Pentecost Sunday 2023

One of the nice advantages of having a large church parking lot is that it is a good place for parents to bring young children to learn to ride a bike. I witness it every summer. I’m out watering the flowers or doing some other chore around the church, and a car will drive up, and a family will get out. While the Mom secures a helmet on the child’s head, the dad will go to the back of the vehicle, open the hatch, and take out a bike or two with training wheels.

Sometimes the children will be practically dance with excitement as they anticipate the lesson, while other children appear stiff with anxiety.

The parents usually begin guiding the child in a large circle, instructing them to push the pedals and steady the handlebars. After the child becomes accustomed to coordinating these maneuvers, they will ride on their own for a while. Then the dad will come over and take the training wheels off. Now the child will try to manage the bike on their own. They balance themselves, wobbling for a while until they steady the cycle and can ride by themselves. A whole new world opens for the child. It is a world with expanded boundaries and independence but danger too.

I haven’t only seen children learn to ride bikes in our parking lot, but I’ve witnessed teenagers getting their first driving lesson. Usually, that is under the tutelage of a grandparent.

Today is the day the training wheels come off for the Apostles. Like the child learning to ride the bike, it is time to overcome their fear and get on with the work of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some Apostles must have been excited about their work, while others probably felt anxious. Today the driving wind of the Holy Spirit pushes them out into the world to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

The apostles have been unexpectedly preparing for this day. Since Easter, they have gathered together to reflect on the wonder of Jesus’ resurrection. At first, they closed themselves off, fearing being arrested by the religious authorities to suffer the same fate as Jesus. But after the resurrected Jesus appeared to them several times, they slowly became more confident.

They gained that confidence because they entered into constant prayer. That doesn’t mean they were on their knees constantly muttering supplications to God twenty-four/seven. They had to prepare food and take care of other necessities. Some of them went about a regular daily routine. We know from scripture that some went about fishing, and others could have followed their normal livelihoods. They were at prayer even then because they put themselves in God’s presence as they followed their routine. While doing what needed doing, they focused on Jesus and the Gospel He taught them. Despite Jesus not being in their midst like before the crucifixion, they kept Jesus and their relationship with Him at the center of their life.

They reflected on scripture also. They thought of passages from the Psalms or prophets as they prayed or worked. They recalled the salvation history of their people and how the sacred writings spoke of the Messiah who was to come. They remembered the scripture’s descriptions of the actions and the message the Messiah would proclaim and recognized how Jesus had fulfilled all of them during His ministry.

Now today, after fifty days of isolation, the Holy Spirit descended on them and blew them out into the streets to begin their own ministry. Pentecost was a day of renewal and new life. Today the Holy Spirit came and gave the Apostles the gifts of the Holy Spirit so they could share Jesus’ bold proclamation and the mighty acts of God. Now they were to begin putting flesh on the dry bones hungry for refreshing. It would be the beginning of new life for the world. Today the Apostles started a new phase of their lives by sharing Jesus’ message, casting light into the darkness, and driving out sin. They were to begin a new life of using the gifts of the Holy Spirit to help establish unity and to transform our world into the Kingdom of God.

This Pentecost is our day of renewal, and it calls us to use our share of the Holy Spirit’s gifts to begin our exciting new mission. The driving wind of the Holy Spirit calls us to use our gifts to put new flesh on the dry bones of those seeking a relationship with Jesus. It prompts us to model the Kingdom of God and help the growth of unity in our church and world.

Most of us know that participation in all religions has decreased in the days after the pandemic. Recently, I read a survey quantifying that reduction. While the survey said fewer people attended church, most people who stopped attending church still felt positive and optimistic about their faith and believed their church leaders were good people. Many people who have fallen away from church have done so because they didn’t have a prayerful relationship with God, and not because they are opposed to religious faith.

That is why we, people of faith, must embrace the call to renew the gifts of the Holy Spirit this Pentecost and bring Christ’s presence into our world. We must take seriously that the Holy Spirit is alive in our souls and answer the call to share the Spirit with others. Jesus needs us to be His spokespeople.

In a few weeks, we plan to begin the construction of our elevator addition and renovation of our church. I hope it will prompt an exciting new spiritual Pentecost at Holy Redeemer. The church renovation aims to help make it more physically accessible and spiritually welcoming to everyone. The addition will give the parking lot side of the church a more accessible entrance with a large stained glass window showing passersby we are a church with a message. Renovations to the church’s sanctuary, such as new pews, bathrooms, and a larger narthex for gathering before and after Masses, will help make the church more physically welcoming.

Even more importantly, I envision the project being a spiritual renovation for our parish as we rebuild it for a new generation. I want us to be refurbished spiritually and to strengthen our faith to be the light of Christ and Jesus’ spokespeople.

Over the weeks of the Easter Season, I’ve been pounding away on the theme of taking time for personal prayer because it is the most critical way to grow in a relationship with God. To know God, we have to listen to God. So, we must set aside time each day to converse with God. It shouldn’t be a time to whine and complain to God, although God will always listen to our genuine needs. We need to use prayer time to come into God’s presence and let God mold and shape us as disciples. We need to become more familiar with the Bible, the source of God’s revelation over the history of creation. Include reading and reflection on scripture as a vital part of your daily prayer.

I’ve also spoken with you about my desire to implement a spiritual program that will be a somewhat intense opportunity to reflect and grow in faith. I envision it as a parish-based experience spread over a weekend where parishioners can examine and recognize where God calls them to faith. I hope that an outgrowth of the program will be the development of small groups of men and women who will come together as a sort of little church to pray together and grow in faith.

Over the summer, I’ll enlist a group of parishioners to help evaluate different program formats we could follow and how we will implement them here at Holy Redeemer. I hope for your favorable response if you receive an invitation to be part of the group. Please include this evaluation process in your prayers. Start planning to participate in the spiritual program when it begins in the Fall, and consider other parishioners you will invite to be part of it. Together let’s grasp this opportunity to risk taking off the training wheels, embrace a new Pentecost and become the missionary disciples of Jesus that the Holy Spirit empowers us to be.