Pentecost Sunday (B)

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Cor 12:3-7, 12-13; Jn 20:19-23

One of the major feasts of the Jews is the Pentecost, a word which literally means fifty. The feast is called such because it is commemorated 50 days after the Passover feast. Originally, Pentecost is celebrated in thanksgiving for a good harvest. Later, the Jews use the occasion to remember the covenant between God and Noah, which happened 50 days after the great flood, and the covenant between God and Moses, which took place 50 days after the start of the Jewish exodus from Egypt.

The feast of Pentecost receives a new meaning in Jesus Christ. Before his ascension to heaven, Jesus instructed his disciples not to leave Jerusalem before the arrival of the Holy Spirit and to prepare religiously for that occasion (Acts 1:3). In the first reading, we understand that this prophecy was fulfilled 50 days after the Lord's resurrection. The Holy Spirit descended like tongues of fire and rested on the apostles and Mary, who at that moment were gathering secretly in prayer. After the mysterious descent of the Holy Spirit, the disciples started to come out and preach the Risen Lord in different languages. The listeners marveled greatly because they heard the disciples preaching in their own tongues. Today, Pentecost is considered as the birthday of the Church for it marked the day when the disciples began to fulfill the mission entrusted to them by Christ.

Pentecost reminds us of the very nature of the Church and the important tasks of her members.

First of all, the Church is both Catholic (meaning, universal) and missionary. The Lord made this clear when he said: “Go and teach all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and teach them to observe my commandments (Mt 28:19-20). The Lord wants his followers to preach the gospel to every corner of the world. There should be no single individual who will be left without hearing the message of Jesus Christ, that is, the good news about God's unconditional love for humanity. And for this, the Church continues to send people to missionary areas (including the most difficult and dangerous places) and to ask all baptized Christians to witness in words and actions God's Word in their daily lives.

Moreover, the Church is a community of believers who are called to participate actively in her life and mission. In using the metaphor of the “body of Christ”, Saint Paul meant to show that all members of the Church are equally valuable and each member has an important role to play. In the Christian community, there are different needs and concerns. Every baptized Christian is tasked to discern with the Holy Spirit what talents and gifts he possesses and how to use them for the service of the community. Paul says that it is the Holy Spirit who inspires leaders, prophets, teachers, healers, interpreters, musicians and many others to give themselves and share their talents for the good of all (12:4-6).

The great preacher Fulton Sheen once commented that “Even though we are God's chosen people, we often behave more like God's frozen people.” Is this observation true with us today? Do we remain passive and indifferent to the sacramental and ministerial life of the Church? Or, are we becoming more and more generous in sharing what we have with others who are less fortunate?

Once in a carpenter’s workshop, there was this conversation going on. Everyone was accusing Brother Hammer because he makes a lot of noise. So Brother Hammer was in the chair, and he was the target of conversation. They said that Brother Hammer had to leave the workshop because he is always hitting Brother Nail on the head and he is always making noises.

And Brother Hammer said, “Okay, I will leave, provided that Brother Pencil leaves also, he always makes little impressions in the workshop, just a line, what use is Brother Pencil?

Brother Pencil said, “I will leave the workshop, provided that Brother Plane also leaves, Brother Plane always works on the surface.”

Brother Plane said, “I will leave, provided that Brother Screw leaves. Because Brother Screw, in order to make him do something, you have to turn him round and round, and round, and it takes time to make him do anything.”

Brother Screw said, “I will leave, provided brother Ruler leaves, because Brother Ruler always measures the others with his own measurements, as if he is the only one right here. He is the one who always measures everything.”

Brother Ruler said, “I will leave, provided that Brother Sandpaper leaves because he is always rough, rough with others.”

Brother Sandpaper said, “I will leave, provided that Brother Saw leaves, because Brother Saw always cuts deep with his teeth. When he speaks, he is sharp, no mercy on anyone, as soon as the teeth hit, he cuts deep.”

In the meantime, during this conversation, while Brother Hammer was still in the seat, the carpenter of Nazareth entered the workshop. He put on his apron, and he had a job to do. He was going to make a table. So, he picked up the pencil, he picked up the saw, he picked up the planer, he used some screws, he used the hammer, he used some nails, he used the sandpaper, and by the end of the day, he had used all of the tools, and the table was finished.

Then brother saw said “I perceive brothers that all of us have a part to play in this workshop. There was not a tool that Jesus Christ used, that another tool could have done the job. There was not a single accusation that was not absolutely true. All the accusations were true, and yet, the carpenter of Nazareth, Jesus Christ used every one of those tools. In the community we each have different characters, and like this carpenter's workshop, each one of us has a unique part to play.”

(The story is told by an unknown author)