Pentecost is another already but not yet feast.  It reminds us of how the Holy Spirit gladdens and sustains us through the between times.  We need the Spirit’s counsel, comfort and empowerment because the kingdom has not yet fully come and King has not returned.  And so we continue to wrestle with demons of darkness doubt and death.

Baptism made us Christians but not less human.  In Acts II Peter names both the horror and the hope:  “This Jesus you crucified and killed…” and then he says, “but God raised him up, having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”  The horror for us is not just that Jesus was subject to death but that we will be and indeed already are.  We know the experience of those whom Ezekiel quoted:  “our bones are dried up and our hope is lost and we are cut of, we too cry out for flesh and sinew to enliven our dry bones, for water to drench our cracked earth and to give us life and hope.” 

I have always found that sometimes the great day of Pentecost is not emphasized so much even though it brings an end to our Easter Season.  It is a gift once again that I liked because it is not a prejudice gift.  It is a gift to everyone in the Church as we had that beautiful reading from the Gospel.  We’ve heard that reading before of John’s Gospel, the descent of the Holy Spirit.  But, what I like about it is that is a universal happening for all people, and that is very important to keep in mind in our Catholic with a small “c”  which means universal welcoming church for all people, all ethnic groups, men and women as we had in the Acts of the Apostles that says, that for those who are struggling with their spirituality, for those who are suffering with their life, for those who are struggling with their families, their children, their loved ones, and maybe their very selves.  So, we too in our very selves and our very being we have light and darkness, we have a good side and we have a bad side.  Some days we’re up and some days we’re down.  Sometimes we can be nasty and some days you can be nice to people.  But, the Church is so big and the Spirit is so unencumbered that it comes down upon all of us—and that’s the joy we celebrate today, as we are also celebrating the Philippi no celebration and festival here and share with them in that joy and that culture.

So that is the greatness, as I once again say, for me, of the Church, small “c” – when I say small “c” Catholic, that means universal.  Big “C” means Roman Catholic, small “c” means the universal church.  That she is a welcoming home for all of God’s children, for baptized and non baptized, for searchers, doubters, sinners, saints, people liked, people disliked, young, and old, black and white, male and female – all are welcome.  I cannot go down the litany many distinctions that humanity puts upon people and tries to restrict.  This is the feast day of the Holy Spirit that takes down all of those restrictions.  And, in the words of Jesus, may they be our words, “peace be with you.” 

The peace of Jesus gives all of us—a peace that we yearn for within ourselves.  Those of us who have lived life and experienced life and experienced the changes in our life, those of us who have experienced divorce, death, those of us who have experienced the tragedy of the loss of a loved one, those of us who have experienced our children maybe having difficulty, those of us who have experienced those times when we feel we’re getting older and we’re not quite as agile as we use to be—that spirit of Jesus that says “peace be with you,” it will be alright.

And then it calls upon the community, you and myself, to be a witness of that hope to one another.  This is the great commissioning that Jesus leaves to his Apostles and when he had said this, he breathed on them and he said to them, “receive the Holy Spirit, go out to all the world and preach the good news and baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  So all of us receive the great commissioning of Jesus,  Jesus leaves now and leaves us, the Church, men and women in our building, men and women in our very being to say, go out and bring back good news to the world that times that may be dry bones that need to hear those words that enlivens them, that you and I be a witness to one another of hope and that you and I lift up one another in that Spirit.

What does Jesus call us to?  Jesus calls us to spread this Holy Spirit.  Jesus calls us to share this Holy Spirit.  Jesus calls us to care for one another in all matters and Jesus calls us to forgiveness beyond measure.  That is the commissioning that is what Jesus leaves us on this great feast day of Pentecost. 

And as it brings to a conclusion our Easter time, our Easter Season comes to that conclusion and we move into the ordinary time.  We do need that Holy Spirit to get us through to the next great feast day which will be, of course, the Advent Season, you see.  This is why I love this feast day because it is the in-between times.  Christmas, when everyone is involved in Christmas Season and happiness and joy…yes, of course your spirits are up.  When everyone is involved maybe in Easter time and all of that change of weather and Springtime coming up, of course your spirits are up.  It’s the in-between times that we have to witness to one another and be an uplifting spirit.

So there may be a nice joke, or a nice smile, or a nice support and encouragement for a person next to you—stranger, family or friend, whatever—you, me, enliven their spirit and lift them up and let them know that Christ loves them dearly.  That Christ loves them into new life, even in death.  So, I repeat the words that Jesus gave to his disciples and friends, “peace be with you.”  And, may that peace be complete and may that peace not be selfishly held in but may be shared every day of your life.