The Feast of Pentecost – June 4th
On June 4th we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, a very important day for the Body of Christ. It is called the “birthday of the church” because the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to His apostles, came upon them that day and empowered them to take his message to the ends of the earth.
While the disciples were in one place and in one accord, a sound like a rushing mighty wind began in the distance, but it wasn’t coming from the horizon, it came from above. It filled the whole place where they were sitting.
Just like Sinai, the people beheld the manifest presence of God through wind and fire, which sat upon the disciples like golden tongues; and through the revelation of God, which they heard as foreign words coming out of Jewish mouths. As the people watched, God began to write His law upon the hearts of Jesus’ followers and took up His dwelling in them, as He had said He would do back on Mt. Sinai centuries before. He also initiated their witness, as each person present heard the wonderful works of God declared in His own tongue.
The Lord had truly come upon His people. In the spirit of the Feast of Pentecost, waves of the Holy Spirit filled the area, bringing forth awe, wonder, and another birthday… the Birthday of the Body of Christ!
And talk about a change! St. Peter stood boldly before those who were witnessing this incredible event and preached with such power, such anointing, and such authority, that the people, many of whom fifty days before condemned Jesus to death, were “cut to the heart” by the message of the cross and desired to follow the Lord. In this one day the church grew, as over three thousand new souls were added to the roles of the kingdom.
The whole church began live out what many have called a spiritual “rhythm of life.” They would gather together to hear the Apostles’ teaching and find fellowship with each other under the Apostles’ guidance and direction. They celebrated the Lord’s Supper regularly and spent large amounts of time in prayer. The impact not only on the church but upon the whole city was profound.
“Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:43-47)
All of Jesus’ followers were transformed by this one dramatic event. Each one found new power and a new presence going with them. And from this early band of followers the whole world eventually would be touched. Each time they prayed, God moved upon them, giving them boldness in their word and witness.
By the laying on of hands through the first apostles, those who were to carry on the message and the faith gave leadership to the next and then subsequent generations of the church. Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, nations that had never heard of Jesus Christ received the message of the Gospel.
June 15th The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Twice the Apostle Paul, writing to the community in Corinth, recalls this command of Jesus in his account of the institution of the Eucharist. It is the oldest testimony we have to the words of Christ at the Last Supper.
“Do this.” That is, take bread, give thanks and break it; take the chalice, give thanks, and share it. Jesus gives the command to repeat this action by which he instituted the memorial of his own Pasch, and in so doing gives us his Body and his Blood. This action reaches us today: it is the “doing” of the Eucharist which always has Jesus as its subject, but which is made real through our poor hands anointed by the Holy Spirit.
And Jesus asks us to give ourselves, to break ourselves, as it were, for others. This “breaking bread” became the icon, the sign for recognizing Christ and Christians. We think of Emmaus: they knew him “in the breaking of the bread” (Lk 24:35). We recall the first community of Jerusalem: “They held steadfastly… to the breaking of the bread” (Acts 2:42). From the outset it is the Eucharist which becomes the centre and pattern of the life of the Church. But we think also of all the saints – famous or anonymous – who have “broken” themselves, their own life, in order to “give something to eat” to their brothers and sisters. How many mothers, how many fathers, together with the slices of bread they provide each day on the tables of their homes, have broken their hearts to let their children grow, and grow well! How many Christians, as responsible citizens, have broken their own lives to defend the dignity of all, especially the poorest, the marginalized and those discriminated! Where do they find the strength to do this? It is in the Eucharist: in the power of the Risen Lord’s love, when the priest breaks bread for us and repeats: “Do this in remembrance of me.”
29th June The Feast of St Peter and St Paul
Each of these two saints is important for different reasons. Peter is important because he was the first Pope and kept the Church united, which was growing rapidly in the years following Pentecost. In the first years after Pentecost it was Jews who accepted Jesus as the Saviour and so the early church was a very Jewish church. But as time went on Paul began to preach also to non-Jews, the Gentiles as they were called. All of us are Gentiles. His preaching was very successful and he brought huge numbers of non-Jews into the church, so much so, that the number of Jews in the church was greatly out-numbered by non-Jews. It is because of Paul that we are now in the Church. So both Peter and Paul had very important tasks in the early Church, Peter maintaining the unity in the Church, which during his lifetime, had already spread throughout the Middle East and Europe, and Paul who taught the Jews that Jesus is the fulfillment of their Old Testament hopes and taught the non-Jews that Jesus is the Saviour. Whenever you see statues of Peter and Paul, usually Peter is holding a key, symbolizing his duty as head of the church, and Paul is holding the Bible, symbolizing his preaching, spreading the good news of the risen Christ to Jews and Gentiles alike.
John McKinlay
Oblate of Pluscarden
