28 May 2023 – Pentecost Sunday (Year A)

by Bishop Sebastian Francis

The waiting is over.

We waited for fifty days. It is all planned by precision. Nothing happens haphazardly. We waited for fifty days from Easter till today. And Pentecost, however romantic it may sound, simply means fifty, fifty days.

We waited especially for nine days. Not anywhere you choose but in the Upper Room, with Peter and the ten apostles, with the women, some women and Mary and with some brothers of Jesus. A very small group. We waited with them for nine days from the Ascension till today.

So I want you to go back to the First Reading which tells us a reality check. What happened on that day at Pentecost which changed the course and the history of humankind and not just the church? Something happened. Reality check.

Jesus, the historical, physical Jesus is not there! That is important. He is not there. Peter has taken over the leadership. Reality check based on Acts 1:12-14 (which we did not read today) telling us clearly who was there. Peter is the leader. Not any other Tom, Dick or Harry. The ten Apostles were there. Why ten? Because Judas dropped out.

Who else was there? The women, some women and Mary was there but Mary was not in charge. This icon here puts Mary here in the centre. I don’t think that is the personality of Mary. Peter is in charge, Mary is in the background. She will never leave us. But she is not been entrusted with the continuation of the mission of Jesus Christ. He entrusted it to Peter. So get your reality check done! Our faith is based on scripture, on tradition but not on the magisterium. Magister means teacher, the church, our mother, our teacher, our father. And some brothers of Jesus or a small group of disciples were there.

Reality check.

Now it is wonderful that Pentecost coincides with the school holidays. So our children are all very relaxed. It is even more wonderful that Pentecost coincides with the harvest festivals of Sabah, Kaamatan, and the harvest festival of Sarawak, Gawai, and the harvest festival of Indonesia, Panen. We have hundreds of thousands of Indonesian migrants with us. But more important it is the harvest festival of the Holy Spirit. The waiting is over. It is time to come out of the Upper Room. If you remain there, too bad for you. Nobody is there. They are all out. And they will never come back. They will go all over the world to proclaim the Gospel. No hiding behind in the Upper Room. Nobody is there. They won’t return there. This is a reality check.

Reality check number 2. What happened today, Acts 2:1-11? One of the signs we are told that accompanied Pentecost – powerful wind, not a gentle breeze; with lots of noise like how when we sang the Gloria. Not a gentle breeze. No sign of any dove there, an illusory peace. Powerful wind with the strong noise. And you know when the wind is powerful, it will break open the doors and the windows so that you don’t remain inside. You go out. And tongues of fire. That’s what happened at Pentecost. I see no dove there. Oh, there is a dove to this impression up there. Okay, never mind. The dove may get roasted with the fire.

Okay, but that is not in scripture. So don’t let your faith be dependent of artistic impressions however sentimental or romantic it may be. Get back to scripture, to tradition, to the magisterium. Our faith cannot be based on sentiments and emotions only.

Now what else happened there at Pentecost within the Upper Room and outside? Once they came out they never went back in. We are told that all languages was spoken by these eleven, by Peter who was the spokesperson. And I calculated how many types of natives were there outside. There were sixteen natives of all over that part of the world. Asia is mentioned, Arabia is mentioned, and many other places. About sixteen languages were uttered on that day though only one language was spoken, the language of the Holy Spirit.

Now this is important. It means there is more more dominant language or culture in the Catholic church. Everyone is included. What was the dominant language at that time? The dominant political language was Latin. The language of the super power of that time which was Rome. The Roman empire. And we are in Jerusalem, don’t forget. Jerusalem is not in Rome. Rome is where the super power was situated and from there they controlled the known world of that time. And their dominant language was Latin. The local dominant language would have been Hebrew and Aramaic. And the dominant language of that part of the world would have been Greek. But now, no one language will dominate anymore.

From the office of readings from the 6th century writer (an African author, unknown), 6th century means one thousand six hundred years ago, he said: “The church in its unity speaks in the languages of every nation, including Arabic (it is mentioned in the list of sixteen), including Bahasa Malaysia, our national language. And the church must not allow any one language or culture to dominate the church anymore after Pentecost.”

So brothers and sisters, what are we told? These band of apostles and a few disciples are told clearly without beating around the bush that after Pentecost, you have to go and be witnesses, not inside the Upper Room, but outside, to the whole world. They are ordered, we are told in the New Testament. Ordered to proclaim the resurrection. Everybody knew about the crucifixion. No big deal. Everyone knew that Jesus was crucified. But now they are ordered to go and proclaim that Jesus Christ is risen. And they are ordered, not advised. Enough of advice. Enough of coaxing. Enough of trying to get you to agree. That is not ordered. They are ordered to proclaim that God has appointed Jesus Christ to judge every one, Fratelli Tutti, not just Catholics or Christians, by the values of the Gospel.

So let us be very clear. Reality check. Where is Jesus today? Jesus the Christ who has ascended to the Father? Now the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son, has been entrusted with the continuation of the mission which was first entrusted to Christ and now to the Holy Spirit. Where is Jesus? Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us until He comes back to judge the living and the dead. And the mission He entrusted together with the Father through the Holy Spirit and to the church, which is One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic. And now the Holy Spirit, again connected, will remind us, teach us, and lead the mission forward towards the second and final and glorious coming of Christ.

So this is not meant for light hearts. This is real stuff. To get on. If you are baptised, and you are a disciple, and you are an apostle, this is entrusted to you. That is why next week we will celebrate the Trinity, the completion of the revelation of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And this is contained in our Nicene Creed, in our Apostle’s Creed, in the Gloria that we sang and in the New Testament.

So we are reminded, we who are left behind with Peter and the Apostles. Who is Peter today? There is only one Peter, not many Peters. Pope Francis, he is Peter today for the Catholic church and for the world. And who are the apostles? The apostles, who are one with Francis, are the successors of the apostles, are the bishops. And who are you? You are disciples of Jesus Christ. And we are reminded over and over again that we are already gifted. No matter what weaknesses we may carry or what limitations we may carry, in our bodies, in our souls, in our spirits, we are already gifted, we are already blessed and we are NOT forgotten. Even if you don’t pray, Jesus, the first advocate and the Holy Spirit, the second and final advocate, will pray in us and for us. So we are gifted, blessed and unforgotten by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

So what is the mission now of the Holy Spirit? So if you are waiting for another advocate, well you are wasting your time. Everything that we need for eternal life, for salvation, has been already given to us. Now we have to make it happen in our lives as apostles and disciples. The mission of the Holy Spirit is to purify us. Purify us for what? Before you go to heaven, to purify us for mission and for communion, for sanctification with the Father, Son and Spirit, with the whole of creation, with humanity and with the body of Christ and the community. And that is the mission of the Holy Spirit. And it is going to be an inclusive mission where every language, every culture, every nationality will not be excluded And no one will be allowed to dominate in the name of the Holy Spirit.

So what do we do now? Well, this is the theme you have chosen. For this reason I remind you ‘I’ is no more ‘I, the Bishop of Penang, Kelantan, Perlis, Perak, Kedah and Penang.’ I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you to the laying on of our hands. And this is our theme.

So go! Get out of the Upper Room! Don’t remain there. You will find yourselves lonely and nobody is there except you and your shadows. Get out! Go and celebrate who you are! Go and celebrate what you are! And go and celebrate what we have been gifted with!

The final and the absolute and the total and the perfect gift for you and I to reach our destination, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

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