As I feared, my homilist on Sunday, May 24 was disappointing.
Sunday, May 31 celebrates the Pentecost event. The gospel reading for that Sunday does not describe the event because Pentecost is recorded in Acts of the Apostles, not in any gospel. Thus the first reading will be the Pentecost story from Acts 2:1-11. The gospel reading will be John 20:19-23 in which Jesus makes one of his post-Resurrection, pre-Ascension appearances to his apostles.
To repeat, my homilist and yours on May 31 will want to make a quick practical-moral application of the Pentecost story and the gospel reading to the daily lives of his congregation. He will unfortunately neglect, I predict, first to give adequate attention to the meaning and some aspects of the original intention of the gospel authors (Luke and John). After all, these verses were written decades after the events themselves, so they give us an insight into how the first-century Church was believing and practicing as much as they are supposed to give us instruction directly from Jesus.
I will want to know, e.g.:
Wind, fire, and water are three primary natural signs of the presence or power of God in the Old Testament. How do these signs appear in the Pentecost and gospel stories?
In the gospel reading, Jesus seems to give the fullness of the Holy Spirit to his apostles. Then why is the giving of the Spirit repeated days or weeks later on Pentecost Day?
The apostles at the Pentecost event begin speaking in languages never learned by them, ordinary languages used in the Eastern Mediterranean region by various nationality Jews and Gentiles of that day. Then why do Pentecostal or charismatic Christians today, when they claim to "speak in tongues," speak unintelligible sounds and not formal languages?
In intepreting the Pentecost event, Peter applies the Old Testament prophet, Joel, and claims that his (Peter's) audience is now living in "the last days." What are the last days? Two-thousand years today after that event, what happened to the last days?
Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are the three basic sacraments in the Church. What is the relationship of Confirmation to Pentecost?
I anxiously await what my homilist will preach.
-Old Gargoyle
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2 comments:
1. There was a sound as of a rushing mighty wind and there were cloven tongues, as it were, of fire. Water is seen in practice of water baptism.
2. As far as I can tell, the HS was breathed into them to live in them at this point. My understanding is that the HS lives inside of all believers, but He comes and rests UPON believers to reveal the kingdom of God. He's in me for my sake, and upon me for others' sake. Gospel story: HS was placed inside of them... Acts story: HS's power rested on them to clothe them with power to preach the good news.
3. while it's true that some did speak in other languages... why then did some people believe they were drunk? do we speak known foreign tongues when drunk? it's plausible that some spoke in known tongues and some spoke in unknown... correlating with 1 Corinthians 13 "tongues of angels". and here is a video rebuttal to the unintelligible sounds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mz-mD1YsvQ
4. maybe end times refers to the entirety of the stage of human existence that is post-crucifixion?
5. Catechism of the Catholic Church in its paragraphs 1302–1303
states: "It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost."
the connection here seems self-explanatory.
FormerStudent#33 is hereby declared to be a B.Y.T. (budding young theologian). And he or she is reminded of the distinction between pastoral-doctrinal statements, such as those made in the Church Catechism, and Biblical historical-scholarly statements, such as those made by theologians.
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