Category Archives: Scripture

Holy Trinity Sunday: History

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This coming Sunday is Holy Trinity Sunday which is celebrated on the first Sunday following Pentecost in most of the liturgical churches in Western Christianity. It is a solemn celebration of the belief in the revelation of one God, yet three divine persons. It was not uniquely celebrated in the early church, but as with many things the advent of new, sometimes heretical, thinking often gives the Church a moment in which to explain and celebrate its own traditions; things it already believes and holds dear. In the early 4th century when the Arian heresy was spreading, the early church, recognizing the inherent Christological and Trinitarian implications, prepared an Office of Prayer with canticles, responses, a preface, and hymns, to be recited on Sundays to proclaim the Holy Trinity.  Pope John XXII (14th century) instituted the celebration for the entire Church as a feast; the celebration became a solemnity after the liturgical reforms of Vatican II.

In the shadow of Pentecost and the dramatic coming of the Holy Spirit, the following week seems a fitting place to pause, as it were, and place it all in a context of salvation history. Perhaps that is why the second reading was selected and says it so well: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” (2 Cor 13:13). It ties together the first reading and psalm which point to the working of God before the coming of the Christ as well as our gospel reading, a short passage from the John 3:16-18:

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 

John 3:16 is perhaps one of the most promoted of all gospel passages. The University of Florida quarterback, Tim Tebow, wore this gospel passage as part of his eye-black during an NCAA national championship game. The next day “John 3:16” was the most single-day queried passage in internet history.

If one looks at the three readings for the solemnity, it is summary of salvation history with a
“capstone” provided by the gospel passage.

But part of a whole

When one does a commentary on a gospel passage, one of the first tasks is to mark the beginning and end of the cohesive unit that the gospel writer intended. Our gospel reading is but three verses of a much larger unit. The unit begins with John 2:23 “While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover…” marking a shift from the Johannie scene in which Jesus cleanses the Temple of the money changers et. al. and preparing us for John 3, the first of the discourses: Jesus and Nicodemus. This unit stretches from John 3:1 through to 3:21.  Our gospel is intimately connected to the scene of Moses lifting up the serpent in the desert  – “So must the Son of Man be lifted up  so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (vvv.14-15).  It is the dialog with Nicodemus that gives our gospel its fuller and context.

Note: there is a lot to cover and so some days there will be multiple posts.

Image credit: Rublev, Trinity icon, 15the century, Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, Moscow, Public Domain

Whose sins you forgive

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This coming Sunday is Pentecost with the gospel reading taken from the Gospel of John. Many scholars see a parallel between John 20:23 and Matthew 18:18: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  The parallel becomes clearer when we know that the words “forgive” in John 20:23 are the Greek words aphiēmi and krateō which mean “send away” and “hold” respectively [EDNT 2:314].  But even with the parallels aside, the meaning, extent and exercise of the Matthean and Johannine powers has been a source of division with the post-Reformation Christian community.

The Council of Trent rejected the proposal that this power to forgive sins was offered to each of Christ’s faithful – something one often sees in commentaries from a Reformed perspective. The Catholic Church has always held that the power to forgive sin was to be understood as that ministry to which the ordained minister was called; something it had maintained as the teaching of the church and only formally declared at Trent when it was challenged by the Reformers.  As Fr. Brown notes [1041] this is not a debate that can be settled solely on exegetical grounds – nor does the Catholic Church propose such a solution. The Church looks to Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

The Church has also looked at Jesus’ own action toward sin as expressed in John.  In 9:39-41 Jesus says that he came into the world for judgment; to enable some to see and to cause blindness for others. Deliberate blindness means remaining in sin; and, implicitly, willingness to see results in being delivered from sin.” [Brown, 1042]  So as Jesus was sent into the world, so too the apostles and their successors to exercise discriminating judgment between good and evil.  This idea of the apostles as agents of discriminating judgment is reinforced by the idea that the Advocate/paraclete is working through the apostles as an avenue of the outpouring of the Spirit that cleanses people and begets within them new life. All-in-all this passage is a declaratory statement that the core of Jesus’ ministry, forgiveness of sin and the restoration of right relationship, continues within the community generally, but in specific sacramental ministries in the particular sense.

This gospel passage makes clear that there is a strong relationship between the Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit – and Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit points to the Resurrection as the start, the source and the reason for mission.  As Jesus has been sent, so too are we sent on mission.  Those are the final words of the celebration of the Mass:  Ita misa est – Go! [the church] is mission!

Image credit: Fr. Ted Bobash, pravolavie.ru, CC BY-SA

Receive the Holy Spirit

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This coming Sunday is Pentecost with the gospel reading taken from the Gospel of John. John 20:21–22 form a key passage in Johannine theology. The disciples receive the Holy Spirit at this second coming of Jesus: the eschaton, the final era, is now; future is present. In 7:39, the Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus was not yet glorified. On the cross, Jesus, manifesting the nature of God, which is love, delivers over the Spirit (19:30), symbolized immediately afterward by the flow of the sacramental symbols of blood and water. And now, at his first encounter with the believing community, he breathes the Spirit again as he celebrates the re-creation of God’s people.

Simultaneously, he sends out these disciples just as the Father had sent him (v. 21). His mission becomes theirs; his work is placed in their hands. And that mission, that work, is to manifest God who is love in their words and deeds. Through them now, enlivened by the Spirit, will the presence of God become known and seen and felt in the world.

Although the text does not use parakletos, there is unanimity among commentators that the Holy Spirit is the Advocate promised in the Farewell Discourse of the Fourth Gospel.  That discourse had outlined the role the Advocate/Holy Spirit would play in relation to the disciples. The Holy Spirit will:

  • be recognized by the disciples (14:17)
  • teach the disciples everything (14:26)
  • guide the disciples along the way of all truth (16:13)
  • take what belongs to the Jesus and declare it to the disciples (16:14)
  • glorify Jesus (16:14)
  • bear witness to Jesus in order that the disciples will also bear witness to Jesus (15:26-27)
  • remind the disciples of all that Jesus told them (14:26)

Fr. Raymond Brown nuances these promises in that the parakletos describes that aspect of the Holy Spirit which is specifically concerned with witness so that a believer is assured of all the power needed to be witness.  Brown [1139-43] makes a case that the full power of the Holy Spirit manifests in other ways not connected to the witness of the person/community – e.g. baptismal regeneration, sacramental forgiveness of sins, and gifts that build up the community.

Thus Jesus’ words about sending his disciples as the Father sent him applied immediately to the apostles both with respect to Christian mission and to them in their specific roles/gifts within the church.  It is in Baptism that all believers are privileged to share in this Mission in so far as they all are recipients of the Spirit whom he bequeathed to his disciples (see 20:22). With the particular enabling that Spirit provides, each plays a part in continuing the work and witness of Jesus. What is clear in text such as 1 Cor 12:3-12 (the second reading on Pentecost Sunday, Year A) – to one a particular gift is given, to another, another gift – all from the same spirit.

Image credit: Fr. Ted Bobash, pravolavie.ru, CC BY-SA

Why do you call me good?

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The New Testament is a collection of texts written by various authors over decades, and it naturally contains diverse portrayals of Jesus. Several passages show Jesus expressing human limitations, ignorance, or subservience to God, prompting questions about his precise identity and nature.  For example, “Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10:18) When a young man addresses him as “Good Teacher,” Jesus appears to distance himself from the title, suggesting an absolute separation between himself and the pure, unmatched goodness of God.

The verse from Gospel of Mark 10:18 has long attracted attention because, at first glance, Jesus Christ seems to reject being called “good”.  Some have wondered whether Jesus is denying his divinity or distancing himself from the goodness that belongs uniquely to God. But the Early Church Fathers overwhelmingly understood the passage differently. Rather than denying his divinity, they saw Jesus drawing the young man deeper into recognizing who Jesus truly is.

The verse from Gospel of Mark 10:18 has long attracted attention because, at first glance, Jesus Christ seems to reject being called “good”. Some readers have wondered whether Jesus is denying his divinity or distancing himself from the goodness that belongs uniquely to God. But the Early Church Fathers overwhelmingly understood the passage differently. Rather than denying his divinity, they saw Jesus drawing the young man deeper into recognizing who Jesus truly is. Their interpretations generally moved along several connected lines.

An Instruction on Recognition of Divinity. 

Many of the Early Church Fathers contended that Jesus was not issuing a disclaimer regarding his goodness, but was instead posing a transformative question: “If you call me good, do you understand what that means?” The challenge lies not in the terminology, but in whether the young man grasped the profound reality that calling Jesus “good” necessitated a recognition of his divine nature.

St. Augustine posited that Christ was examining the depth of the man’s perception: If absolute goodness is the exclusive domain of God, and if Jesus is indeed truly good, it follows that the man must acknowledge Jesus as more than a mere human instructor. In this view, Christ does not relinquish his claim to goodness; rather, he redirects the man from a superficial courtesy toward a substantive confession of faith. For Augustine, the verse functions as an invitation to see the divine excellence present in the person of Christ.

Distinguishing Flattery from Truth. Other Patristic authors suggested that Jesus was correcting a casual or shallow use of language. John Chrysostom noted that the young ruler approached Jesus as a respected rabbi rather than the Son of God. Consequently, Jesus questions his use of language: Why use divine language without understanding its depth? Rather than denying his own goodness, Jesus exposes the superficiality of the young man’s faith, critiquing praise that is divorced from true discipleship. 

Absolute Goodness vs. Participating in Goodness. The Fathers frequently employed a distinction regarding the nature of goodness: God exists as goodness itself in its absolute form, while all created beings possess goodness only by participation. Origen clarified that only God is good in an uncreated sense. While humans share in this goodness, the statement “No one is good but God alone” identifies the ultimate source. Because the Fathers held Christ to be divine, they did not see this as an exclusion. Instead, as the eternal Son, Christ shares fully in the Father’s essential goodness.

The Defense of Christological Doctrine

Passages that critics used to question Christ’s status were often reclaimed by the Fathers as evidence of his divinity. During the fourth-century Arian controversies, Athanasius of Alexandria argued that if Christ were merely a creature, he could not possess the fullness of divine goodness. Since the New Testament portrays Christ as sinless and holy, the Fathers interpreted Mark 10:18 as a pedagogical tool meant to elicit theological insight rather than a denial of his nature.

The Role of Humility

Another strand of interpretation emphasized the humility inherent in Christ’s human manifestation. Gregory the Great observed that Jesus often spoke in a manner appropriate to his humanity, modeling humility by directing ultimate glory toward the Father while refusing superficial honors.

Conclusion: A Socratic Challenge

The Fathers viewed this verse through the lens of the entire Gospel narrative rather than in isolation. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus performs acts reserved for God: forgiving sins, accepting worship, and claiming unity with the Father. The Fathers thus concluded that Jesus was not disavowing his goodness, but asking a nearly Socratic question: “Do you understand what you are saying when you call me good?”

This passage remains vital as it challenges believers to move beyond a purely sentimental or moralistic admiration of Jesus. While it is simple to regard him as a moral instructor, an inspiring figure, or a “good person,” the Gospels continually press the deeper question of his identity. For the Church Fathers, Mark 10:18 is not a withdrawal from divinity, but a gentle leading of the hearer toward it.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you

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This coming Sunday is Pentecost with the gospel reading taken from the Gospel of John. The Fourth Gospel speaks often of Jesus being sent into the world by the Father: to do his will (6:38–39; 8:29), to speak his words (3:34; 8:28; 12:49; 14:24; 17:8), to perform his works (4:34; 5:36; 9:4) and win salvation for all who believe (3:16–17). That the disciples were sent to continue the words and works of Jesus is foreshadowed at various places in the Gospel.

Jesus urged them to lift up their eyes and see fields ripe for harvest, and told them he had sent them to reap where others had labored (4:35–38), he said those who believed in him would do the works he had done and greater works than these because he was returning to the Father (14:12); he told them, “I … chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you” (15:16), saying that when the Paraclete comes “he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning” (15:26–27), and when he prayed for his disciples he said to the Father, “As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world” (17:18). This last text, which parallels 20:21, confirms that the sending of the disciples was ‘into the world’, i.e. with a mission to the world. The other texts reveal the essential content of their mission was to ‘harvest’ men and women for the kingdom by their witness to Jesus by word and deed, alongside the ongoing witness of the Spirit.

We are sent just as Jesus was sent – How and in what manner was Jesus, the Word of God, sent into the world? A great deal of our understanding of the Jewish theological interpretation of the Old Testament comes from original writings of the Hebrew scholars.  The Old Testament was originally recorded in Hebrew and then translated (with interpretative embellishment) in Aramaic – known as the Targumin.  For example:

  • Isaiah 52:13 (Hebrew) “See, my servant shall prosper..”
  • Isaiah 52:13 (Targumin) “See, my servant the Messiah shall prosper..”

In fact many of the OT citations in John are taken from the Targumins.

In Jewish understanding, the memra – Aramaic for the Word (dabar in Hebrew) -had several characteristics.  It means more than “spoken word”; it also means “thing”, “affair”, “event”, and “action”.  Because it covers both word and deed, in Hebrew thought, dabar had a certain dynamic energy and power of its own.  When connected to Yahweh it took on the divine.  Its energy and power were from God.  The Targuminic reflections on memra (Targum Onkelos) offers some insight into the meaning of the Word in Jewish thinking:

The memra was highly personified (e.g., Isaiah 9:8, 45:23, 55:10; Psalm 147:15)

When the word of God came to a particular prophet (Hos 1:1; Joel 1:1) it challenged the prophet to accept the word; when he accepted it it impelled him to go forth and give it to others and it became the word that judged men.

The memra was a means of making a covenant (e.g., Genesis 15:1; Exodus 34:10).

The word was is described in the OT as a light for men (Ps 154:105, 103)

The memra was life-giving (e.g., Dt 32:46-47)

   For the Psalmist the memra has the power to heal people (e.g., Ps 107:20)

Salvation was by means of the memra (e.g., Wis 16:26)

The revelation of God to his people came through the memra as His agent (e.g., Genesis 15:1; Ezekiel 1:3)

The memra was an agent of creation (e.g, Psalm 33:6; Is 55:10-11; Ws 9:1).  In Is 40:11 God says, “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty.  Rather it shall accomplish what I want and prosper in the things for which I sent it.”

The memra was bearer of the judgment of God (Wis 18:15; Hab 3:5)

The memra was the agent of the theophany, or visible manifestations of God’s presence (Gen 3:2).   John uses this thought (Jn 1:14) in the use of the term “dwelling”, which loses something in the translation.  The Greek  literally reads “pitched his tent/tabernacle”, describing the place of God’s presence among His chosen people.  The Greek word for dwelling uses the same/near equivalent consonance sounds as the Aramaic work, Shekinah, meaning theophany.

From the opening Prologue of John we see the portrait of Jesus as the fulfillment of all of these Targuminic themes.  Jesus is personified (vv. 1-2), the agent of God and creation (v.3), the life-giver (v.4), the source of life and knowledge (vv.4-5), the maker of covenants (v.12), the means of salvation (v.16), the same as God and different (God and human natures), and the visible presence of God on earth.

The short answer to the question “How was Jesus sent in order that we be sent?” Is to be “memra” for others in your life.

Image credit: Fr. Ted Bobash, pravolavie.ru, CC BY-SA

Peace be with you

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This coming Sunday is Pentecost with the gospel reading taken from the Gospel of John. While the first reading (Acts 2:1-11) describes the events we associate with Pentecost Sunday, the Gospel of John account tells of the appearance of Jesus following of the events that took place at the tomb in the early morning of the first day of the week (John 20:1–18).  There near the empty tomb of Jesus, the risen Savior first appeared to Mary Magdalene.  Our gospel contains the second and third appearances of the risen Jesus. These three appearances take place in Jerusalem.  There is a fourth and final appearance of Jesus later in a section referred to as the “Epilogue” of John.  This appearance is at the “Sea of Tiberias” in Galilee (John 21).

The people involved in the Johannine scene in the garden, despite the testimony of Mary Magdalene, are locked in a room for fear of the Jews (20:19).  The proclamation of Jesus’ resurrection has not dispelled the fear. The “we” and “they” of v.2 are still active forces in the account. The disciples (we) have not overcome the fear that the Jewish leadership (they) have created throughout the Passion.

The Johannine account of the first post-resurrection appearance to the gathered disciples is linked to the events of the Resurrection by the simple expression “that first day.”  As the startling and disturbing events of the last three days had unfolded the community’s overriding response was fear.  They had gathered, but had locked themselves away out of fear of what persecutions the religious authorities might bring against them. It is into this complex of uncertainty, perhaps doubt and hesitation, that Jesus appears

“Peace be with you” is in some way a conventional greeting (cf. Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:3; Gal 1:3) used by St Paul in his letters as a reflection of a standard option for the opening of a Greek letter. But here the greeting has an additional purpose – Jesus is fulfilling a promise from his Farewell Discourse: his gift of peace (John 14:27). The peace is given to a community who will experience the world’s opposition always and its persecution often. The gift of peace is an explicit reminder that their way in the world will be graced with the enduring promise of Christ.

The biblical idea of “peace” is complex, but peace is not simply the absence of war or hostilities. Peace is a positive notion in the biblical sense and has meaning of its own. At its root, the biblical idea of “peace” stems from the Hebrew šālôm which means to be hale, whole and complete [AYBD 5:2-6]. The Greek word eirene (peace) appears in almost every writing of the NT. It describes a relationship of goodwill between God and humans.

The Fourth Gospel affirms that peace is intimately related to Jesus himself. It is a gift related to the commission to forgive sins (20:19, 21, 26) and go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit, but also before his death he promises them: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (14:27). The difference between the world’s peace and that of Jesus is not explained, but it has to do with John’s notion of the world (kosmos). “In the world you will have trouble. But take courage! I have conquered the world” (16:33). In Christ peace is available to them. The difference must not be drawn along philosophical lines, as if the peace of Christ “has nothing to do with the absence of warfare nor … with an end to psychological tension, nor with a sentimental feeling of well-being” (Brown, 653). Caesar’s peace enforced by violence is not the same as the peace of Christ which derives from his victory over evil through the absorption of suffering. The two are dramatically different ways of bringing peace.

Prior to his death, Jesus told his disciples they would all be scattered and abandon him (16:32). Jesus was alone before the high priest and eventually before Pilate as he was condemned to death. The disciples, and especially Peter who had denied him three times (18:17–18, 25–27), would have felt deeply ashamed that they had abandoned Jesus in his hour. Thus when Jesus appeared to them behind locked doors, his greeting of ‘Peace be with you!’ showed he was not holding their failures against them; rather, he was offering a restored relationship – that they remained in the goodwill of God.

“When he had said this, he showed them his hands and side.” By showing them the nail prints in his hands and the spear wound in his side Jesus removed any doubt they had that the one who stood before them in that locked room was Jesus crucified but now risen from the dead. He predicted that the disciples’ sorrow at his death would be turned to joy following his resurrection (16:20–22), and now “the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”

Image credit: Fr. Ted Bobash, pravolavie.ru, CC BY-SA

The High Priestly Prayer

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Over that last two weeks and more we have heard passages from the Gospel of John that together are  known as the “Farewell Discourse.” The discourse covers four chapters and often seems to be repetitively redundant. Today’s gospel is known as the beginning of the “High Priestly Prayer” and our passage is worth considering in some detail. So perhaps this is more bible study than homily.

The prayer takes place at the end of the Last Supper discourse, just before Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and begins his Passion. In this prayer, Jesus speaks directly to the Father, allowing the disciples and the reader to hear the intimate relationship between the Son and the Father. It is theologically rich, but it is also deeply personal and pastoral. It is almost as if Jesus could have begun “Let us pray.” It is like the Collect of the Mass coming before the Sacrifice and the Eucharistic Prayer.

Jesus prays concerning his own glorification (vv. 1–5) “Father, the hour has come” (v. 1) The “hour” in John’s Gospel refers to the moment of Jesus’ Passion, Death, Resurrection, and glorification. Throughout this Gospel, Jesus repeatedly says his hour “has not yet come.” Now, at last, it has arrived. The striking thing is that Jesus speaks of the Cross not primarily as defeat, but as glory. The glory of God is revealed in Jesus’ obedience, his self-giving love, and the revelation of the Father’s mercy. In John’s Gospel, the Cross and glory are inseparable.

One of the most important verses in the Gospel appears here: “This is eternal life…” How would you finish the verse? What would be your answer to someone who asks “what is eternal life?” The verse continues: “…that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” 

Eternal life in John is not simply endless existence after death. To “know” in biblical language means far more than intellectual knowledge. During the Mass there is a wonderful prayer said by the priest as he prepares the Cup. As he pours the water into the wine, he prays: Through the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who came to share our humanity.” It is that prayer that through the grace of the Eucharist we may come to know God and ultimately somehow share in the divine life of the Trinity. To “know God” implies intimacy, trust, covenant, and communion. Eternal life is participation in the life of God through Christ – and it begins in the Eucharist.

The disciples and the Father (vv. 6–10) Jesus says: “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me.” In biblical thought, a person’s “name” represents the person’s identity and character. Jesus reveals who the Father truly is. Throughout the Gospel the Father is shown as loving, merciful, life-giving, faithful, and wants to save the world. The disciples have come to believe that Jesus was sent by the Father. Even though their understanding is incomplete, faith has begun.

Jesus also says: “They do not belong to the world”.  In John, “the world” can mean humanity loved by God, but it can also refer to the system of unbelief and resistance to God. The disciples still live in the world physically, but their identity is now rooted in Christ. Their values and loyalties are changing. This becomes an important theme for Christian discipleship: being present in the world but not shaped entirely by its spirit.

Jesus prays for the protection and unity of the disciples (v. 11) Jesus prays: “Holy Father, keep them in your name… so that they may be one just as we are one.” Unity is one of the central themes of John 17. Jesus desires that his followers share in the communion that exists between the Father and the Son. This unity is not merely organizational or social. It is spiritual and rooted in divine love, truth, and shared mission. Jesus also prays for protection because the disciples are about to face fear, persecution, confusion, and the scandal of the Cross.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help” (Hebrew 4:14-16)

Here in this passage you see the Great High Priest begin his eternal work. Remain in communion with Him and offer up your prayers and petitions who knows us and prays for us.

Image credit: Duccio di Buoninsegna – Appearance on the Mountain in Galilee | ca. 1310 | Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo, Siena | Public Domain

John’s Pentecost

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The first reading for Pentecost Sunday is the account from Acts 2 so familiar to every Christian. Luke’s account is a very public event compared to the very private Johannine account.  The Lucan account occurs 50 days after the Resurrection. The Johannine account occurs on the evening of the same day as the Resurrection.

Why the difference? Some scholars defend the basic historicity of the entire Lucan narrative; others conclude that it is essentially Luke’s theological attempt to explain the coming of the Spirit, not an historical account of actual events. Some, holding to the historicity of the Lucan account in Acts 2, hold that John’s account is symbolic only. The Second Council of Constantinople (AD 533) condemned the view of Theodore of Mopsuestia that Jesus did not really give the Spirit on that Easter evening but acted only figuratively and by way of promise.  Some, like John Chrysostom, held that the giving of the purpose was for one particular gift or another; others have said that Easter’s coming of the Spirit is personal while Pentecost is ecclesial or missionary.  And another set of scholars posit a narrower coming of the Spirit targeting special gifts intended for specific ministry (e.g., the forgiveness) versus a more general coming of the Spirit as a blessing and empowerment for the larger Johannine ministry of discipleship: love and holding to the commandments of Jesus. Some simply conjecture that since John is not overly concerned about date/setting but rather the theological implications, that the Johannine account is the same event – John has simply re-located the events.

The Roman Catholic view coincides with its theological sense of “both-and”. In a sense the very order of the Readings for Pentecost Sunday (Year A) outlines the sense of “both-and” as follows:

  • Acts 2:1-11: the general coming of the Spirit
  • 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13:  the variety of gifts given – personal, ecclesial, missionary and more

3 Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the holy Spirit. 4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; 5 there are different forms of service but the same Lord; 6 there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. 7 To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; 10 to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes. 

  • John 20:19-23: the gifts given for specific ministry, e.g., continuation of the priesthood of Jesus is those that the community raises up for that particular ministry – in this case, the Catholic tradition sees the Sacrament of Reconciliation given to particular ministers to celebrate in the name of the community

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Dr. Matt Skinner of Lutheran Seminary offers a great insight, referring to this scene as “The Spirit, at last.” He writes that:

In John, this is an incredibly weighty and long-anticipated scene. The Baptizer introduced Jesus in John 1:33 as “the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus himself has said that his ability to give the Holy Spirit “without measure” would offer proof that he is from God and speaks the words of God (3:34). He promised that “rivers of living water”–a metaphor for the Spirit–would flow from his innermost being. And of course Jesus has had much to say about the coming “Advocate”:

  • It is “the Spirit of truth,” who dwells with believers forever yet cannot be received by “the world” (14:16-17).
  • It is the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, who will teach Jesus’ followers everything and remind them of all he told them (14:26; cf. 16:13).
  • It is the Spirit, whom Jesus sends “from the Father,” and who testifies about Jesus and equips people to offer testimony about him (15:26-27). This Spirit glorifies Jesus (16:14).
  • It is He who can “prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment” (16:8-11).

The close connections John draws among Jesus’ promises about the Spirit, his glorification and ascension, his intimacy with the Father, and his commissions to his followers caution us not to skip over “the Johannine Pentecost” too casually, as if it serves merely as a final “Good bye, and good luck” from Jesus to his friends.

With this culminating scene, the christological climax of John’s Gospel (Jesus’ departure as the exalted Christ) is part and parcel of the Gospel’s apostolic impulse (the equipping and sending of the men and women who believe in him). That is, in the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ followers receive nothing less than the fullness of the glorified Son. Their lives (ours, too) can therefore accomplish ends similar to his life’s, insofar as they reveal God.

Image credit: Fr. Ted Bobash, pravolavie.ru, CC BY-SA

Pentecost and the Festival of Weeks

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This coming Sunday is Pentecost with the gospel reading taken from the Gospel of John. The Greek name (pentēkostē) refers to the Jewish Feast of Weeks. The name itself means “50th” and is taken because the festival occurs 50 days after Passover (Acts 20:16; 1 Cor 16:8). Because the early Christians received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on this day, the term is now more commonly used to refer to that event recounted in Acts 2:1–13 and celebrated on Pentecost Sunday.

The Feast of Weeks was the second of the three great Jewish feasts. Its name signified that it concluded the period of seven weeks which began with the presentation of the first sheaf of the barley harvest during the Passover celebration (Lev 23:15–16; Deut 16:9). Thus it was originally an agricultural feast marking the end of the grain harvest and was celebrated during the month of Sivan (May/June). Both Josephus (Ant 3.10.6 §252; JW1.13.3 §253) and Jewish intertestamental writings (Tob 2:1; 2 Macc 12:31–32) refer to the feast as Pentecost. [AYBD 5:222-23]

During the Hellenistic period (324-64 BC), the ancient harvest festival also became a day of renewing the Noahic covenant, described in Genesis 9:8-17, which is established between God and “all flesh that is upon the earth.” By this time, some Jews were already living in the Diaspora (living in countries other than Israel itself). According to Acts 2:5-11 there were Jews from “every nation under heaven” in Jerusalem, possibly visiting the city as pilgrims during Pentecost. This group of visitors included both Jews and converts to Judaism.

In 70 AD, the Roman armies conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. At this point in history the offering of grains in the Temple as part of the festival was no longer possible. While this day continued to be celebrated, after the destruction of the Temple, the day commemorated the reception of the Law by Moses.

Image credit: Fr. Ted Bobash, pravolavie.ru, CC BY-SA 

Christmas and Ascension – Life Lessons

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Fr. Antony Kadavil, in a 2019 post from Vatican News, wrote: “The Ascension is most closely related, in meaning, to Christmas. In Jesus, the human and the Divine become united in the Person and life of one man. That’s Christmas. At the Ascension, this human being – the person and the resurrected body of Jesus – became for all eternity a part of who God is. It was not the Spirit of Jesus or the Divine Nature of Jesus that ascended to the Father.  It was the Risen living Body of Jesus: a Body that the disciples had touched, a Body in which He Himself  had eaten and drunk with them both before and after His Resurrection, a real, physical, but gloriously restored Body, bearing the marks of nails and a spear. This is what, and Who, ascended. This is what, now and forever, is a living, participating part of God. That is what the Ascension, along with the Incarnation, is here to tell us – that it is a good thing to be a human being; indeed it is a wonderful and an important and a holy thing to be a human being. It is such an important thing that God did it. Even more, the fullness of God now includes what it means to be a human being.”

Fr. Kadavil went on to offer “life messages” from the gospel of the Ascension:

1) We need to be proclaimers and evangelizers: In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives this mission to all the believers: “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” This mission is not given to a select few but to all believers. To be a Christian is to be a proclaimer and an evangelizer. There is a difference between preaching and proclaiming. “We preach with words but we proclaim with our lives.” As we celebrate the Lord’s return to His Father in Heaven – His Ascension — we are being commissioned to go forth and proclaim the Gospel of life and love, of hope and peace, by the witness of our lives. On this day of hope, encouragement and commissioning, let us renew our commitment to be true disciples everywhere we go, beginning with our family and our parish, “living in a manner worthy of the call [we] have received.”

2) We need to live a life of Christian joy in the presence of the ascended Lord. According to Luke, the disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” Apparently Jesus’ exaltation and final blessing gave them, as it gives us, the assurance that, though absent, Jesus is still present, present even in the pain and sorrow we undergo. That is why St. Augustine assures us, “Christ is now exalted above the Heavens, but he still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his Body, have to bear. He showed this when he cried out from above: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ and when he said: ‘I was hungry and you gave me food.’ While in Heaven he is also with us; and while on earth we are with him. He is here with us by his Divinity, his power and his love. We cannot be in Heaven, as he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love.”

3) We have a teaching mission:  Jesus taught us lessons of Faith, Hope, forgiveness, mercy, redemption and Love.  We cannot put these lessons on a shelf and ignore them.  They stand before us in the person of Jesus.  Although no longer visibly present in the world, Jesus is present in his words., and we must make these words real in our lives as well as in the lives of others. Christianity was meant to be a Faith in which Jesus’ followers would help and care for others, just as Jesus had done.   But the spreading of the Good News to all nations is not a goal that can be attained by human might and craft.  This is why Jesus promises to empower the Church with His abiding presence and that of the Holy Spirit.   The challenge of sharing the Good News with all mankind should, therefore, begin with our admission that we have often been arrogant and overbearing.  We must learn to be humble and let the Holy Spirit lead the way.

4) The ascended Jesus is our source of strength and encouragement: Perhaps some of the nagging doubts which inevitably accompany the journey of Faith could be lessened by our meditating on the Ascension and its implications. When we are too far from Faith to pray on our own, let us remember that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous, praying for us. When the trials of life feel too heavy to bear, we must remember that Christ will come again in glory, the same glory in which Jesus arose from the tomb, the same glory to which Jesus ascended, and the same glory in which Jesus currently abides. Though our limited perception might find him absent, Jesus is fully present, participating in every moment of our lives. By His Ascension, Christ has not deserted us but has made it possible for the Holy Spirit to enter all times and places. In this way it is possible for each of us to be transformed by the power of the Spirit into agents or instruments of Christ. We become enlivened, and our actions become animated in a new way by the Spirit of the God we love and serve. We have become other Christs in the world. (Fr. Antony Kadavil)

Image credit: Jesus’ ascension to Heaven depicted by John Singleton Copley in Ascension (1775) Public Domain