Pentecost

When I was a little boy, we used to have a lot of fun collecting May Bugs (sometimes called doodle bugs). In the cool mornings, these big beetles couldn’t move so they were easy to catch. Once I got a May Bug in the palm of my hands I would breathe on it. And then, all of a sudden, this little guy would start to move. Blood would pump through it’s body and come to life. I never really understood how this worked. But what fascinated me was that this May Bug came to life from me (simply) breathing on it. What an experience!

Dear Friends

This scene from my childhood helps me to understand today’s Gospel. Jesus breathed on his disciples. To breathe on someone reminds me of my mum. When I was a teenager and my mum suspected that I had been smoking, she told me to breathe on her. This was her way of checking to see what I had been doing. Maybe when your windshield is frozen you breathe on it to clear it up. In ancient times, breathing on something had healing powers.

The Power of God

In the beginning of the Bible, we read how God created man and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. In this same tradition, Jesus breathed on his disciples saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit!” Since the early days of the church, breathing has been used to bless the water and sacred oils during the Chrism Mass. The Bishop will make the sign of the cross and breathe into an urn that contains the sacred oils. His breath represents the invocation of the Spirit. The meaning is that man should be delivered from evil. Through this breathing, the power of God is given to the water and to the oil.

Bible Lesson

After Jesus’s death the disciples feared for their lives. The enthusiasm and the courage that Jesus had given to them seemed to have vanished. They feared that the people responsible for killing Jesus would do the same to them. This power, this flaming breath of God, is exactly what the disciples needed. They had been reunited, but had not yet begun to go out and tell the people what they had experienced: the empty tomb, the encounters with the Risen Christ or his ascension to his Father. They were too afraid to go out, so they stayed locked up in their room. It wasn’t until the power from above filled them with the Spirit of the Risen Christ.
For theological reasons, John places the story of Jesus breathing on his disciples on the first day of Easter which we heard in the Gospel. In our First Reading from Acts this dynamic encounter takes place 50 days after Passover when they were reunited in Jerusalem to celebrate Schavuot, the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the nation of Israel. There was much praying and then this driving force filled the house and it became the start of the church. From this time on the church will proclaim the Good News in all languages and the message of God is spread throughout the world.

Locked By Fear 

Friends, we need this Spirit today just as the disciples needed it then! 
There are situations in life where we shut our self in a room, afraid and discouraged. We can’t seem to communicate with people anymore. The same thing happens in the life of the church where this fear hinders us and prevents us from leaving this room and go out into the world. It is exactly then, in our fear and aloneness that we need this spirit!

I would like you to put yourself in the shoes of one of the disciples. Peter for example. Jesus had changed your life. And now, with his death you realize that you have lost everything. Courage: gone. Faith: gone. Enthusiasm: gone. Future: gone. Why? Because their leader was gone! It happens to us as well. When the pandemic hit early this year, some leaders and heads of state tried to run and hide and not address the issue. Fear of the unknown can lead people to behave in all kinds of irrational ways. It can lead leaders to not fulfill what they are called to do: LEAD! To go out – to the people. Show compassion and address their fears and give them hope. Hope will never be found in the solitude confinement of a closed room. This is when we need the spirit of Jesus to give us strength and courage and life. He opens our eyes and leads us out of the darkness.

Living The Gospel

I am sure we all have had times in our life where this flaming breath of God would do good. I think of people who mourn. They receive a newfound sense of life and joy when someone talks to them, listens to them and asks them how they are doing. By going for a walk with them or just sitting with them and being there for them. Or a simple touch of the hand. I remember my long absence from the Church. I found my way back out on a Christmas Eve after visiting a friend of mine who was a paraplegic. It was 9 p.m. and he fell asleep. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t feel like going to my family, I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate. Where shall I go? Well, for the first time in a long time, I went to church. I went to Midnight Mass. I was shaken and I began to cry. And then someone touched me, put their hand on my shoulder. In this brokenness something happens. A transformation takes place and something beautiful happens...a longing for something bigger begins. A longing for God.  I later realized it was a real calling. Something similar happens in the confessional. As soon as the person sitting across from me can unload their troubles, the feeling of freedom takes over. They can breathe again. The other side of feeling free is to be locked in a room.
I see many people in our community who are filled with rich talents and fantasy and the desire for more. Together they find new ideas to help others and how to spread the Gospel and celebrate together. Imagine this community if these same people kept their treasure chest of talents locked up?

Use Your Talents

As I finish up my homily, let me give you this little bit of encouragement: Jesus breathed on his disciples. With this image we can experience the power of the Risen Christ in our lives. He gives us a newfound courage. Take a look around you and you might find or see people who long for this breath. You can give it to them! Discover your talents and use them to guide others out of the rooms that keep them from living. Your open ear or hand on their shoulder and other humble acts of compassion can give others the power of God that they need.

Friends, the Spirit of God that Jesus gives us is in the air. Inhale this spirit. Let it fill your entire being. Embrace it. It’s contagious! Go out and spread it to others. Amen.