The Holy Spirit moves us out of our upper room

 

Father James Stembler is Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
 

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"Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, "What are we to do, my brothers?"  Peter [said] to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call."  He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, "save yourselves from this corrupt generation."  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day."   Acts 2: 37-41

The name "Pentecost," taken from the Greek word "Pentecoste" means the fiftieth day.  This Jewish feast, originally known as the Festival of Weeks, was a harvest festival, celebrated seven weeks after the beginning of the harvest or seven weeks after the Sabbath. Many people were in Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. However, one group had encased themselves into an upper room, namely, the disciples and other followers of Jesus the Christ, among who was his mother, Mary.  Jesus had ascended into heaven.  Now that they were all alone, they enveloped themselves in their loneliness and went into a dark, safe, room.  Even a religious feast could not bring them out of this "safe" environment.  

However, God had something for them to celebrate, and it came as tongues of fire upon their heads.  Being filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit, being given courage, they recalled that Jesus had promised a Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, to enliven them and help them to break out of their fears, anxieties, and their constant staring at what once was.  The Holy Spirit imparted on them the ability to turn around and see possibilities, opportunities, and that which Jesus had given them – something that always will be.  

They came out of their cocoon, their protected world, and walked forward into a world with no game plan but the message of Jesus Christ, a way of life that he had called them to live.  No longer were they to view God's law as a series of do's and don'ts, but as a way of life that they were being called to live at all times.  This life begins at baptism and so Scripture recalls that a great many people were baptized and brought into this way of life that day, a way of life that they began to live immediately.  

St. Paul challenges us to understand that Jesus did not come to change behavior but to change a mindset.  The Law had altered behavior.  People tend to follow the law.  But it is true, although behavior may vary, one's heart does not have to be involved.  Following the law is merely something one "does."  Changing mindset, understanding that what God gave us is a way of life, asks that our hearts be in it.  It is a way of life I choose to live.  Because I choose to live it, I will change what needs to be changed within me because I want to change.     

One of the great lessons of the Easter Season is that we do a disservice to religion when we turn it into a series of do's and don'ts.  We rob it of its significance.  God created us out of love, and He wants us to live this life of love that He gave us.   The life of the Church began to live that Pentecost Day a long time ago.  We are still, hopefully, living that life that God has given us.  If we witness to it as a way of life and live that life at all times, we may start something positive within our world.  Like the earliest Christians, if we all do this together as the community that God calls us to be, we will change many hearts out there. 

May God help us to present ourselves to Him as a new offering, a Church ready to live the life God is calling us to live.