Pentecost – Year B

The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth

# Pentecost is a Christian feast that celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a gift from Jesus, and the birth of the Church. It falls on the fiftieth day from Easter inclusive (hence the name), on a Sunday, that is, at the end of the seventh week after Easter, and is therefore a movable feast, depending on the date of Easter. It celebrates first the beginning of the harvest and then, in a second phase, the giving of the law. Pentecost is also the ancient Greek name for the Jewish festival of Shavuot, which is a festival of thanksgiving.

In Judaism, Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks, called in ancient Greek Πεντηκοστή (Pentecost), is one of three feasts, called Shalosh regalim (three pilgrimages), denoting the feasts of i pilgrimage – to Jerusalem. The seven weeks correspond to the period of the Omer, a period of mourning in memory of the misfortunes of the people of Israel, which ends with the festival of Lag Ba Omer, and Shavuot is supposed to be a joyful celebration of the giving of the Torah.

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

At that time Jesus said to his disciples: When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, he, the Spirit of truth, who comes from the Father, will testify on my behalf. And you also will be witnesses, for you have been with me from the beginning.

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will lead you into all truth. For what he says will not come from himself, but what he hears he will say; and whatever happens he will make known to you.

He will glorify me, for he will receive what is from me and make it known to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said to you, ‘The Spirit receives what comes from me and makes it known to you. (Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15)

 He will make you understand all that I have said to you!

He will make you understand everything I have said to you! « If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and stay with him. « He who does not love me will not keep my words » (Jn 14:23-24a). This is the only manifestation that God has decided to make: he comes to live in the hearts of those who welcome him and believe in him. He will only be recognised as truly present by those who truly love him!

« If anyone loves me, we will come to him »: Christ affirms that he is now present through those who love him, through true believers, in whom he lives. Between people who love each other, there is listening, dialogue, speech, communication.  « The word you hear is not mine, but that of the Father who sent me » (Jn 14:24b).  (Jn 14:24b)

Here Jesus reveals to us one of the foundations of the true Christian life: the meditation of the Word as a sacrament of God’s presence. In this farewell discourse, on the evening of Holy Thursday, Jesus speaks of a word that one is faithful to, a word that one lives, that is, a word that one puts into practice. The Word of Jesus is not a thing, it is someone: since Jesus left, there is another who comes to replace him, sent by the Father in Jesus’ name: it is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit adds nothing to Jesus, just as Jesus adds nothing to the Father: they are three who are one! The Holy Spirit is the one who communicates all the life of God to humanity. It is the Holy Spirit who will help the Church to understand progressively the gift of God, revealed in Jesus Christ. And even today, the Holy Spirit is at work: « I am with you always, » said Jesus.

The Church still has much to understand, to discover and to live, and this is even more true for each of us.  It is important to understand that the feast of Pentecost (first reading) was not only for the apostles: the strong wind was also felt by a multitude of men and women in Jerusalem: each one heard the wonders of God proclaimed in his own language. (Acts 2:5-11)

For a person to recognise in the word of another the Word of God, there must be the action of the Holy Spirit. « It is the same Holy Spirit who affirms in our spirit that we are children of God » (2nd Reading) (Rom 8:16).

The feast of Pentecost is not only the feast of the birth of the Church through the powers given to the apostles, but it is also the feast of the renewal of the world through the action of the Holy Spirit who gradually brings all humanity to the understanding of Jesus’ message: « The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have said to you » (John 14:26). « (Jn 14:26) Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to teach us to understand and live the Gospel today.

Deacon Michel Houyoux

Links to other Christian websites

◊ Pathways toGod : click here to read the paper → Pentecost Year B

◊ Father Hanly : click here to read the paper →  Homily for Pentecost, Year B 

♥   Homily by Fr. Tat Hoang ( St. Gerard’s) : « The Spirit of Truth Will Guide You »