May 2018

Pentecost – May 20, 2018

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Pentecost was and is a major feast for Jewish people. It marked the end of Passover, just as for Christians it marks the end of Easter. The feast of Pentecost came about because of the belief that God gave the Law to Moses 50 days after the Israelites left Egypt. Since the events of the death and resurrection of Jesus were related to the Jewish Passover, it was perfectly logical for Luke in the Acts to connect the sending of the Holy Spirit to the final act of Passover – Pentecost. Luke fully recognizes that the Holy Spirit came on different groups of people in different places and at different times, and gives examples of these in Acts. John’s Gospel speaks of Jesus giving the Holy Spirit to the disciples in the upper room on the day of resurrection, so it would be wrong to think of Pentecost as in any way of a one-off occasion. Rather Luke presents Pentecost in the upper room as the fulfillment of the giving of the Law: hence what seemed life fire descended on the disciples – as there was when God descended on Sinai. The result of this is dramatic scene is a powerful witness to the risen Christ by those who had just received the Holy Spirit. Now neither limited by their own fear, nor impended by the barrier of different languages, the arrival of the Holy Spirit creates confident disciples, and they achieve what Jesus promised they would through the Holy Spirit.

The gift of the Spirit is not limited to the 1st generation of disciples, or even subsequent disciples in the Acts of the Apostles. It is often pointed out that the book of the Acts doesn’t come to an end; it merely stops at particular point. The reason is that the story is still being constructed, and by us who are the present-day disciples in the tale of Jesus’ witnesses, because we too are empowered by the Spirit. We use the word “Paraclete” to describe the Holy Spirit. This is a word that was known to Jews and Gentile alike. For the Gentiles – Roman and Greek – a Paraclete was a legal representative; for the Jews, a Paraclete meant a comforter, a counsellor. The presence of the Spirit keeps us in the knowledge of God and enables us to experience the presence of God. The Spirit is never found in anger, jealousy, self-indulgence, immorality. Rather the Spirit is found where there is peace, joy, love, kindness, truthfulness, self-control. Where we see this, says Paul, we see the Spirit of God. When we do these, we are witnesses.

Pentecost – May 20, 2018 Read More »

VI Sunday of Easter – May 6, 2018

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Disciples’ expectations as followers of Jesus kept changing. Through the early days of basking in the glory of Jesus, the popular preacher and miracle worker, through the despair of the passion and death of their Lord, they found themselves driven by the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Good News to the whole of creation. But they had no plan, no instruction manual. They discovered that they were sent not just to announce the coming of the Messiah to the Jews. The message of the Gospel was for everyone. The Holy Spirit made it clear that faith in Jesus was possible for anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what it right. They came to understand that what Jesus wanted was a community of people who loved one another. This was the way they would experience God, rather than in the rituals of the Jewish law. They knew that the risen Lord was living among them as they reached out in love to one another, but especially to those most in need. The beloved disciple, John, reflected for years on the life and teaching of Jesus and summed it up in His Gospel and letters: God is love and what God wants is for us to live in love just as Jesus has shown us, by loving one another. The whole message of scripture is to be found here: love one another as I have loved you. This is the mission Jesus gives to His disciples: as His chosen friends, they are to go out and bear fruit that will last.

In these weeks after Easter, we discover with disciples that Jesus calls us in our turn to be His friends and to know His love for us. He wants us to continue His mission by bringing His love and peace to the people of our own day. We recall what an unlikely bunch of characters Jesus chose to carry on His work. They were transformed by the Holy Spirit. Their old ideas had to change. They had to let go of their prejudices and fears and allow God to use them to build the Church, a community of love and service for all people, especially the poor. So it is with us. We are ordinary people, struggling with our own lives, our fears, our weaknesses, but we believe. We believe that Jesus is risen from the dead. We believe that He continues to be present in the world is us. We believe that He uses us to bring His mercy and love to the world. If the Holy Spirit could transform Peter and the rest into an effective tool for evangelisation, and continue this work of transformation through the saints of every generation, then we can believe that the same Holy Spirit can transform us and empower us to go out in joy and hope to bear fruit.

VI Sunday of Easter – May 6, 2018 Read More »