Pentecost Sunday sermon

by

Sunday, 19 May 2024 : Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we celebrate this most joyful occasion of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday, we recall the fullness of joy and great celebrations that we have done in the past glorious and most joyful fifty days of Easter since that of Easter Vigil. Pentecost celebrates the coming and descent of the Holy Spirit from God upon His Church, to all the disciples and followers of Christ. On that day, the Lord fulfilled His promises to His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit, Whom He called as the Helper or the Advocate, to lead and guide the path of the Church and all the faithful, strengthening them in their journey of faith, empowering them to be courageous and to be able to persevere despite the trials and challenges that they may have to face.

This important day and celebration is a reminder for all of us that through the coming and descent of the Holy Spirit to all of us, we have received once again the grace of God that had been separated from us due to our sins and wickedness, and through the Holy Spirit, God had shown that He is always ever present with His Church and faithful ones, having guided us all throughout these past two millennia of history, from the very beginning of the Church and up to this very day, through all the challenges and trials facing the Church and all the Christian faithful. The Holy Spirit had guided the Church fathers and leaders in walking down the path of the Lord, that while at times the Church and many among the faithful had fallen into the wrong paths, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, eventually the Church is moving ahead again in the right path.

Many people often wrongly associate Pentecost with the so-called ‘Birthday of the Church’ and it does not help that in some places, popular practices related to this birthday celebration of the Church are commonplace. The Church according to the Church fathers and Apostolic tradition, as written in the Catechism of the Catholic Church was ‘born’ and established from the side of the Lord, from the outpouring of the Blood and water that came from the Lord’s Body, lay broken and crushed on Good Friday, at the end of His Passion, His suffering and death. Through His earlier institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and the Ministerial Priesthood at the Last Supper, and through His completion of the perfect offering and sacrifice of the New and Eternal Passover, the New and Eternal Covenant, Christ has formed the Church that is His Body, uniting all of the believers with Himself.

What the Pentecost is more accurately associated with is the moment when the Church is ‘revealed’ to the world, with an analogy and comparison similar to that of Christmas and Epiphany. While Christmas marks the moment when the Lord Jesus, Our Saviour was born into this world, it is at Epiphany that He is revealed and manifested to the whole world through the representation of the Three Magi or the Three Wise Men. Thus, the Church that is born on Good Friday and the Paschal Triduum, was also revealed to the whole world at the moment of the Pentecost, at the time when there was a very major shift in the attitude of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, who began to actively proclaim the Word of God and His Good News to everyone when previously they had been hiding in fear.

This was what we have heard in our first reading today, detailing to us what happened on the day of the first Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon all the Apostles and disciples who were hiding in fear from the Jewish authorities who had threatened everyone that taught in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and who had put in place efforts to silence the disciples of the Lord. They were fearful because the Lord was no longer physically with them, having ascended into Heaven just ten days earlier, but with the arrival and descent of the Holy Spirit, and as they were inflamed and strengthened by the fire of the Holy Spirit, their hearts were encouraged and they received the strength, the wisdom and the power to go forth and to proclaim the Good News of God with great fervour and courage as we have heard.

And through their efforts, many people who were then gathered in Jerusalem for the Festival of Pentecost, coming from the different regions and countries of the world, many of whom were Jews who were living in the diaspora, came to hear of the Lord Jesus, as many of them might not have heard or known about Him before. Those people came to be touched by the message of God’s truth and His Good News that the Apostles told them in their various languages, the gift which the Holy Spirit had brought to them, and about three thousand people accepted the Lord on that day, becoming the earliest members of the Church of God together with those Apostles and disciples of the Lord. The rapid growth of the Church from that day of Pentecost and the changing attitude of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, empowered by the Holy Spirit made the Church no longer hidden but instead revealed to the whole world, which is what Pentecost is all about.

In our second reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle, either to the Church in Corinth or Galatia, of the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit which God had imparted to all of us who have received this most wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments of the Church. The Holy Spirit has many gifts, and these, traditionally seven, are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord, all of which are the things which God had bestowed on us all through His Spirit, alongside with various blessings, talents and abilities that allow us to carry out whatever it is that He had entrusted to us all to do with our lives. Each and every one of us have been given and equipped with these various gifts and opportunities so that we may truly live our lives worthily and in accordance to what the Lord has shown and taught us, so that by our exemplary lives, we may indeed be good role models and inspirations for others to follow, and that we may lead others to God’s truth and salvation.

Meanwhile, the fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, all of which are manifestations of the works and the gifts of the Holy Spirit which God had granted to us. All of us are called and expected to do what God had called us to do, and to make good use of the gifts and the opportunities that have been revealed and passed to us all. Like the parable of the talents that the Lord had used in teaching His disciples, all of us as God’s stewards, disciples and servants are expected to make good use of the various things and blessings which God had given to us, so that we may indeed bear rich fruits of the Holy Spirit in our various communities, and be the exemplary role models and the shining beacons of God’s light and truth in our world today.

Lastly, in our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord Jesus giving the Holy Spirit to the disciples, reminding them of what they were supposed to do as His disciples and followers. This gift of the Holy Spirit which the Lord had mentioned and explained on several occasions would eventually came to the fullness and completion with the coming of the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descending on the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, the Church of God, giving them the guidance, strength and the peace in their hearts and minds to carry out to the best of their abilities everything which God had entrusted to them to do. Through the Holy Spirit, God had sent forth His disciples and followers to carry out the most important mission which He entrusted to them, His Great Commission, that is to proclaim His Good News and truth, His salvation and love to all the nations, and to make disciples of every people of every nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

As we all reflect upon the messages of God’s truth and love as contained within the Sacred Scriptures and what we have discussed regarding the Holy Spirit and how God has empowered us all with the strength and the new life and opportunities to do His will through the Holy Spirit, let us all therefore allow Him to guide us all and turn away from all sorts of wickedness and evils that had caused us to not be able to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. As one united Church of God, revealed to all on this great Solemnity of Pentecost, let us all continue to carry on the missions entrusted to us, to be ever full of the Holy Spirit and allow the Spirit to guide us in our respective vocations and missions in life, that through us and our faithful living and testimony, our every actions and deeds, we may always be fruitful in all things.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of all the faithful and strengthen us with the warmth of God’s most wonderful love. Come and renew the whole world and all of us mankind, and enkindle in us the great passionate fires of Your love. Come Holy Spirit, come and be with us all, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of God. Amen.

by

Sunday, 19 May 2024 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this evening as we all gather together on this Great Vigil of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday at the very end of the glorious season of Easter, we recall the fullness of joy and great celebrations that we have done in the past glorious and most joyful fifty days of Easter since that of Easter Vigil. This celebration of the Pentecost Vigil is truly ancient and has a lot of parallel and similarities to that of Easter Vigil which marks the beginning of the Easter season, as historically, Pentecost ranks as one of the greatest Feasts and Solemnities of the Church in its whole entire liturgical year, second only after Easter itself. While Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday itself marks the commemoration of the glorious and triumphant victory that the Risen Christ, Our Lord had won over evil, sin and death through His Resurrection, Pentecost celebrates the coming and descent of the Holy Spirit from God upon His Church, to all the disciples and followers of Christ.

This celebration of the Vigil of the Pentecost Sunday or Pentecost Vigil is truly steeped in history and tradition, as just like that of Easter Vigil, there are multiple Old Testament readings that are to be read, historically seven just like that of the Easter Vigil. While the readings of the Easter Vigil focused on the history of salvation and how God had finally fulfilled and accomplished everything that He had promised to His people through His prophets, sending His Saviour into this world, the readings of the Pentecost Vigil that we have heard today in their various forms and richness highlighted the role that the Holy Spirit played in the Church, in our lives as Christians and how God had guided us all through the same Holy Spirit. Not only that but just like Easter Vigil when usually the catechumens are baptised and received into the Church, during this Pentecost Vigil, traditionally may also involve initiation of catechumens into the Church.

This important day and celebration is a reminder for all of us that through the coming and descent of the Holy Spirit to all of us, we have received once again the grace of God that had been separated from us due to our sins and wickedness, and through the Holy Spirit, God had shown that He is always ever present with His Church and faithful ones, having guided us all throughout these past two millennia of history, from the very beginning of the Church and up to this very day, through all the challenges and trials facing the Church and all the Christian faithful. The Holy Spirit had guided the Church fathers and leaders in walking down the path of the Lord, that while at times the Church and many among the faithful had fallen into the wrong paths, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, eventually the Church is moving ahead again in the right path.

Many people often wrongly associate Pentecost with the so-called ‘Birthday of the Church’ and it does not help that in some places, popular practices related to this birthday celebration of the Church are commonplace. The Church according to the Church fathers and Apostolic tradition, as written in the Catechism of the Catholic Church was ‘born’ and established from the side of the Lord, from the outpouring of the Blood and water that came from the Lord’s Body, lay broken and crushed on Good Friday, at the end of His Passion, His suffering and death. Through His earlier institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and the Ministerial Priesthood at the Last Supper, and through His completion of the perfect offering and sacrifice of the New and Eternal Passover, the New and Eternal Covenant, Christ has formed the Church that is His Body, uniting all of the believers with Himself.

What the Pentecost is more accurately associated with is the moment when the Church is ‘revealed’ to the world, with an analogy and comparison similar to that of Christmas and Epiphany. While Christmas marks the moment when the Lord Jesus, Our Saviour was born into this world, it is at Epiphany that He is revealed and manifested to the whole world through the representation of the Three Magi or the Three Wise Men. Thus, the Church that is born on Good Friday and the Paschal Triduum, was also revealed to the whole world at the moment of the Pentecost, at the time when there was a very major shift in the attitude of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, who began to actively proclaim the Word of God and His Good News to everyone when previously they had been hiding in fear.

In our Scripture readings this Pentecost Vigil, from the Book of Genesis we heard of the story of the Tower of Babel and how mankind in their hubris and pride tried to build a tower that was so high that it could reach up to Heaven itself, or so they thought. God saw all their wicked plans and ambitions, their pride and evils and confused their languages and speeches. Prior to this moment, everyone was able to understand each other languages and speeches, but after the rebellion of the Tower of Babel, mankind was scattered all over the world, unable to comprehend one another. This was because of the withdrawal of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which was contrasted with the gift of tongues which the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord received on the day of Pentecost, when they speak in tongues and everyone were able to comprehend what the disciples of the Lord were speaking about.

Meanwhile, from another reading from the Old Testament, taken from the Book of Exodus, we heard of the moment when the Lord made His Covenant with His people, the Israelites, at the holy Mountain of God at Sinai. We heard how at that place Moses, who lead the people of Israel gathered all the elders and all the people, and told them of what the Lord wanted to make with them, to establish a Covenant with them anew just as He had done with their ancestors. It was at that moment which the Lord made known His Presence through loud sounds and fire, just as what happened on the day of Pentecost, when the tongues of flames of the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord’s disciples hidden in the upper room, together with the loud sound just like that at Mount Sinai.

Not only that, but it was during this moment at Mount Sinai when the Israelites themselves also rebelled against God, by making a golden calf idol and worshipping it, which resulted in them being punished, with three thousand people being condemned and killed for their rebellion. This is contrasted to what we heard from the account of the events of the Pentecost, as the works of the Lord’s disciples proclaiming God’s Good News and salvation touched the hearts and minds of so many people that three thousand people chose to be baptised and become part of the Church of God, as a clear parallel and antithesis of what happened back at Mount Sinai, again just like the Tower of Babel story, showing how the Lord through His Holy Spirit had restored to the world and to us mankind the order and sanctity that had been lost through our rebellion against God and sin.

In another Old Testament reading from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we then heard of the story of the valley filled with vast number of dry bones, which represented the rebellion of mankind and their sins, particularly the Israelites, whom by the time of the prophet Ezekiel had committed a great number of sins and mistakes, and had suffered the consequences of those sins and faults. Sin lead to destruction and death, and that was what the vision of the valley of dry bones showed to the prophet Ezekiel and all of us. But through the Spirit of God, referring to the Holy Spirit, which in the Nicene Creed we refer to as the Lord, the Giver of Life, proceeding from the Father and Son to us all, just as at the moment of Creation, when God created all things from nothingness, God restored life to all those dry bones and Ezekiel saw a huge nation of all the peoples assembled, referring to the restoration of God’s people into the state of grace before their downfall into sin.

And this is what the Holy Spirit has done to us, as we recall this great gift from God, the gift of the Holy Spirit that He has given to His Church, to fill us all with His love and wisdom, to restore unto us the life, grace and unity with God which we have lost through our rebelliousness and sins. St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome in our second reading passage today spoke about the Holy Spirit that we have received, which gave us a foretaste of things that is to come. This means that through the gift of the Holy Spirit, all of us have received the gift of new life and existence which happened and is possible because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, guiding and strengthening us in each and every moments of our existence.

The Holy Spirit has shown us the path towards the Lord, and as the Lord Jesus Himself made it clear to us through our Gospel passage today, that the Presence of the Holy Spirit in us is like that of a life-giving water and spring welling up in us, filling us with God’s grace and love, empowering and strengthening us in the manner how the Lord’s disciples and followers have been guided and strengthened by the same Holy Spirit throughout all the things that they had done, in proclaiming the Lord’s Good News and salvation to the people of all the nations. They have joyfully borne the responsibilities and the commitments to be the bearers of God’s truth, and by the wisdom imparted to them through the Spirit of God, they therefore bore rich fruits of the Holy Spirit and resulted in many great conversions and many souls embracing God’s saving grace.

As we all reflect upon the messages of God’s truth and love as contained within the Sacred Scriptures and what we have discussed regarding the Holy Spirit and how God has empowered us all with the strength and the new life and opportunities to do His will through the Holy Spirit, let us all therefore allow Him to guide us all and turn away from all sorts of wickedness and evils that had caused us to not be able to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. As one united Church of God, revealed to all on this great Solemnity of Pentecost, let us all continue to carry on the missions entrusted to us, to be ever full of the Holy Spirit and allow the Spirit to guide us in our respective vocations and missions in life, that through us and our faithful living and testimony, our every actions and deeds, we may always be fruitful in all things.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of all the faithful and strengthen us with the warmth of God’s most wonderful love. Come and renew the whole world and all of us mankind, and enkindle in us the great passionate fires of Your love. Come Holy Spirit, come and be with us all, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of God. Amen.

by

Sunday, 15 May 2016 : Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a very great occasion of the Pentecost Sunday, celebrating and commemorating that moment when the Lord sent the Helper and Advocate which He had promised to His disciples and servants, the Holy Spirit of God that empowered them and gave them the courage and strength to carry out the mission which have been entrusted to them.

On that day, the Apostles received the Holy Spirit that appeared to them as the tongues of flames coming down from heaven and settled on each of their heads. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus had promised to them, when He said that while John baptised with water, He shall baptise them with fire and the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit dwelled in them, and became in them the source of unquenchable flame, the passion and desire to go forth and courageously testify for the faith that they had in God. And it marked in them, the moment of great and unmistakeable transformation and change, which if we were to scrutinise the whole Gospels and the New Testament, we would be able to see the difference.

Before His death and resurrection, Jesus was always with the Apostles and disciples, and He always guided them and taught them all that He wanted to reveal to them. And like sheep under the guidance of their shepherd, they felt secure and safe while the shepherd was with them. Yet, their faith were still shaky and uncertain, as they did not yet fully believe in the entirety of God’s truth which Jesus had taught them.

And that was why, when the Lord and Master was suddenly taken away from them, they became confused and wandered without guidance. St. Peter even wavered such that although just on that same day he promised the Lord Jesus, that he would lay down his life for Him and follow Him to the death, he refused to recognise his Master out of fear and doubt, when those who tortured Him asked if St. Peter knew him or if he belonged to His group.

If we notice, even after the resurrection, the disciples were still afraid, not understanding fully the meaning of our Lord’s Passion, suffering and death on the cross. They locked themselves in their room, closing all their windows and hide in fear of repression, retaliation and persecution by the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the Pharisees.

When the holy women who followed Jesus saw and witnessed His resurrection on Easter Sunday, and told the disciples of what they saw, still they refused to believe until the Lord Himself appeared to them. Only then they believed fully in Him. Jesus Himself at that time, and at various times prior to His suffering and death chided His disciples for their lack of faith, and rightly so, because these were easily shaken and were not firm.

And now, we should contrast this with how the Apostles acted after the coming of the Holy Spirit, when they fearlessly went forth to the streets and preached God’s truth in all languages. Their hearts have received the Holy Spirit, and God Himself dwelled in them through His Spirit. And that Holy Spirit gave them great strength and the courage to carry out the mission which the Lord had entrusted to them, that is the conversion of the whole mankind to the ends of the earth.

God led them and guided them through His Spirit dwelling in each and every one of them. The Apostles faced persecutions after persecutions, and gradually their own numbers were declining as they met cruel and terrible end in the hands of those who have persecuted them and the Church. And yet, through their tireless and zealous works, they have called many others to follow the Lord and continue the work which they have started.

We are surely familiar with the phrase, “The blood of martyrs is the seeds of Christians.” Truly, this means that even though the Church and the faithful were persecuted for their faith and devotion to God, but those persecutions and challenges were simply means through which the faithful could live their lives even more faithfully and devoutly, and by clinging to the Spirit of God and to the faith which they had in Him, they had brought salvation to more people, who saw what they did and believed in God as well.

The Apostles, for example St. Peter and St. Paul travelled widely across the known world at that time, preaching about Jesus our Lord, His words and His promised salvation to many communities, establishing the Church in those locations. Indeed, the amazing deeds of the Apostles were the deeds of the Lord Himself, Who had made these wonderful servants of God to be great instruments of His salvation of mankind by His Spirit.

And it all began on that moment of the Pentecost Sunday, fifty days after the celebration of Easter Sunday. It was after the Lord Jesus had ascended into Heaven, and in which He had promised that the Holy Spirit would be sent to His disciples soon. And the sending of the Holy Spirit marked a pivotal point in the history of our Church, for truly, it was the birthday of our Church, the moment when it was truly born.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? All of us, although we came from different origins and places, with different histories and backgrounds, we all share in the same God, the same Eucharist which we receive, and in the same Spirit of God which has descended upon all of us. The Lord Himself sent His Spirit to His Apostles and the first disciples, who then went on to preach, teach and bring into conversion many others, who therefore received the same Spirit through the hands of the Apostles and the disciples of Christ.

And from them, the Holy Spirit had been passed down through the generations, and ultimately, to each and every one of us the faithful, who have been baptised, confirmed and received the Holy Communion, completing the three important Sacraments of the Church, having received the fullness of God’s Presence and Spirit in each of us. The Holy Spirit Who dwells in us now is the same Spirit Who had dwelled in the Apostles and those faithful who came before us.

And what we have to take note is that, if the Holy Spirit had made such a tremendous change in the life of the Apostles, from those who feared and doubted, uncertain about their faith and were unable to live out their faith fully, even to the point of abandoning our Lord at the time of His greatest need, to those who are courageous, and willing to carry out the word of God and preach the Good News even though knowing that they would face intense persecution and suffering for doing so, then we must know that it can be and will indeed be the same for us too.

What does this mean, brethren? It means that we who have received the Holy Spirit ought to realise that the Spirit has been given to us as a great gift, and indeed the Holy Spirit gave us many great gifts. He planted in each and every one of us, the seeds of faith, of hope and of love. But remember, that seeds will remain as seeds, and gifts will remain unused and useless, if we do not make use of the opportunity which the Holy Spirit has given to us.

Our faith is one of action, and not of inaction. We cannot profess to be Christians unless we ourselves believe fully and completely that we all have to know what is love and show love in our actions. Remember the most important commandments that the Lord Jesus Himself told a teacher of the Law who asked this of Him? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and strength, and then love one another, our fellow men with the same love which we show to God and to ourselves.

It means that just as the Apostles had done it in the past, we too should act with love, care for the needy and the poor, protect the innocent and the weak who were oppressed and unjustly treated, love those who are ostracised and unloved, and many other acts and opportunities which we can use in order to cultivate and grow the gifts of the Holy Spirit inside each one of us.

And this is very important because, just as in one occasion, our Lord Jesus cursed a fig tree because He passed by it, was hungry and He could find no fruit on it, when He came unannounced and suddenly even when it was not a fig season, but this is the same for us as well. The Lord has promised us all that He will come again, and He will come again at the time of His choosing which is unknown to us. When He comes again, will He find in us a fruitful tree, filled with the rich and vibrant fruits of the Holy Spirit? Or will He find us a barren tree, filled with wickedness and sin instead?

Let us no longer doubt or be fearful, brethren, for the Lord Himself is always faithful and He will always bless and protect those who are faithful to Him. He has given us all His own Spirit to guide us and to lead us to the path of righteousness leading to our salvation. What we need to do now is to walk, and follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, as indeed, they have left us with many responsibilities, and there are still many works of the Lord left undone.

We are the modern day disciples of our Lord, and the mission which the Lord has given to His Apostles is now ours too. Gather people from all over the world, from all the nations and from all the ends of the earth, and baptise them in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, with the sole intention that these too, may be saved. And truly, it is often our own actions, our deeds, and not just our words alone that will convince them to listen to the truth of God, discover Him and finally find salvation in Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on this as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Have we been truly faithful to the Lord? And have we kept that zeal and faith which we have for God, burning brightly in our hearts? Can we from now on redouble and reinforce our efforts, to do more for the sake of our brethren? It is us who have the choice, and we have been given the opportunity by our Lord, to make a difference in the life of many through our works and actions.

Let us help those who have yet to receive the truth of God, that they may also hear it, know it and witness it through us, so that they may come to believe and receive the same Holy Spirit that we have received. Let us also pray, that the Holy Spirit of God will always inflame our spirit, that we may no longer fear the darkness, but instead be filled with joy and with courage to preach the Good News to many.

May God help us in our endeavour, and may His Holy Spirit ever strengthen our faith in Him. O Holy Spirit, dwell in us, transform us and make us to be the instruments of Your Divine will. God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.