HomilyPentecost052024
Life happens! I put the phrase into ChatGPT (an AI app on my phone) and it replied: “Indeed, life is full of surprises, challenges, and unexpected events.” Not bad, if that is all it said, but it continued: “It’s all about how we navigate through these changes and find meaning along the way.” Okay, that sounds positive-but incomplete. What is missing? In Today’s Gospel reading we get a clear answer- the gift of the Holy Spirit. On this Pentecost Sunday we are celebrating this “constant presence” within each one of us. This celebration is a deliberate and yearly reminder of how important this gift of the Holy Spirit is to our pilgrimage through life…our constant companion through the ups, the downs, the twist and turns.
Imagine with me, that you are one of the disciples, in the upper room. The doors are locked. They are afraid, because too much change is embracing them-they hold in tension both the passion of Christ and His glorious resurrection. It is too much to take in alone, so they do what they were taught by their Shepherd, they gather in community. It may be hot, stuffy and noisy in this room, but they are together. Suddenly, “Jesus came and stood in their midst.” HE say’s to them “Peace be with You.” HE shows them HIS hands and the wound on HIS side. He then repeats “Peace be with You.” The disciples rejoice.
What Jesus says next is profound, our mission and purpose is made clear, and we are given the gift of companionship to carry it out. Listen carefully…
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.”
In our first reading from the Act of the Apostles, we hear about the details of this momentous event. The physical effects of hearing, feeling, and seeing-this manifestation of the Holy Spirit flowing across the room and bursting out into a broken world-a new creation has been unleashed…and we are still feeling and experiencing the effects today.
What do we gain individually from this event? Our first personal encounter happened at our own Pentecost-our confirmation. Our purpose becomes clear and are echoed in Jesus’ words “so I send you.” Where are we being sent? Life happens! We respond by living out our purpose! At our baptism we are given a candle that is lite from the Easter candle, it is a visible sign of what we have received…the reality of God’s constant presence burning within each of us.
Blessed are those who have an awareness of the presence of the Trinity within. This precious gift is the light by which we navigate through life. We are never alone! Our very lives become a constant prayer. We are not afraid of change, and we understand that because of change we grow. We learn to navigate life because God is our constant companion guiding us in the rough waters of life-a deep peace confirms it.
A few weeks ago, life made sense to me, but a phone call from the diocese changed everything. I wasn’t seeking this change, but it found me anyway and that is how the mystery of God works. The change is here, and this is my last day serving as your deacon. I have mixed feelings-and feel as though I am leaving something’s undone.
We have been through so much together. I remember my first Sunday with you-which included donuts and coffee. I felt a peaceful and warm embrace. COVID soon after, shut down our Church. As a community, we navigated this wave of uncertainty and we adapted. Who would dream that Mass would be streamed on the internet, but we did it-and that is how the Holy Spirit works in our community.
As your deacon, I had the privilege of greeting you at mass, baptizing your children, visiting our homebound, participating in weddings and saying goodbye to parishioners who left our sight. We have learned and taught each other. What a gift you have been to me. You are our spiritual family- Rocio and I will miss you all. Together, we say thank you for inviting us into your community.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As his followers, we should understand that this means whether we recognize or understand HIS will in any given situation-HIS will “will be done. We often-hear the phrase that “Life Happens,” and a natural result is that we are flooded with various emotions: fear, excitement, joy, and sadness. On such occasions, may we hear the soft voice of our Shepherd the words “Peace be with You.”
