The language of Pentecost

Pentecost invites us to look for the Spirit of God in every human heart

By Fr. Jack Lynch, S.F.M.
June 2007

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At Pentecost, the Church was born proclaiming Jesus as Lord so that all understood the message in their own language and from their own cultural world. On the feast of Pentecost last year, Pope Benedict pointed out that "the Church has been catholic and missionary from her birth. The universality of salvation is manifested with the list of the numerous ethnic groups to which those belonged who heard the apostles' first proclamation" (Acts 2:9-11). He went on to say that "the Holy Spirit makes hearts capable of understanding everyone's languages, as it re-establishes the bridge of authentic communication between earth and heaven. The Holy Spirit is love."

During a trip to Malawi in 2006, Fr. Jack Lynch, Superior General of Scarboro Missions, visits with young men in their first year of formation for the priesthood at Christ the King Formation Centre in Rumphi, Malawi.

During a trip to Malawi in 2006, Fr. Jack Lynch, Superior General of Scarboro Missions, visits with young men in their first year of formation for the priesthood at Christ the King Formation Centre in Rumphi, Malawi.

At Pentecost the disciples experienced the power of the Spirit overwhelming their beings as never before. The gift of the Spirit changed fear into freedom and empowered them to understand the past and see the future with hope. They were filled with the Spirit of God which made them open their lives to others. They didn't stay in the upper room to decorate the sacred space but moved out to proclaim Jesus the redeemer whose offer is peace and forgiveness for all.

For many of their listeners, it was their first time to hearing the word of God in a way that touched their hearts so that they understood: "each heard them speaking in their own language." The power of the Spirit had been given to these ordinary, uneducated believers so that their message could reach every heart.

The traditional outreach of mission has been to cultural and geographical groupings. The challenge today as a church and people is to go beyond these groupings to address also the secular, pluralistic and technological world of the North in a language that will touch hearts as well as help transform the realities of the global South. It has to begin with each one of us and our credible witness of discipleship. Pope John Paul II put it this way, "The witness of a Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of mission."

To live Pentecost today...

  • We must celebrate the power of the Spirit.
  • We must discern the movement of the Spirit in history through contemplation, prayer and an openness to listen.
  • We must listen to and address people in the languages where the teaching of Jesus and the values of the Reign of God are absent.
  • We must appreciate diversity in the cultural expressions of the Gospel. One theologian put it this way: "We have to respect the different ways of expressing the Gospel if we do not want to sin against the Spirit; no coercive uniformity but instead understanding in diversity." Therein lies the richness of the Gospel and the beauty of a universal ecclesial community.
  • We must remember that the Spirit of God and the scope of the Spirit's influence and presence are "universal, limited neither by space nor time" (Redemptoris Missio). In the same encyclical John Paul II points out that, "the interreligious meeting held in Assisi was meant to confirm my conviction that every authentic prayer is prompted by the Holy Spirit, who is mysteriously present in every human heart."

Pentecost invites us to look for the Spirit of God in every human heart, to be open to the unexpected and to see how hearts are touched and moved by the words and actions of others.

Let me tell you about Andrew Mkandawire, a man that Scarboro missioners Ray and Beverley Vantomme introduced me to when I visited them in Malawi. Andrew had suffered a debilitating stroke that left him unable to work at his computer in the statistics department of the Malawian government. Ray and Beverley dropped in to see Andrew at home on different occasions. Andrew told me how grateful he was for the wheelchair that Ray had facilitated for him through donations from well-wishers in Canada. The wheelchair allowed him to be mobile again and even get back to the office. He was now contributing at work and providing for his family.

Andrew was also very grateful for the reading material that Beverley had taken to him. Among other books were copies of Scarboro Missions magazine. Sitting outside his house, he told me about one issue in particular that prompted him to reflect and pray about himself and his situation. Much to my amazement he reached for a notebook that lay on the ground beside him. In it he had copied certain passages from two articles in the October 2004 issue of the magazine.

One article entitled "These are the days worth living" was written by Scarboro lay missioner Scott McDonald. Scott wrote about his work with the physically challenged women in Pattaya, Thailand. Andrew told me that he saw the photos of women in wheelchairs and read that they were learning to be productive citizens. The article helped him to regain hope and to feel that he also could do something and make a contribution.

Also in that issue was a homily entitled "We are full of joy." Fr. Frank Hegel gave the homily during a missioning ceremony at Scarboro's central house in Toronto to celebrate new missioners going overseas. From that article Andrew had copied the following lines:

"Maintain a spirit that is always surprised by joy; celebrate what is right with the world and by doing so, change what is wrong with the world. As St. Francis of Assisi says, 'the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.' Be grateful for all is gift...be seized by the Gospel and live your life with passion and excitement. Be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. Be a blessing to others and to the earth and in so doing so, you too will be blessed."

These words had helped Andrew to pray and to put his life and the stroke into better focus.

I am sure that when Scott and Fr. Frank wrote their reflections, they had no idea that the printed word would become a source of strength and hope to a stroke victim in Malawi. They had no idea how the Spirit of God might work in and through them. Such is the work of the Spirit.

In that same homily, Fr. Frank speaks of the working of the Spirit: "never forget that our God is a God of surprises. God will surprise you with blessing upon blessing in the most unusual places and at the most unexpected times." Such was Fr. Frank's surprise when I returned to Scarboro and told him about Andrew's appreciation of his and Scott's words and what they meant for Andrew and his life. Such is the work of the Spirit. It is a language of love that touches the heart.

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