The Resurrection of the Lord is the center of all that we can celebrate, and it is the center of our faith, the beginning and the end of our existence. If we speak of the birth of Jesus, we will be already preparing ourselves for the moment of the Resurrection. If we mention His death, it will be to adhere ourselves to His Resurrection. Of the Incarnation to the Ressurection, the mystery is the same. It is necessary to open our heart to welcome it and to live it in faith.
The evangelist John, begins his narrative expounding on the situation of the community: “At nightfall, of the first day of the week, behind the locked doors where the disciples were…”. He realized the insecurity of the situation itself of whomever list the references and does not know any more to whom to turn.
“Jesus appeared and stood among them.” The disciples remained content to see the Lord and regain their peace and confidence. They rediscovered the Master as the center of reference. From Him they received the coordinates that brought them to overcome fear and uncertainty. Before the “signs of His hands and His side”, that evokes the total love expressed on the cross, the disciples feel that neither suffering, nor death nor violence of the world will be able to stop then.
Jesus continues “As the Father sent me, so also I send you.” Animated by the breath of the Holy Spirit, the disciples constitute the community of the New Covenant and are sent to witness to the world, en gestures and words, the life that the Father desires to offer to all humanity. Thus whomever accepts the proposal of pardon for sins will be integrated into the community of Christ that animated by the Holy Spirit, will be mediator of the offer of merciful love from the Father.
The new community, through words and actions, has the mission of creating conditions in order that the Spirit may be welcomed into human hearts. Thus generated by the breath of the Spirit of Ressurection, it will be transformed into a reconciling and witnessing community of gratuitous love and generosity of the Father.
It is good to remember that in the celebration of Pentecost, the promises of Jesus to his disciples is promised: “The advocate that I will send to you from the Father, is the Spirit of Truth that proceeds from the Father. When he comes he will give testimony of me and you also will give testimony of me.”(15, 26-27a).
Recognizing this presence of God, that makes itself one with us, impulses us to witness and witnessing to announce that He was dead but now lives. The Holy Spirit is offered to us in order that we may life in the day of our history, the full joy, full certainty of which we are saved through the Christ of God.
For us Christians, Pentecost is the fullness of Easter and the day of the birth of the Church with the missionof givining continuity to the work of the Resurrected one in the course of the centuries, animated by the gift of the Spirit sent over the communities for the Father and for the glorified Son.
The light of Pentecost, the announcement of the Gospel will consist always in the proposal of life, living in the reciprocal reality in hearing and sincerely seeking the truth that opens horizons to dialog, respect and friendship with each person and each people. With the presence of the Holy Spirit, the entire world is renewed.
How much mystery involves us! How much presence of God was manifested during these joyous days! It is from the cross that the Church is born, from the open side of the Lord we are all purified, but it is the Spirit that the Father sends that have strength, courage and enthusiasm to witness this great mystery.
It is Pentecost, the new mark of our personal and ecclesial history. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are born for God. Through Him we are configured to the Lord and we begin on the road of virtue. It is the Spirit that, as gift of the Father, transforms our sadness into perfect joy, that offers us the victory through the medium of the cross. “Is with Him we die, with Him we will resurrect.”
Today, we are as Mary, she that welcomed and the annunciation, and immediately, was put to service of whomever needs our help. We are equal to Mary Magdalene, whose heart was transformed by the love of her Lord, for in His love is transforming in joy the sadness of our brothers and sisters.
We are Elizabeth, generator even in old age, when our heart is open to welcome the newness of salvation that is offered to us. We are even Zachariah, submerged in the profound and mysterious silence to comprehand the visible reality of a God invisible. We are, finally, the Living Church, sustained and oriented by the action of the Spirit of God.
The gift of the Father, that is going to transform us is witnessing that Christ lives among us, it is the joy of belonging to the Mystical Body of Christ, that lives and reigns always, warming our heart to the new road of Emmaus to bring us to share the bread from Heaven.
Through joy of serving, through Jubilee of an encounter with God, through certainty of His transforming presence and through the jumping in faith into the divine mystery, we are going to announce, through our life, that Christ resurrected and lives among us.
Father Bantu Mendonça
Fr. Bantu Mendonça Katchipwi Sayla is a priest for the Diocese of Tubarão, Angola