Pentecost Sunday: Empowered for Mission

The Gospel contains the mission of the apostles. It is a great mission—straightforward, yet not simple: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” This is the call that Jesus gives to the apostles. On the feast of Pentecost, it reminds me of the Ascension, where Jesus gives the Great Commission. To the apostles He gives this command: “Go therefore to all nations and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, to the end of the age.” So, as the Father sent me, I send you: go to all nations throughout the world, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter 1, Jesus tells them that they shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they shall be His witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Notice that Jesus gives them a mission, but today He also gives them the power to complete that mission. Here is the mystery of the Lord and how good God is in our lives. In each one of our lives there is a mission, and that mission is the Gospel: to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus does not simply give us the mission; He gives us the power and strength to accomplish it. On their own, the apostles could do nothing. On our own, we can do nothing. Think of the mission today: “As the Father sent me, so I send you.”

In the history of salvation, the Spirit of the Lord has intervened time and again, especially in the most difficult moments, to bring salvation, to work deliverance, and to show God’s intervention in the complex stories of humanity. He has descended upon weak people and made them leaders of His people; He has spoken through prophets; He has brought withered bones back to life. He is a dynamic force that always gives power and strength.

In each of these events, whenever the Spirit became present, He made a new beginning possible.

Where everything was still, where everything seemed weighed down, dead, tired, or exhausted, the Spirit came and opened up a new path. The Spirit did this more and more, little by little, by entering human history. Where the presence of the Spirit is most intimate and deepest, that is where the relationship with God is most alive and the awareness of His presence in the life of the world grows.

In today’s Gospel passage (John 14:15-16, 23-26), we see that Jesus announces a new coming of the Spirit. He wants to prepare His disciples for this important moment so that they understand they can continue to be with Him, but in a different way—namely, in the Spirit. It is indeed a gift for which we must prepare ourselves, a gift that can be received in vain if it is not expected, celebrated, and invoked. In short, Jesus announces the coming of the Spirit, thereby planting expectation and hope into the hearts of His lost disciples.

For the disciples, something is coming to an end, and they need a new beginning—a beginning that only the Spirit can bring about. Jesus is about to face His Passion, and the Spirit is needed to begin anew after this dramatic event and to continue the journey. God’s story with humanity will not end this time either.

The characteristics of the Spirit’s coming are revealed in two words from today’s Gospel: “always” (“the Advocate to be with you always” - John 14:16) and “everything” (“He will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” - John 14:26).

The presence of the Spirit in the lives of believers will not be an occasional or extraordinary event, but a daily and constant presence—a life within our lives. The Spirit will not only be with us in dark and difficult times, nor only in important moments, but will always and constantly bring forth the life of Christ within us.

This is why, immediately after announcing that the Spirit will always be with us, Jesus uses the image of the house, the dwelling place: “My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23).

The Spirit comes to dwell within us, to make a home in us, and at the same time makes us God’s dwelling place—a place where God continually comes.

When the Spirit is “always” with us, then “everything” is filled with life and meaning. You have been given a mission, but also the power to complete it. The question is not whether God has given me the gift; the question is whether I am willing to use it. The question is not whether I have received the call, but whether I am willing to embrace the mission. Am I willing to go out and refuse to let what Jesus has done in me stop with me? Do I believe people are worth saving? Pope Saint John Paul II pointed out that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. Do I truly believe that people are worth saving? Not just strangers, but especially those closest to us.

I have had the privilege of attending several SEEK conferences. I have brought students from UMass Boston, and I have been deeply edified to see so many young people encounter the love of God in their lives. As a result, they do not want to keep it to themselves. They dedicate years of their lives so that others may also experience this love that comes from the Holy Spirit, without anyone being able to separate us from His presence and His work.

For the work of the Advocate is to teach us and remind us of all that Jesus said—that is, to enable a paschal reading of life, to make every event in life a place where transformation is possible, where we can take up the journey again and begin anew.

But begin again with what?

It is clear from today’s text that the new beginning made possible by the presence of the Spirit is the beginning of those who continually learn to love anew: “If you love me... Whoever loves me... my Father will love him... whoever does not love me...” (John 14:15, 23, 24). The Spirit is always connected to love, because the Spirit is love; He is communion. It is therefore a matter of receiving the Spirit—that is, receiving the love of God poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5)—in order to begin a new life in love.

And because the Spirit is always with us, it will always be possible to begin again, without anything interrupting this possibility, without anything keeping us trapped in the immobility of sin and death. It is an “always” that can sometimes be hard to believe, especially in the most difficult moments of life. Only the Holy Spirit can give us faith and hope in the possibility of a new beginning, of a life that can always start again.

However, we must begin. Acts chapter 1 tells us how: “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you...” this is where you start. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.” When that dynamite of the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you begin at home. Each one of you has a call and a mission, and each of you has been given gifts. The alternative is to live as if you have neither a mission nor gifts.

The great call Jesus has given you and me is to go and make disciples. He has not left us alone. He has given us strength in our hearts, and we are called to be the ones who bring Jesus to the world.