As the Father sent me so am I sending you.

Today Pentecost Sunday climaxes our 50-day Easter celebration. As on the second Sunday of Easter, the Gospel shows the disciples in the room where the doors are closed in fear of the Jews.

The disciples have been with Jesus for three years. In Jesus they have found joy, hope and motivation for their lives. Then come those days of confusion, bewilderment, anger, fear, when they see him betrayed and arrested before their eyes and they run away to secure themselves in a room where the doors are closed.

There they remain with their memories, their thoughts, their emotions, their deep, inner wounds. Even stories of his resurrection cannot lift the burden they feel; they cannot dare to believe that it could be possible.

Then Jesus comes and stands among them. “Peace be with you”, he says and he shows them his hands and his side, confirming that he is indeed the same Jesus, who was crucified and is now truly risen. They are filled with joy.

Jesus again proclaims “Peace be with you”. He continues “As the Father sent me so am I sending you” Then he breathes the Holy Spirit on them, empowering them to bring peace, real peace, real wholeness, real healing to others: “For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven. For those whose sins you retain, they are retained.”

As I reflect on this story I think about a man who – like Jesus - was murdered, a good man, who mirrored goodness, who loved in a very practical way and who taught others to love. For those closest to him, - as for Jesus’ disciples - the violent death must have been devastating.

Only they can tell what went through their minds and hearts and what continues to go through their minds and hearts. And yet they reach out to bring peace to others. They carry their wounds, no doubt, but they continue to bring peace – wholeness - to others.

The Pentecost story is about them, about how the risen Jesus has come and stood among them proclaiming “Peace be with you”, showing them his hands and his side, saying “As the Father sent me, so am I sending you” and breathing the Holy Spirit into them.

The Pentecost story is about us too, all of us, being sent by Jesus to go, with our woundedness and in the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring forgiveness and peace - a real peace and wholeness - to others who are hurting.
 
Let us pray
Beloved God! Thank you for the mystery we celebrate today.
Thank you for the ways in which you come into our lives transforming our woundedness into power for life-giving through your Holy Spirit.
Thank you for people who having been the victims of violence are now able to channel the power of their emotions into eradicating violence by working for peace.

Thank you for those who dare to leave their own secure space to stand among others who, in fear, have closed themselves off.
Sometimes, however, our hurt is so deep we find it very difficult. Thoughts of violence and desire for retaliation well up within us. We give in to them. We become hard and un-loving. We lose the power to bring peace even to those who love us. We close the doors. Forgive us Lord.

Forgive us the times we are lacking in compassion for those who seem to have closed themselves off. We forget our own times of hurt and we pass judgment on them. We are impatient and unforgiving.

We celebrate Pentecost year after year and yet so often we fail to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. We fail to reach out proclaiming peace and reconciliation. We forget that Pentecost is about being sent as You, Abba, sent Jesus. We do not live our mission. Forgive us Lord.

Beloved God! May we come alive as Your people. May we allow your Holy Spirit to come alive in us this Pentecost. May we feel within us your compassion and your desire to bring fullness of life, wholeness, peace and reconciliation to all. Let it become a real fire in us transforming us and bringing transformation to others.

Lord, help all who have set out as missionaries, as counsellors, as people who care and who commit themselves to wholeness and fullness of life for others. They carry their own woundedness. Give them a deep sense of your presence, risen Jesus as you come and stand among them. Let them feel you breathe your Holy Spirit into them, empowering and sustaining them.

Renew the face of our country, the Caribbean and the entire earth with the power of your life-giving Spirit.
Amen

Christina Araujo, formerly of the Touch of Christ Deaf Community, is a Sinsinawan Dominican novice.