them. The Apostles as witnesses will spread the word of the Risen Christ throughout the known world.
It is important to note that this is our destiny as well.
"Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side...'As the Father has sent me, so I send you'...he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" (John 20)
But they were fearful Apostles, hiding to avoid persecution. Still, seeing the wounds of Christ had a powerful effect on them. This was truly the Risen Christ! St. Paul of the Cross wrote in his letters to his followers that they would meet again in the side of Christ-the place of suffering, but also evidence of the Resurrection. Christ's followers, in following their destiny, in a real sense share in Christ's passion and resurrection.
Christ promises that the Spirit of Truth will tell the Apostles what they need to know. Did they really learn to speak in tongues, or is this a metaphor for understanding the spread of the Christian message throughout the ancient world?
Huston Smith, the great world religions historian said that when the truths of ethnic religions become too great to be contained, they reform, moving beyond their parameters and creating new religions not bound by specific ethnicities. Christian truths break out beyond Judaism into the rest of the world. All peoples are included in the great mystery of the Risen Christ.
Scripture provides the assurance that the Holy Spirit remains with us throughout eternity. We can ask ourselves: do we share this enthusiasm? Can we speak to people in a language they understand so that they might indeed recognize the Risen Christ? The Apostles traveled the ancient world bringing the Good News of the long-awaited Messiah. No doubt they met with criticism, even persecution. Can we venture to do this in Oak Park, River Forest, or Chicago?
This is a high calling: to bear witness to the Spirit that enlightens us so that that everyone who sees us will recognize that we too have seen the Risen Christ. In our own lives we are called to emulate the spirit of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" of which Paul speaks.
In a secular or even anti religious (and anti Catholic) environment we are-like the Apostles--often timid. Contemporary secular culture is strong: we might be criticized or found laughable in displaying our Christian beliefs. We are moral and even socially conscious, doing good things while hoping no one notices who we really are. We might be shouted down by people we respect for holding an unpopular view. And evangelizing like the early Christians seems almost unthinkable.
Have we accommodated ourselves completely to the values of the world? Are we too sophisticated to have the experience of the Risen Christ?
The fruits of the Spirit are different from what the world offers. The Christian ethos is different from that of the secular world. Like the Apostles, we share in an eternal destiny in connection with Christ. This implies some change of heart-and responsibility. How do we go into the world as having received the Spirit of Truth?
Maryanne Rusinak is an Ascension parishioner and a librarian and adjunct instructor at Concordia University Chicago. She has four grown children.
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