Sunday, June 8, is Pentecost Sunday. Mass readings: Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 ; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Romans 8:8-17; John 20:19-23 or John 14:15-16, 23b-26.

Pentecost rejects a tepid Christian life. The Lord Jesus said to the apostles, “I have come to cast a fire on the earth” (Luke 12:49). This is a feast about fire, a transformative, refining, purifying fire that the Lord wants to kindle in us. 

Notice two portraits of the Spirit. 

First there is Rushing Wind: “And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house ...” We see in this passage an amazing and wonderful resuscitation of the human person as these first Christians experience the rushing wind of God’s Spirit breathing spiritual life back into them. God brings humanity, dead in sin, back to life! The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us once again as in a temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). 

Secondly, there are Tongues of Fire: “Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.” In the coming of the Holy Spirit, God sets us on fire to make us a kind of fire. In so doing, he purifies us and prepares us to meet him one day. He also seeks to place in us the warmth of Love and by us to bring warmth to a cold world.

Next, notice the transformation: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak.” Moments ago, these were frightened men huddled together in secrecy behind locked doors. Now, they go forth to the crowds and proclaim Christ boldly. They have gone from fear to faith, from cowardice to courage, from terror to testimony! And what of us? Too many Christians gather in the “upper room” of a parish and are active — even leaders — but once outside the safe confines of the “upper room” they slip into what I call “secret agent” mode. Well, the Holy Spirit wants to change that. We ought to go forth from every Mass filled with the Holy Spirit and grace and spread the Lord’s grace and message to all we know. And so, finally, notice the Propagation by the Spirit. 

In the Gospel today is the great commission: The Lord said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” 

The Spirit of the Lord wants to fill the earth, in the fiery transformation of every Christian going forth to bring warmth and light to a cold, dark world. 

This is how the Lord casts fire upon the earth. This is how the Spirit of the Lord fills the orb of the earth — in the lives of saints (and in your life)! The Spirit of the Lord is going to fill the orb of the earth but only through us. 

So, enjoy the feast of Pentecost, but don’t forget that the basic image is very challenging, for it means getting out of the “upper room,” opening the doors, and proclaiming Christ to the world. It means breaking the huddle and executing the play. 

Let the Holy Spirit light a fire in you. Then you can’t help but spread the light of truth and the love and refining fire of God, the Holy Spirit.