Lectio Divina:*
|
|
Meditatio:
‘..the disciples
rejoiced when they saw the Lord’ (John 20:20)
Commentary:
The scene is set by
John. The disciples are afraid - very afraid. They might well be like a small
congregation in a tense situation today, glancing nervously at every uncertain
movement, imagining the worst. Fear grips them at a deep, almost physical
level. You can feel it in the gut.
Then, something extraordinary happens. Jesus stands among them again. As he does each time he appears after the Resurrection—and as he still does today in the life of the Church – he says: “Peace be with you.”
Perhaps it was not
only the words themselves that struck the disciples, but the way he spoke them.
It recalls the moment in the garden when Jesus said ‘Mary’, and Mary Magdalene,
in that instant, recognised him. There was something unmistakable in his voice –
something that carried gentleness, authority, and peace. Throughout his
ministry there had always been this power in the way he spoke and acted, and
now, hearing that same voice again, the disciples knew without doubt that it
was the Lord.
Joy is the first fruit of the Holy Spirit for ‘the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord’ (v.20). Peace is second first
fruit or gift of the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathes on them (v.21): ‘Peace be
with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When
he had said this, ‘he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy
Spirit’ (v.22). Freedom is the third fruit of the Holy Spirit for they were given power to ‘forgive the sins of any’.
In this moment, the
risen Christ entrusts his apostles with a share in his own mission and
authority, especially the power to forgive sins. This is a gift of the Spirit
that brings true freedom—the freedom that comes from reconciliation with God.
In his ministry Jesus
said (Matthew 7:16):
‘You will know them by their fruits’
The Church teaches
that the fruits of the Holy Spirit include love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (cf. Galatians5:22–23). These are the signs of God’s life within us.
So we might ask
ourselves: what fruits do I bring today? Are we, as we pray in the well-known
prayer often attributed to St Francis, truly instruments ofpeace?
Peace is not merely
the absence of conflict or disturbance; it is a deep, life-giving reality. It
is bound up with joy and freedom, and ultimately with the life that Christ
offers: “that through believing you may have life in his name” (John20:31). Christ himself is our peace (Ephesians2:14).
The Scriptures return
to this theme again and again:
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. (Psalm94:19)
And Jesus promises a
peace unlike any other:
Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not
let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
Yet we know how
difficult it is to live without fear, especially in times of real danger. The
command “do not be afraid” echoes throughout Scripture not because fear is easy
to overcome, but because God continually meets us in it.
And when our earthly
life draws to a close, we pray that we may rest in that same peace, in the
presence of the Prince of Peace, who alone can fully console the human heart:
Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace - in peace because they trust in you.. (Isaiah 26:3)
Though we do not see
or touch Christ in the same way as the first disciples, we are no less called
to faith in a world that longs for the risen life of Jesus. Grounded in the
present moment, we too can come to know him so deeply that we echo the words of
Thomas: “My Lord and my God.” In that encounter we discover the same
peace, joy and freedom that shine through all the resurrection accounts.
Indeed, one way we
recognise the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is through these very
gifts—moments of peace, joy and interior freedom that point beyond ourselves to
God at work within us.
A significant detail
is found in the first reading:
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. (Acts 2:1).
Who were they that were
all together in one place? We may infer the answer from Acts 1:14-15:
All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred and twenty people)This praying and believing community – apostles, women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the wider group of disciples – formed the gathered Church awaiting the Spirit. At Pentecost, “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4).
This is important: the
gift of the Spirit is not restricted to a select few. It is given to the whole
community. Men and women, apostles and ordinary disciples alike receive the
Holy Spirit, so that all may become witnesses – proclaimers in word, deed and
example of the joy, peace and freedom that God continues to pour out on the
world today.
Collect
of the Word for this Sunday (Church of Ireland)
O God, who taught the hearts of your
faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: grant us by
the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things,
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus
our Saviour, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and for ever.
Post-Communionprayer (Church of Ireland)
Gracious God, lover of all, in this
sacrament we are one family in Christ your Son,
one in the sharing of his body and blood, and one in the communion of his
Spirit.
Help us to grow in love for one another and come to the full maturity of the
Body of Christ. We make our prayer
through your Son our Saviour.
Post-Communion prayer (Roman Catholic missal of
1970)
Father, may the food we receive in the
eucharist help our eternal redemption. Keep within us the vigour or your Spirit
and protect the gifts you have given to your Church. We ask this in the name of
Jesus the Lord.
Private prayer after Holy Communion
(from The Family Missal and Prayer Book
of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Ballyroan, Dublin, 1976)
Lord Jesus, on this
day of Pentecost, you sent the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Father,
to the Apostles and to your mother. Bestow the same Spirit of Truth on your
disciples today and let us feel in us what you accomplished when the Church was
born.
Come, Holy Spirit, and dwell in me. Inflame my heart with love for Christ, my
Redeemer.
Teach me all the things he said. Help me to pray. Give me the courage of an
apostle.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.