1st Reading Acts 2: 1-11
Psalm 104: 1ab and 24ac, 29bc-30, 31 and 34 (R. 30)
R:// "Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth"
2nd Reading Romans 8: 8-17
Gospel John 14: 15-16, 23b-26
UNITE IN THE SPIRIT
Peace and Goodness! Friends, as we draw the curtain down on the Season of Easter, today, we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit — Pentecost Sunday. Let us quickly dive into the readings for the day. We need to realise that in all three liturgical years, the first reading is from Acts 2:1-11, and it is about the event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. What is actually the event of Pentecost? Understanding this will serve as a background to understanding the events of the first reading.
What we know as "Pentecost" as a word comes from the Greek language. "Penta" is the Greek for "five". Pentecost would mean "fiftieth day". Pentecost is actually a feast that we can trace to the Old Testament. The Old Testament rendition of "Pentecost" is the Hebrew word "Shavuot". Shavuot is one of the three pilgrim feasts (Exodus 23:14-17; Deut. 16:9-16). This means that all diasporean Jews are to head back home to Jerusalem to celebrate. Shavuot is primarily an agricultural feast, a harvest festival. It marks the harvest of wheat grains (Lev. 23: 15-21; Exod. 23: 16).
More than being an agricultural feast, a harvest festival, Shavuot is the Feast of Weeks. It is celebrated seven complete weeks after Passover. This means that on the 50th day after celebrating Passover, Shavuot is celebrated. That necessarily connects Shavuot with Pentecost with the number 5. In the Christian understanding, Pentecost is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter, which is Passover. Historically, the feast of Shavuot or Pentecost gained a novelty by being associated with the giving of the Law (Torah) to Israel on Mount Sinai. Why such a commemoration?
It is a very interesting commemoration because Shavuot and the reception of the Law (Torah) took place on the same day. How? In Exodus 12:6, Israelites ate the Passover (Easter) on 15th Nisan. The Jewish month of Nisan has 30 days. Exodus 19: 1-11 informs us that the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai on the first day of the 3rd month, called Sivan, and received the Law on the 6th of Sivan. The second month of the Jewish calendar, Iyar, has 29 days. Mathematically treated, 15 days remaining in Nisan + 29 days of Iyar (the 2nd month) + 6 days of Sivan (the 3rd month) = 50 days. It is clear that the Law was received on the 50th day. Meanwhile, it is on the 50th day that Shavuot is to be celebrated. This explains why the feast of Shavuot or Pentecost commemorates the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.
As a Harvest festival and a feast that marks the reception of the Law, what we can deduce is that the celebration has to do with RECEIVING. As harvest festival, the feast celebrates the receiving of the fruits of one's labour, a time of GATHERING. In the Old Testament, when the Law was to be received, the Israelites were gathered into one community. That precisely should make us read the first reading, Acts 2: 1-11, carefully. In there, we would see that the believers "were all together in one place" (v. 1). This is a gathering. These are people deemed to be the fruits of God's saving work in Christ. There is no more gathering of plants on the field, but those redeemed from sin — the harvest of God. They were brought together, not out of coincidence. The Pentecost event we celebrate today is meant to bring into unity. This is precisely the image of the Church's birth and formation.
The second indication of unity and being GATHERED together is that "now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2: 5). Remember that Shavuot or Pentecost is a pilgrimage feast wherein Jews living outside home are to return home to Jerusalem to celebrate. This kind of unity tells us that there are those living outside the Church, although they are members. The celebration of Pentecost should open doors for them to return home. This is a time of GATHERING. As a time of return and as a feast, Pentecost will be a time for trade and cultural exchange because you would not expect only Jews to be present. Non-Jews will also be present. This should also explain why there were people from different parts of the world. This is another level of gathering into one of the scattered people of God. In many different dimensions, we see that Pentecost should rather bring all believers and humanity into one, not to be a divisive celebration.
Why is the Gathering also that important. Isaiah 11:11 gives a list of nations from which the scattered people, those exiled, shall be brought back home. Thus: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from EGYPT and from Pathros, and from CUSH, and from ELAM, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea." There is a promise of return. This means a time will come when there will be freedom and liberation. The list of nations in Isaiah 11:11 is very much similar to the nations listed in Acts 2: 9-11. In Acts, the people are actually back home. They are free. That relates to the Jubilee which is celebrated on the 50th day to liberate slaves and those under any kind of bondage (Lev. 25). Pentecost is a time to FREE people.
What else are we to pick from the event of Acts 2:1-11? There was the mention of "fire", thus "and there appeared to them tongues as of FIRE" (v. 3). Why that image? Remember that on that same Mount Sinai, Moses encountered God in a burning bush (Exodus 3: 1-2). Fire marks out Temple spaces, where Heaven and Earth meet. The implication is that these believers have been turned into Temples of the Holy Spirit. We could see the Church being built not only by gathering people up, but also in the hearts and bodies of men.
The second image is the mention of "tongues". This appeared two times. The Greek word translated as "tongue" is "γλῶσσα" (Glōssa). This word means "language". When the Holy Spirit rested upon them, they spoke in different languages. The reason for such is for missionary outreach. To understand one's language is to understand a person's way of life. You need to understand a person's culture by means of language in order to make the Good News comprehensible to them. In fact, looking at the people present for the Pentecost who would not have understood Hebrew or Aramaic, the ability to speak in the language of the people will be the first sign of breaking barriers to the reception of the Law of God (this time, the Good News).
The final detail is the mention of WIND, thus, "and suddenly a sound came from heaven like the RUSH OF A MIGHTY WIND" (Acts 2: 2). When God was to reveal himself to the Israelites at Mount Sinai when Israel was preparing to receive the Law, there was a STORM (Exodus 19: 16-18). A rushing mighty wind is likened to a storm. The presence of a wind indicates the presence of God in that gathered assembly.
On this Pentecost Sunday, we begin to see that Pentecost is a time for Gathering, for Unity, rather than division. It is a time for liberation and freedom. It is also a time for mission and the birth of the Church. In all these, we are assured of God's continual presence.
Pax et Bonum
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