By Leon Bent –
Pentecost is a Christological mystery – that is, it pertains to Jesus Christ! In a passive sense – namely, in relation to the one sent – Pentecost is the coming of the Holy Spirit, the pneumatological mystery par excellence!
The Apostle, Peter, explains the event of Pentecost in this way: “Exalted at the right hand of the God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth to you [both] see and hear” (Acts 2:33). Moreover, Pentecost is a Christological even also in a passive sense, since the one sent on that day upon his disciples, was none other than “the Spirit of Jesus”, the “Spirit of the Son”, the Third Person of the Trinity, insofar, as he was received and historicized in the man, Jesus of Nazareth.
Above all, Pentecost is a Christological mystery because of the reality of the Mystical Body. St. Paul says that, on ascending to heaven, Christ “gave gifts in men” (Eph.4:7). But, the verse of the Psalm that he cities here says, rather, the contrary: he “received gifts to men” (Ps.68:18). Why the change of verbs? Both, the former and the latter are true, explains St. Augustine. It is, indeed, the same Christ who gives and who receives the Holy Spirit: he gives the Holy Spirit, as the head; he receives as he is the body. Christ Himself gave from heaven and received on earth”.
When it is said that “now the Spirit…supplies us with a clearer demonstration of Himself,” the “now” indicates the time of the Church, in which, faith in the Holy Spirit reaches its zenith, and the great torch that symbolizes the dogma of the divinity of the Holy Spirit is placed – as the same saint will say – on the candelabra of faith, the Creed (St. Gregory Nazianzen).
According to an ancient explanation, Pentecost was the feast of Weeks, when the priest offered to God in the Temple, the first fruits of the new harvest (cf.Lev.23:10). St Irenaeus see in this a figure realized in Christian Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit offered to the Father, “the first fruits of all the nations,” redeemed by Christ. This is why the Holy Spirit is the Soul of the Church.
By the Lucan Pentecost and the Spirit of Prophecy, “You will receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8). Everything that Luke has narrated previously: the coming of the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire, the presence in Jerusalem of devout Jews of every nation, the astonishment of those present, should serve to lead the way for the speech of Peter which follows. In response to everyone’s asking, “What does this mean?” Peter takes the floor, and begins to speak in a loud voice (cf. Acts 2:12-14). The sequence of events reflects Luke’s vision of the Holy Spirit, and its function in the public debates of the Church.
Matthew and Mark, sticking closely to traditional preumatology, present the Holy Spirit as “the divine power,” that renders human beings capable of performing marvels, actions superior to those normally possible for humans, such as casting out demons, and combating, and conquering Satan himself (cf. Mt.4:1; 12:28). This conception of the Spirit has a charismatic stamp, inherited from the Old Testament.
The Spirit and the Word: For Luke, the Holy Spirit is first of all, the spirit of prophecy. It is the power that guarantees the progress of the Word from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). We need the Spirit of prophecy to bring back human beings to God through the proclamation of the Gospel. In the Book of Revelation, John says succinctly, “Witness to Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (19:10). One cannot proclaim Jesus effectively, except with the power of the Spirit. “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, like a hammer shattering rocks?” (Jer.23:29).
In the New Testament this link between the divine breath and word flows into the mystery of the “mutual relationship” or perichoresis, between the Word in person and the Holy Spirit, between the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “The Holy Spirit will not speak on his own…he will take from what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn. 16:13-14). The Holy Spirit will take the Word: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 opens the larger section sometimes described as the “Prologue to John” (John 1:1–18) which deals with Jesus, the “Word made flesh” who “dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Holy Spirit will take the Word of God and evangelize the world. One understands, then, the profound reason why one cannot proclaim the Gospel except “in the Holy Spirit.”
The Office of Preaching: Two fundamental teachings can be drawn from the reading of the story of Pentecost given by Luke. The first teaching is that the primary activity of the Church is the proclamation of the dead and risen Christ: “This man…you killed….But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death….” (Acts 2:23-24). When a baby is born it gives out a shriek or a wail, indicating that it is alive and breathing. In the same way the Church makes its entrance into the world on the day of Pentecost, emitting a cry that makes it recognizable as a living Church. This cry is the kerygma (Kerygma refers primarily to the preaching of the Apostles as recorded in the New Testament) pronounced by Peter in the name of the apostles: “Therefore, let the whole house of Israel know for certain that, God has made him, both, Lord and Messiah, that Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).
We have an echo of the speech of Peter on the day of Pentecost, when he applies to the Church the prophecy of Joel: “I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh./Your sons and daughters shall prophesy…./Indeed, upon my servants and my hand maids I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days,/and they shall prophesy” Acts 2:17-18; Joel 2:28).
To Preach the Gospel in the Holy Spirit: “The First Letter of Peter defines the apostles as “those who preached the good news to you [through] the Holy Spirit….” (1:2). The Good News is the content of the Proclamation, the Holy Spirit is its method, the way or the mode, the operative principle. Pope Paul VI defines it as “the principal agent” of evangelization (On Evangelization in the Modern World, Evangelii nuntiandi, 75). Why were the utterances of Peter so effective, unless the Spirit of God powered them on! What pierced the hearts of those three thousand persons, and “convinced them they had sinned,” if not the Spirit of God? Peter and John went to their comrades and narrated to them that the high priests and elders had said – namely, that they must no longer speak to anyone in the name of Jesus. What did the apostles do in these circumstances They prayed with the community saying, “Enable your servants to speak your words with all boldness (kerygma), as you stretch forth [your] hand to heal, and signs and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus” (Acts 4:29-31).
The Spirit of Truth: To understand what this means, it is necessary to know what “truth” (aletheia) signifies in the Fourth Gospel. “Like aletheia, it [Pneuma] denotes the reality of God” For this reason to worship God “in Spirit and truth” (Jn.4:24) means “to worship in the sphere of God and no longer in that of the kosmos, in reality, and no longer in the realm of mere appearances.”
Thirst for the Holy Spirit. “On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, ‘Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink” (Jn.7:37). The evangelist John comments, “He said this in reference to the Spirit….” (Jn.7:39). The first condition for receiving the Holy Spirit is not the merits and virtues (of a person) but desire and thirst. The words of Jesus echo those of Isaiah, who said, “All you who are thirsty, come to the water!/You who have no money,/come, receive grain and eat (55:1). Whoever the Holy Spirit touches, the Holy Spirit changes!
Finally, this gold nugget! Even today, Jesus stands before the disciples and the Church, and repeats his pressing invitation: “Receive the Holy Spirit!” Let us expose our faces and our souls to this breath of life, and let it quicken and renew us. If the entire Church, today, receives his powerful breath, if the Spirit is in it’s communities, it “would rise and walk,” and be “a Great army without end! (Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap.)
Ah! I O Lord, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me! (2 Kgs.2:9).
Tomorrow: Part II: Pentecost, The Mighty Power of One
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and has 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi.