Pentecost Sunday: Acts 2:1-11 Gal 5:16-25 Jn15:26-27, 16:12-15 (Alternative readings (of Cycle A): Acts 2:1-11. Rom 8:8-17. Jn 20:19-23.) Jn 15:26-27, 16:12-15 "When the Advocate comes whom I will send * you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. 27 And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. 16:12 "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. 13 But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Acts 2:1-11 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. 2 And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. 3 Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, * as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. 6 At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? 9 We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, 11 both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God." Gal 5:16-25 I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. * 17 For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. 18 But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, 21 occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ (Jesus) have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. MEDITATION: This weekend we celebrate the birthday of our Church. It was born two thousand years ago, and has gone through many years to get to us, and this Pentecost is really our birthday also. I say 'our' and not just 'mine' or 'yours', because we’re all together… and, thanks be to God, the risen Christ is with us. The reading of Acts starts with that strange group of Jews (later called Christians) gathered for the traditional Pentecost (7 weeks after Easter is the traditional harvest festival of the Jews). They began to include many foreigners (Parthians, Medes, Elamites etc. Jews and people converted to Judaism). Nationalism and language barriers are overcome. It says that there were Cretans there, referring to people from the island of Crete, but in medicine, the poor with a form of mental disability are called 'cretins'! It’s important to know the meaning of the words we use when we talk about people. Thanks be to God, the word of God became flesh and dwelt among us! The Trinity are living among us! It reminds me of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. It says there that humanity was so arrogant that it began to build a high tower to get to heaven without the need of God! God confused their languages and from there people began to speak in different languages! It is just a symbol, but it reflects what is happening in our 'Advanced' world of 'towers and technologies'. Many are still far from the Trinity and the call is to be united in them. The second reading (Gal 5) puts 'spirit' and 'flesh' on opposite sides of the scale, and that describes the fundamental truth of our physical lives: "from dust we come and to dust we will return". But the good news is that our lives are more than physical (he says, from his multiple sclerosis mess). Our spiritual lives are realities. You don't have to die. The Holy Spirit inside is not mortal! About the different languages of the people in Acts 2 today, I would add that 'Babel' in English means an incomprehensible talk, and the word comes from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. It is not relevant, but the Bible draws the name from Bab-ili or Babylon which means 'the gate of the gods'. Thinking of the origin of 'swearing' is funny because chapter 10 of Genesis tells of 'the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.' (Gen 10:15-18)… and calling someone a 'shite' in English is very ugly (shit)! There’s a call here to continue meditating the word of God (what I call 'prayer'). Jesus says about the spirit "he will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine and declare it to you." (John 15:14). One thing is to just read the words or recite the prayers but another is to really give time to meditation. We have become used to what Christ gave to us about 20 centuries ago, but to celebrate the birth of our Church, we are called to be born again… open to new ideas and willing to travel the roads that the Spirit inspires and lights up for us. I'm in a wheelchair, but I hope that I don’t become lazy or give-up. All meat does not last long anyway, and as Paul says to the Galatians today: ‘Those who are with Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions. If we live a life in the spirit, let's also keep the Spirit alive in us!' Thanks! Grazias! Grazie! Merci! Danka! Go raibh maith agat! Obrigado! As we go to mass this Sunday, remember that 'Eucharist' means 'Thanksgiving'! ............ Dara. En ESPAÑOL: Domingo de Pentecostés: Hechos 2:1-11 Gal 5:16-25 Jn 15:26-27, 16:12-15 (Lecturas alternativos (del Ciclo A): Hechos 2:1-11. Rom 8:8-17. Jn 20:19-23.) Este fin de semana celebramos el cumpleaños de la iglesia. Nació hace dos mil años, pero ha pasado por mucho para llegar hasta nosotros, y este Pentecostés, realmente es el cumpleaños nuestro también. Digo ‘nuestro’ y no simplemente ‘mío’ o ‘tuyo’, porque vamos todos juntos – y gracias a Dios, Cristo resucitado está con nosotros por todos partes. La lectura de Hechos empieza con aquel grupo extraño de Judíos (llamados Cristianos más tarde) reunidos para Pentecostés (7 semanas después de la Pascua es el festival tradicional de la cosecha), y empiezan a incluir muchos extranjeros (Partos, Medos, Elamitas etc. – Judíos y gente convertidas al Judaísmo) y las barreras del nacionalismo y de los idiomas son superadas. Dice que había Cretenses allí, hablando de gente de la isla de Creta, ¡pero en la medicina, los pobres con una forma de discapacidad mental son ‘cretinos’! Es importante saber el sentido de las palabras que usamos al hablar de personas. ¡Gracias a Dios, la Palabra de Dios se hizo carne y habitó entre nosotros! ¡Está viviendo entre nosotros! Me recuerda la Torre de Babel en Génesis 11. Dice allí que la humanidad se enorgulleció tanto que empezó a construir una torre alta para llegar al Cielo sin necesidad de Dios. Dios confundió sus lenguajes y desde allí ¡la gente empezó a hablar en idiomas distintos! Es un símbolo, pero refleja lo que sigue pasando en nuestro mundo ‘avanzado’ de ‘torres y tecnologías’: muchos siguen pasando de Dios y de la llamada a estar unidos a Él. La segunda lectura (Gal 5) pone ‘espíritu’ y ‘carne’ en lados opuestos de la balanza, y aquello delinea la verdad fundamental de nuestras vidas físicas: “De polvo y ceniza venimos y al polvo volveremos”. Pero la Buena Nueva es que nuestras vidas son más que físicas (dice él, desde su lío de esclerosis múltiple). Nuestras vidas espirituales son realidades. No hace falta morir. ¡El Espiritu Santo por dentro no se enferma! Acerca de los distintos idiomas de la gente en Hechos 2 hoy, añado que ‘Babel’ en Inglés significa un hablar incomprensible, y aquella palabra viene de la historia bíblica de la Torre de Babel en Génesis 11. No es relevante, pero la Biblia extrae el nombre de Bab-ili o Babilonia que significa ‘la puerta de los dioses’. Pensando en el origen de ‘palabrotas’, es gracioso como el capitulo 10 de Génesis habla en Inglés de ‘the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.' (Gen 10:15-18) – porque ¡llamar a alguien un ‘shite’ en Englés es muy feo (mierda)! Hay también una llamada aquí para seguir meditando la Palabra de Dios de nuevo y de nuevo (qué es lo que yo llamo 'la oración'). Jesús dice sobre el Espíritu "Él me glorificará, porque él tomará de lo que es mío y os lo declara." (Jn 15:14). Una cosa es simplemente leer las palabras o recitar las oraciones pero otro es realmente dar tiempo a la meditación. Seguiremos lo que Cristo nos ha dado, pero al celebrar el nacimiento de nuestra Iglesia hace 20 siglos, estamos llamados a poder nacer de nuevo – abiertos a nuevas ideas y siempre dispuestos a viajar por los caminos que el Espíritu nos ilumina delante. Estoy en silla de ruedas pero espero que nunca ‘me quedaré tirado’. La carne de todos no dura mucho de cualquier manera, y como escribe Pablo a los Galatas hoy: ‘Los que están con Cristo han crucificado la carne con sus pasiones y deseos. Si vivimos una vida espiritual, ¡sigamos al Espíritu también!’. ¡Gracias! Grazie! Thanks! Merci! Danka! Go raibh maith agat! Obrigado! ¡Ya que vamos a la misa este Domingo, recuerda que ‘Eucaristía’ significa ‘Acción de gracias’! ............ Dara. Comments are closed.
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