16-May-2010 Dear Friend,
Our common everyday experience tells us that unless we are connected to a source there is no power or life. We may have the best cell phone but it is useless without the connection, we may have the best of lights and fans but without the electrical connection nothing happens. We may have the costliest TV set but it remains lifeless unless we have an activated connection. We may use a lot of words but we do not communicate unless we are understood. Have we a connection with our God? We are promised a life-connection in the Holy Spirit. Let’s come alive with His Spirit this weekend! Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Pentecost Sunday ‘Send forth your Spirit! Renew the earth!’ 23-May-2010 Acts 2: 1-11 1 Corinthians 12: 3-7, 12-13 John 20: 19-23 Today’s first reading gives a dramatic description of the first Pentecost experience. Pentecost marks the birthday of the Church. The disciples had gathered in one room when suddenly the Spirit descended upon them in the form of tongues of fire, and the fearful band of apostles were transformed into a community of fearless faithful believers and evangelizers. They were no longer the same; instead of hiding to protect themselves they go out fearlessly to proclaim the good news, no matter what the cost or consequences. They live in the Spirit and they are now led by the Spirit to proclaim in life and death the good news. Film: ‘Being John Malkovich’ -1999 In the very strange 1999 surrealist movie "Being John Malkovich", someone discovers a portal into Malkovich's mind, enabling visitors to see and experience things through his body and to influence his actions. He becomes aware of what's happening and finds the portal himself. At the climax of the movie, there is a bizarre but powerful scene when he enters the portal, being swept down a dark tunnel with a roaring sound to emerge as a participant/observer in his own world. He discovers that everyone has his face and his voice, and every word spoken is his name. Connections with the Pentecost story: - the paradox of the creator entering his own creation by an unexplainable power; - the potential of the portal to connect people in an unprecedented kind of indwelling; - the portal is exploited by those who find it - selling access, allowing it to be used to violate someone's integrity - reminds me of Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8), and all who abuse the gift of the Spirit for their own ends or to manipulate others. - seeing the face of Malkovich everywhere reminds me of the Spirit making Jesus present through us in a new and all-encompassing way. We are recognisably Christlike, though still ourselves, and all we say and do is 'in his name'. It's a frightening moment in the movie, because Malkovich has no wish to become omnipresent as a Christ-figure, but the image is powerful. >From film insights by Marnie Barrel in ‘The Text this Week’ In today’s Gospel Jesus comes to his disciples on the first day of the week to begin a new chapter in their lives. The disciples out of fear had barricaded themselves within closed doors for fear of the Jews. Jesus breaks through their defences and comes to them and His first greeting is “Peace be with you!” Pentecost, meaning fiftieth day, was originally a Jewish feast that marked the harvest festival. The Jews commemorated the grain harvest at this feast. Pentecost commemorated the fruit of the harvest, the fruit of the Spirit given to us at Easter. The fruits of the Spirit are peace, joy, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But greater than all these gifts is the ‘first fruit’ of the harvest, the Holy Spirit. The gospel depicts Jesus giving the first fruit of the spirit to his disciples. Jesus ‘breathed’ on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” The disciples were filled with Joy. They also received the forgiveness of their sins and were empowered to go out and share the spirit of reconciliation with others. The gift of the Spirit was the gift of reconciliation binding them together with God and with one another. While renewing his promise of sending the spirit, Jesus always stresses obedience as a condition for receiving the spirit. “As the father has sent me, so I am sending you. I came to do the will of him who sent me…if you love me you will obey me…” The channel that links us to the spirit is obedience! “Pentecost: the Spirit of God poured out as gift on the apostles made them, who had cowered indoors in terror, into a great people, jubilantly singing God’s praises. Here indeed is the Church, a new humanity, alive with a new breath, telling the world about a new, undreamed of, crowning happiness. Good news about the forgiveness of sin, news about what eye had never seen, nor ear heard, nor had man’s heart hitherto experienced. This is not a time for fear, for withdrawal into oneself; rather it is the time for the Spirit to break down all barriers and to lead humanity to the place where God awaits it. Pentecost formerly a Jewish harvest festival, is inseparable from Easter, because it offers us the fruits of Easter; the trophies conquered in a decisive battle. We realize that, although we have not yet achieved anything, all has been given us with this fruit which the flowering of Easter promised: the Spirit of God, aflame with his fire, who fills the universe and the earth. Pentecost is, with the sending of the supreme Gift, the vindication of the divine folly, of the prodigious generosity of the Father, of the superabundance of his life given to mankind in an eternal embrace. Pentecost fulfils the prophetic words: ‘You shall be as gods’. Far from disregarding the realities of our life here below, the Spirit both stimulates and encourages and tells of the future: a new heaven and a new earth! This is the transfiguration of all things put before us in the closing pages of the Apocalypse – all that God has prepared for those whom he loves. Is not the Spirit this very eternal life, already commenced here below? Let us then listen to the murmur of this living water saying: ‘Come to the Father.’ In this rising wind let us set sail- to live for the God who is man’s destiny. ” -Glenstal Bible Missal Common Language Almost 100 years ago Dr. Zamenhof, a Polish linguist, constructed a new language that could be shared by people throughout the world. The artificial language Dr. Zamenhof created is called Esperanto, “the language of hope,” The language signifies the hope of mankind that a common language might heal the divisions that exist among different peoples of the earth. We even use the slang expression ‘speaking the same language’, to indicate harmony or unity of purpose on a certain issue. The Feast of Pentecost is the Church’s celebration of her unity and universality of the Holy Spirit, and so some of the readings used express this in terms of language. Dr. Zamenhof’s invention of a universal language like Esperanto has been followed by: establishing the United Nations Assembly, holding summit meetings, having cultural exchanges and reviving the Olympic Games. Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word resounds’ Transforming Spirit The 1980 Winter Olympic Games were held in Lake Placid, New York. That year the U.S hockey team wasn’t much –just a collection of inexperienced college kids. In an exhibition game before the Olympics, the Russians blew them off the ice. Then came the Olympics. The first surprise came when the U.S. team tied a strong Swedish team. The second surprise came when the U.S. team upset a Czechoslovakian team. The kids who were supposed to be young and too inexperienced had just advanced to the medal round. Then came the big game with the Russians. The Soviets jumped off to an early lead. Then things settled down until the third period. That’s when the unthinkable happened. The Americans closed the gap to tie the Russians. Suddenly the fans in the Lake Placid arena began chanting, “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” Then came the miracle. The U.S. team scored in the final seconds to win the match. Pandemonium broke loose. Crowds watching the game on TV outside the arena couldn’t believe it. Suddenly they began dancing in the streets. Crowds dining in the fashionable Lake Placid restaurants couldn’t believe it either. Suddenly they began dancing and toasting. The ones who really couldn’t believe it were the Russians standing in line and waiting for the U.S. team to stop hugging and kissing one another so they could give them the Olympic handshake and get off the ice. The Spirit that radiated from the U.S. team that night swept across the country like a tidal wave. Even people who weren’t hockey fans got caught up in it. It was an experience no one could forget. That totally unexpected happening in the 1980 Olympic gives us an insight into what happened on Pentecost Sunday 2000 years ago. Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’ The Glove I have a glove here in my hand. The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when my hand is in it, it can do many things. True, it is not the glove, but my hand in the glove that acts. We are gloves. It is the holy Spirit in us who is the hand, who does the job. We have to make room for the hand so that every finger is filled. The question on Pentecost is not whether God is blessing our plans and programmes but whether we are open to the great opportunities to which the Spirit call us. Once the Lord said to the faithful evangelist: “You have been working for me with utmost sincerity, for seven years. All the time I have been waiting for the moment I could start to work through you.” Corrie Ten Boom in ‘Quotes and Anecdotes’ Cleaning Up Job One of the ‘labours’ imposed upon Heracles was to clean the stables of Augeas. The stables had a herd of three thousand oxen, and the stables had not been cleansed for thirty years. According to the bond the stables were to be cleansed in a single day. Heracles accomplished the task not by his own labour, but by directing the river Alpheus and making it run through the stables. It is only thus that the heart of man can be cleansed, not by fighting individual impurities by unaided effort, but by letting in the river of cleansing. Here is the joy and the method of overcoming sin. G.F.B. Hallock in ‘More quotes and Anecdotes’ May God’s Spirit bring newness into our routine humdrum existence! Fr. Jude Botelho judebote...@yahoo.co.in PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site www.netforlife.net Thank you.
