(See the readings for Pentecost Sunday — Mass During the Day)
Jim was sitting on the side of the cliff overlooking the vast green valley below. As he sat there, he watched. All of a sudden, he saw it: a bird of some kind flying in the sky, its wings powerfully but gently flopping in the air. As the bird flew toward him, it got larger and larger, until he realized it was an eagle. As it approached the area where he was sitting, its wings suddenly stopped flapping but the eagle kept moving, soaring to the heights and now getting smaller and smaller. Jim had never seen an eagle that close. He just sat there in awe as it soured above him.
The eagle takes to flight through its own efforts. The large and powerful wings set it in flight but then it catches a current. Now it no longer is flying on its own effort but being carried by a force it cannot see. The eagle soars gracefully. Its wings full spread allow it to be propelled forward through the sky. The eagle’s familiarity with the current starts early. At two months, still in its nest, it begins to stretch its wings and feels the air.
It is beginning to sense what scientists call the thermals, streams of hot air that rise from the earth. As they rise further and further into the sky, the colder air is pushed aside creating an unseen current. At four months, the young bird takes off and flies until it catches the thermal stream. Then it soars.
The image of this majestic bird is used many times in the Scriptures. In Exodus, the Lord says: “You have seen how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself” (Exodus 19:4). When the Lord rebukes Job, He asks rhetorically: “Does the eagle fly up at your command to build his nest up high?” (Job 39:27). Isaiah uses the image for the strength provided by the Lord: “They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings. They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost. The solemnity celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit promised by Christ and conferred on them in Jerusalem. Jesus “breaths on them” and pours forth the Spirit. The breathing may remind us of the creation stories in Genesis. God speaks: “Let there be light.” His word is carried on his breath and “then there was light” (Genesis 1:3). When God forms Adam from the earth, he “breaths” life into him (Genesis 2:7). The unseen Spirit who has always been present is now given as a gift. This gift will bind the faithful together in Christ and form His church; hence Pentecost is celebrated as her birthday.
The first reading recalls the first Pentecost. The driving wind and earthquake signify God’s presence and the great event that is taking place. Once the Spirit is poured out, symbolized by the tongues of fire, the bold proclamation of the Gospel begins. Jews from all over the world were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast of the same name. They come from the diaspora and speak different languages. The apostles, as they proclaim Christ, are understood in the many different languages being spoken.
The image alludes to the Genesis account of the Tower of Babel where diverse languages, which separate peoples, is seen as a consequence of sin. Now, with the gift of the Spirit, sin has been forgiven, and language will no longer be a barrier to communion.
The presence of the unseen Spirit is perhaps most notable in the effect it has on the Church. Driven and directed by the Spirit, the Gospel is proclaimed, communion established and the care for the poor and needy reach new heights. We’ve been hearing from Acts of the Apostles as the first reading since Easter. The passages all give witness to the Spirit’s presence. The apostles were simple folk empowered for the great proclamation and mission.
St. Paul speaks of the Spirit in his First Letter to the Corinthians. The one Spirit provides the Church and her members with many gifts to advance the saving work of God. He describes the gifts of the one Spirit as diverse and varied enabling the mission to grow. The Spirit unites the Church as one; and its gifts fill her members with a diversity of means for advancing her mission.
Paul uses the image of a body to illustrate this unity and diversity. “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.” Each member of the Church has been given gifts to proclaim, in word and deed, that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. These gifts are vast and diverse. Each member has a contribution to make in a unique but unified way. The Spirit unites us in the bonds of love and mercy propelling us forward in mission.
The eagle seems to soar effortlessly to great heights. It is gently but powerfully lifted to new heights by the unseen current. So also the Church when she allows herself to be guided and led by the Spirit. At the same time, for an eagle to find that current, it first has to fly.
For us, the Spirit provides the means to fly by giving each one of us, members of the Church, gifts for the service of the Gospel. These gifts get us off the ground, so to speak, so that once we catch that unseen current we may soar. The gifts are not for ourselves but for the good of all. They are the means by which each one of us participates in Christ’s saving mission.
As we celebrate Pentecost we give thanks to God for the gift and gifts of the Holy Spirit and pray: “Lord send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”
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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Penndel and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Read more reflections by Msgr. Prior here.
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