“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in
one place together. And suddenly there
came from the sky a noise like a strong driving win, and it filled the entire
house in which they were. Then there
appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of
them. And they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them
to proclaim.
“Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven
staying in Jerusalem. At this sound,
they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard
them speaking in his own language. They
were astounded, and in amazement they asked, ‘Are not all these people who are
speaking Galileans? Then how does each
of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea
and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts
of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews an converts to
Judaism, Cretans, and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of
the mighty acts of God.”
Second reading: 1 Cor. 12: 3b-7, 12-13
“Brothers and sisters: No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’
except by the Holy Spirit.
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same
Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are
different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for some benefit.
“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the
parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into
one body, whether Jews or Greeks slaves or free persons, and we were all given
to drink of one Spirit.”
Gospel reading: Jn. 20: 19-23
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the
doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came
and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ When he had said this, he showed them his
hands and his side. The disciples
rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus
said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he has said this, he breathed on
them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and
whose sins you retain are retained.”
Introductory theme summary:
The common theme from today’s readings in on the equal dignity
we all have as members of one body in Christ, and this dignity is accomplished
by us sharing in the gifts, works, and services, all coming from the one Holy
Spirit.
Reflection:
I suspect Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is seen by
Protestants as inclusive to all Christians; but to read this letter as if it
was written to us specifically with full knowledge of our present condition of
division within Christianity is truly irresponsible. All scriptures need to be understood first in
light of the immediate audience to which it was actually written. In this case the Corinthians. That audience needed to understand that what
a person’s condition was prior to baptism, free or slave, Greek or Jew, became
irrelevant due to his or her baptism, for it was by our baptism in “one” Spirit
that everyone is baptized into the “one” body of Christ. To
paraphrase another scripture passages, however, John says that those who left
us were never one of us.[1] This implies that the people John is referring
to had been receive into the “one” community by the same “one” Spirit through baptism,
but then later left. As is always the
case, scriptures must also be read in the context of the entire message, not by
understanding one isolated passage independently of all the rest. The conclusion must therefore be, though one
may well be baptized by the Holy Spirit, and by that become admitted into the community
as “Christians,” maintaining one’s separation from that community excludes that
one from inclusion with the One Body of Christ.
One cannot be separate from the founder of Christianity, Catholicism,
and remain one with Catholicism. That is
an oxymoron!
If all one wants is to be a Christian, then that person is
free to remain or become a Protestant. All
one needs to be saved is to repent their sins believing in the divine nature of
Christ and become baptized. If one wants
to be a member of the One Body of Christ, however, than he or she must become, or
return to being, a Catholic, and fulfill all the responsibilities intrinsic to
being “one.”
I don’t expect this reflection to be popular with many; as
is often the case with truth.
[1] 1
Jn. 2: 19 “They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if
they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of
our number.”
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