Pentecost Sunday
June 8, 2003
Reading I:
Acts 2:1-11 II:
1Cor 12:3-7,12-13
Gospel
John 20:19-23
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were
locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood
in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you".
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The
disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent
me, so I send you."
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain
are retained."
Interesting Details
- John did not mention by what means Jesus came into the room, but simply
stated the fact that he was present among the disciples to indicate the
spiritual qualities of the resurrected body of Jesus.
- The greeting that Jesus said to his disciples: "Peace be with you" means
more than: "May you be saved from trouble." It means "May God give you every
good thing." Also peace is considered a divine gift promised in the Old
Testament for the coming days of deliverance.
- He showed them his hands and his side. This is the only explicit evidence
from the Gospel that Jesus was nailed rather than tied to the cross.
- He breathed on them. This indicates the giving of new life, just as in
the Book of Genesis, God created man by breathing life into him.
- The last sentence lays down the duty of the Church to convey forgiveness
to those repent from their hearts and to warn the impenitent that they are
forfeiting the mercy of God. This is also considered as the origin of the
sacrament of penance and baptism.
One Main Point
The resurrected Christ confers upon his disciples, hence the Church , the
mission to continue his work of bringing God's salvation to all mankind. In
order to carry on the task that he had accomplished, Jesus empowered the
Church with his Holy Spirit who would be the living force and guidance in
propagating God's message.
Reflections
- Visualize ourselves as the disciples in the Upper room, in a state of
fearfulness and doubt about what had happened. How do we feel when Jesus
appear to us?
- Relive the moment when Jesus breathed his Holy Spirit on the disciples
and instructed them to go out and proclaim his Good News. How do we make
his love known in our world today?
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A synthesis by the Vietnamese Christian Life (Dong Hanh) Community