Readings:
Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23
The Spirit of the Lord is Here
I Feel It In the Atmosphere
In the African American religious experience, there are many spiritual songs and hymns that attest to the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the community. Songs such as Spirit of the Living God, Fall Fresh on Me, Every Time I Feel the Spirit, I’m Gonna Move When the Spirit Says Move, and There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place describe the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to move and animate both a community of faith and individual believers. I am reminded of these songs and hymns as I read and pray with today’s readings, specifically the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of John.
The Holy Spirit, as described in the Acts of the Apostles, is a living Spirit that moves the community from fear to fearlessness, from faltering to faith, from powerlessness to passionate power. This Spirit transformed individuals into an inclusive community that became a missionary Church. Jesus further reminds the disciples that they already possess within themselves the Spirit of Peace. As my colleague, biblical scholar Laurie Brink, OP, states, “With Jesus’ Spirit, the disciples now share fully in his mission.”
In many Christian churches, it is customary for members of the congregation to wear red to celebrate the Pentecost event, which Luke describes as tongues of “fire.” This event was experienced by peoples of many races, ethnicities, and languages. In recognition of the many diverse communities that make up my own parish, members of our congregation on Pentecost Sunday wear either red or cultural dress to symbolize the holy fire of the Spirit.
I am further reminded of Pope Francis’s urging that we become a synodal Church rooted in trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our process of listening to the Spirit is the very reason the synodal process was entitled “Conversations in the Spirit.” Perhaps we can listen to the Spirit only when we commit ourselves intentionally to listening for the Spirit. Donal Dorr expresses this eloquently when he writes that we must not only be open, but “eagerly expectant, actively seeking out the call of God in our surroundings, in the paths that open up before us, and in the doors that close in our faces.”
How are we preparing to receive the Holy Spirit today? It is through encounter. Are we open to the Spirit of Justice crying out to us in these challenging times marked by voter suppression, wars, violence in our streets, deportation, fear, and increasing terror?
This past week, thirteen pilgrims from Catholic Theological Union journeyed from Chicago and Nashville to the sacred sites of the Civil Rights Movement as part of a Racial Justice Pilgrimage course. Filled with the Spirit of Justice, these pilgrims visited the sacred sites of Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma. Like the disciples gathered in the upper room, our pilgrims came from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Many spoke multiple languages, and yet, like those early disciples, each was touched by a call that compelled them to leave the comfort of home and journey to places marked by unrest, suffering, courage, and faith.
Like Rosa Parks — considered one of the mothers of the Civil Rights Movement — who said, “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear,” these pilgrims were transformed through practices of prayer, breaking bread together, and building community. Such practices prepared their hearts for encounter and mission.
One student pilgrim, deeply moved by the experience, remained in Montgomery an additional day to volunteer in support of voting rights during a national gathering at the state capitol mall. The Holy Spirit is a gift that moves people from fear to fearlessness, transforms communities toward justice and peace, and testifies to the transforming power of God in the same manner as those first Pentecost disciples.
The hymn Spirit of the Living God ends with the prayerful invocation: “Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.” As people of faith, we too must remain open to trusting the Holy Spirit to shape us, fill us, and use us. Like those first disciples gathered in the Upper Room, may we be open to the coming of the Holy Spirit — allowing that Spirit to fill us and use us to transform our communities, our churches, our institutions, and our world.
C. Vanessa White, OFS, D.Min