Before Pentecost
The disciples of Jesus were afraid of the Jews, because they were accused of spreading false news. Therefore, they were hiding in the upper room, away from the suspicions of people.
There were times that they were even scattered, discouraged and some of them went away from the group because their hope had vanished, they did not see any longer the importance of staying with the other disciples. However, after the Ascension, they remained together in the upper room waiting for what Jesus has promised them.
The Victory over Fear
On the day of the Pentecost, The Spirit of God came to them, filled their minds and their hearts and their entire being. They got the courage and strength they needed and they came out of their hiding place, starting to proclaim Jesus’s death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit, with the gift of fortitude (or courage), has empowered them to be witness to the Truth, the Risen Christ and the life that he has brought to us.
Did their persecutors run away? Was the danger over? Did their lives, all of a sudden, become safe? I do not think their situation of being persecuted had changed on the day of Pentecost. Nonetheless, with the Spirit of God with them, they conquered all their fear and went out in the open to proclaim the Good News, God’s love to all people through the Risen Lord.
How many times in our daily lives fear and anxiety fill our hearts? Sometimes we do not even want to be identified as followers of Christ. On this day of Pentecost, we are all invited to open our hearts so that the Spirit of God will enter and dwell in us. With that Spirit of courage, we will conquer all fear; with that Spirit of Peace, we will remove all anxieties.
The renewed Unity
One of the miracles of Pentecost is unity. Not only the disciples became one in mind, heart and spirit while proclaiming the Risen Lord, the entire people who listened to them also saw them as one people as they heard them in their own respective languages. The day of Pentecost demonstrates that the barriers created by languages, origins and races could be conquered, once we have the Spirit of God with us.
On this Sunday of Pentecost, we are all invited to look beyond our differences and to see all human kind as one people from the same Creator, the Source of our existence. We are invited to see that the diversity we carry in our daily lives (by our countries and origins, faith and beliefs, cultures and traditions…) is the beauty of our uniqueness as children of the same Father.
As indigenous peoples, Courage and Truth are among the teachings we have received from our grandfathers. With our faith on the Risen Lord and his Spirit, and following the teachings we have received from our grandfathers, we will confidently be able to continue proclaiming the message of Love, Peace and Unity, which will bring us to true Healing and Reconciliation.
May 31, 2020