I am with you always, until the end of the age

I have always loved celebrating birthdays.  My own, my family members’, and friends’ birthdays have always seemed to be worthy of great celebration – how lucky are we to have been born, especially in a post-Roe v. Wade society.  My birthday is January 1^st, which means that I always get to have a party – I’m always off work that day, and people are always willing to celebrate the countdown, shoot off poppers, and drink champagne with me.  

Yesterday, the Church celebrated Pentecost Sunday – the day that the Church as we know it was born – when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and they went out to fulfill the mission that Christ had left them.  How did you celebrate the birthday of the Church?  Did you grumble because there was an extra song before the Gospel – or did you truly celebrate all that we have been given by God?  

The first reading yesterday from the Acts of the Apostles is one of my favorite accounts in all of Scripture:
“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 wind, 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 one 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 and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.’” Acts 2:1-11

Truly, I cannot imagine what it must have been like for the Apostles and for the crowd that they spoke to that day.  During the fifty days between the Resurrection and Pentecost, the Apostles were undoubtedly unsure of what they were supposed to do, now that Christ was no longer going to be physically present with them.  I’m sure they were still trying to fully sort out all of the events leading up to the Passion and death of Christ, then finding the tomb empty, and having the Risen Lord appear before them in the upper room.  I imagine them feeling, all of a sudden, that their time with Jesus had been much to short, that he had not had time to teach them and show them all that they needed to learn in order to successfully do as Christ had commanded when he told them: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20

But, Jesus just didn’t give them a command – He also made a promise to them that day when He said “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:20.  On that day of Pentecost, the Apostles learned exactly what Jesus had meant by this statement – He would not be with them physically, but would not just be a memory either – He would be with them, infused with them, as God the Holy Spirit. 

“‘When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church.’ Then ‘the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun.’”  (CCC 767)

When the Holy Spirit descended upon them, they were sealed with the gifts that were necessary to their ministry – to building up the Church established by Jesus Christ.  The Church that Christ chose to build upon the rock of Peter, the Church that He entrusted to those men from Galilee, surged forward that day when the Apostles stepped forth and proclaimed the Word to all of those who would listen.  That Church to which I know that I am so privileged to be a part of today, 2000 years later, led by the successor of Peter and the other Apostles, was fully established that day when the Holy Trinity was fully revealed.  

“So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit ‘bestows upon [the Church] varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her.’ ‘Henceforward the Church, endowed with the gifts of her founder and faithfully observing his precepts of charity, humility and self-denial, receives the mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is on earth the seed and the beginning of that kingdom.’” (CCC 768)

Pentecost is truly a day to celebrate, and not just for its historical significance, but for what it means for us today.  The Church, and its members, is continually endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are necessary to carry out the mission Christ entrusted first to Peter and the other Apostles, and then to disciples they won for Christ, all the way down to each of us here today.  As members of the Body of Christ, we must continually celebrate what God has given to us, and strive to always use the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of all God’s people.  So, if you didn’t sing Happy Birthday to the Church yesterday, do it today!