Sunday 28 May 2023
Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-11. Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth – Psalm 103(104):1, 24, 29-31, 34. 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13. John 20:19-23.
Receive the Holy Spirit . . .
‘Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.’
Sometimes when we have been made very sad and confused by the sweep of events that test our understanding and faith beyond our limits, we can become so overwhelmed that we fail to grasp the beauty and grace of the time. Sitting anxious and exhausted – and perhaps, like the missing Thomas, more confused than ever-the apostles numbly await events in the Upper Room. Then Jesus, scarred but very much alive, appears amongst them. ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’, he says, in his dear familiar voice.
In the first reading the apostles and Mary the Mother of the Lord, seated in the upper room, witness the Holy Spirit at work. It is like great wind; they are touched by tongues of fire, and all the great multitude in Jerusalem hear them speak in many tongues. This is the Birthday of the Church. Jesus has fulfilled all his promises. A transformed Peter steps into his destiny.
Email this Print This Page
