On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.” 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.” Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Gospel Trivia:
This gospel account for Pentecost Sunday does not jive with what we recall as the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. It was supposed to have happened fifty days after the Resurrection when the disciples were gathered in the upper room.
In today's Gospel, Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit" and, according to John the evangelist, this took place on the night of Easter Sunday.
Is there a conflict in the recording of the events? Or are these two events: one is the sending of the Holy Spirit right after the Resurrection (according to John's gospel), and another time when the disciples were in the upper room (according to the Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke)?
Biblical scholars interpret these as the same event, but reflect two different theological perspectives of the two authors.
What, then, is John's intended message in his gospel account of the sending of the Holy Spirit? There are three:
- The coming of the Holy Spirit marks a new creation. Jesus BREATHES on the disciples as he says, "Receive the Holy Spirit." The word used for "breathes" is reminiscent of the creation of humankind in Genesis: "The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and BLEW into his nostrils the BREATH of life, and so man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7). Soon, Jesus will disappear physically; but his presence remains with the disciples through the Spirit that will guide them in their mission of proclaiming a new way of life and relationship with God.
- The Holy Spirit brings peace. "Peace be with you" is the traditional Jewish greeting. In this account, Jesus says this greeting twice; thus, the close association between the Spirit and the peace that it brings.
- The sending of the Holy Spirit coincides with the sending of the disciples. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you," Jesus says. The disciples' mission is a continuation of Jesus' mission and, and they will be accompanied by Jesus' continuing presence in the Spirit. It will bring them sustenance and peace despite the travails and trials they will face.
We may have been baptized in the Holy Spirit -- whether in baptism and/or again in a Life in the Spirit Seminar -- but receiving the Spirit means you have a mission. What is your mission?
Other Trivia (Supplement):
What about the event described in Acts of the Apostles, where the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in "tongues of fire" and the disciples began to speak in a manner that "each one heard them speaking in his own language"?
The following may help us understand the intended meaning of Luke in writing this account:
- In Acts, the sending of the Holy Spirit happened on the feast of Pentecost, a major Jewish feast. (Note: Pentecost is not an original Christian or Catholic feast). This feast is a significant one for Jews to travel all the way to Jerusalem and visit the Holy Temple. The disciples may have been doing just that when the event described took place.
- The Pentecost feast was originally an agricultural celebration of a good harvest, but since it occurs around seven weeks (or roughly 50 days, hence "penta") after the Passover feast, it also evolved as a thanksgiving feast for Yahweh's intervention in saving the Jewish people from the slavery of the Egyptians.
At the same time, the Pentecost feast also recalled the Sinai covenant (Ten Commandments) between Yahweh and the Jews after they were liberated from the Egyptians (which is the reason for the Passover feast).
Hence, the Pentecost feast, which was celebrated after the Passover (which coincided with the Last Supper) began to acquire different layers of meaning.
- Luke then adds the "Christian layer" to the meaning of this Jewish feast through his narrative of the descent of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles:
a. It includes "tongues of fire" which is reminiscent of how Yahweh manifested himself in the Sinai event: "Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the Lord came down upon it in fire." (Exodus 19:18).
b. In the Sinai event, the Jews become Yahweh's chosen people, to the exclusion of every other people; in the Christian Pentecost, "every nation under heaven" understood the message of the disciples -- a more inclusive definition of the Christian faith.
c. The disciples were perceived as if "drunk" (Acts 2:15), suggesting they were ecstatic, joyous, and highly enthusiastic, which is characteristic of the early church as they spread the good news.
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Manila: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 255-259.
- Raymond E. Brown, SS, An Introduction to the New Testament (New York: Doubleday, 1997), pp. 283-285.
No comments:
Post a Comment