John 20:19-23
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Receive the Holy Spirit
This Sunday, as we celebrate Pentecost. We are invited to concentrate again on the fruits of Jesus' Crucifixion and His Resurrection. By His Crucifixion, Jesus redeemed us. By His obedience and self-offering, He redeemed us from the first sin that Adam and Eve committed.
By His Resurrection, He offered salvation to those who believe in Him and fulfill His will.
He entrusted His message to the disciples as He appeared to them where they were in a closed room, out of fear of the Jews (V. 19). He proved to them that He is the living Christ. Speaking to them twice in their language, Peace is with you, meaning that He is their Peace and He is the Christ who conquers death and gives life. He gave them the Peace that surpasses all human understanding (Phil. 4:7) and breathed the Holy Spirit into them (V. 22).
In this week's Gospel, Jesus Christ is consecrating His disciples to preach His message, which centers upon the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. They are empowered to forgive sins and to bind them (V. 23), and He made their power entail consequences in afterlife.
We celebrate the birth of the Church with the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in Acts Chapter 2, where we are informed about how the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples in the presence of many people representing a multitude of nations and languages. Then we see how the apostles start to teach in many languages and baptize three thousand people.
It is no longer the human language of one people that unites them, but rather their unity lies in the Holy Spirit and in spreading the Gospel message to all nations, and even to the farthest reaches of the earth. The apostles are consecrated by the Holy Spirit and tasked with spreading the message to renew the face of the earth and make humanity a kingdom of God on the earth.
May we consider how we respond to the Holy Spirit that we have received through our baptism.
Are we trying to spread the Good news where we live?
Do we still believe that we need to ask for the forgiveness of our sins?
Let us pray, asking the Lord to expel all fear from our hearts and to give us the courage to witness for his presence as He is our peace today.
Let us pray for the Whole Church to remain inspired by the breath of Jesus, who is still saying to us, "Receive the Holy Spirit."