Genesis 11:1-9      Exodus 19:3-8a, 16-20b      Ezekiel 37:1-14

Joel 3:1-5      Romans 8:22-27      John 7:37-39

The Solemn Feast of Pentecost deserves a liturgical Vigil similar to and yet different from the previous two solemnities of equal theological significance, i.e., Christmas and Easter. For the sake of reflection, if a vigil is significant and not merely an anticipated Mass for the next day, then in a manner parallel to, but not quite the same as the ways in which the Church observes and celebrates the Vigils of Christmas and Easter, it might well be “proper and helpful” to our worship to extend the Vigil of Pentecost to include all four lessons from the Old Testament. Indeed, this would lengthen the liturgy, and it would require us to insert extended silences and additional Responsorial Psalmody (or appropriate Old Testament Canticles). We expend more than the ordinary energy and effort to celebrate the liturgy in true festive style and grand ministerial participation in terms of Hospitality, Word, Communion, Music and Song. Since we are merely speculating here, let us propose that such an enhanced Vigil of Pentecost might well suggest a new and renewed insight into the power and dynamism of the Holy Spirit in our Church and lives. Many have speculated about (and sometimes bemoaned) the problems which a large institutional Church structure and consequent expectations have placed on our liturgy, i.e., large and impersonal assemblies, routine ritual, ineffective proclamation and preaching, less-than-dynamic presiding priests and ministers, uneven music and aesthetics, a general dullness in so many ways, etc. These problems can easily intensify as the assembly becomes larger. Indeed, ever since the 4^th Century shift from house church liturgy to imperial court liturgy (a real dilemma resulting from unexpected success at evangelization!), we have had to wrestle with the temptation to reduce liturgy to a large-scale, passive, observer-event rather than living it as an enthusiastic (a Pentecostal word and quality meaning literally “filled with God” as in “full of God’s Spirit!”) and intimate form of worship and fellowship. “Solemn” ought not mean dull and boring, or stiff and regimented, or formal and cold. Rather, “solemn” ought both denote and connote profound and intense personal and communal engagement with serious reality (i.e., us with God). So, reflect on and imagine how the Vigil of Pentecost might be observed if it included the properly prepared proclamation of all the proposed lectionary lessons, and if perhaps the entire liturgical assembly extended the occasion thereafter with what would be an anniversary meal in memory of the Church’s inaugural event, Pentecost. It’s an idea which might contribute towards raising the appreciation of the liturgical feast which was the third of three sine qua non feasts of the Church. If Christmas is the feast of the Incarnation, and the Triduum is the festival of the Paschal Mystery, then Pentecost is the feast of the Spirit of God birthing the Church. Why is it so often reduced to merely red liturgical decorations?

So, what are these Old Testament lessons which are so valuable? They are mythic and prophetic tales of the overwhelming power of God’s creative and prophetic Spirit, what the Gospels call “mighty deeds.” The Genesis account of God striking confusion as an antidote to human arrogance is in fact undone by the return of God’s Spirit as a divine charism (Greek for “gift”) at the apostolic Pentecost. On Pentecost (tomorrow’s 1^st Reading) the disciples, while preaching in their own languages, were effectively heard and understood in their respective languages by all the “devout Jews from every nation under heaven” on pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Pentecost. Such is the ultimate goal of all communication skills! Pentecost is the great reversal of the Tower of Babel parable! The Exodus text is an audio-visual remembrance of the mythic collective Jewish memories of God’s awesome power at Mount Sinai as a get-down-to-the-business-of-establishing-the-religious-covenant with God’s Chosen People, Israel. The book of Exodus had previously recounted the narratives of the destruction of Pharaoh’s army (Chapter 14), the Song of Victory lead by Moses’ sister, Miriam (Chapter 15), the Israelites’ complaints about food and water (Chapters 16-17), and the sage advice given Moses by his Gentile father-in-law, Jethro (Chapter 18). By chapter 19, the Divine Patience was wearing thin. God’s Will was that no longer would the Israelites by mere observers; they would actively participate fully in a religious covenant. They must commit to and embrace this God who had saved them. The terms were stated; the cloud, fire and smoke of Divine Mystery enveloped the mountain; flashes of lightening and peals of thunder like trumpet blasts, and the trembling of earthquakes engaged their attention. The people were called to be a “special possession ... a kingdom of priests, a holy nation...” That was the Divine offer ... and the big summary commandment! The reading from Ezekiel evolves further proposing that even in death God’s power can restore life. Ezekiel, a witness to the devastation of the Babylonian conquest, saw death and defeat remedied by the life of God’s own Spirit in the metaphor of dry bones revivified. Joel predicted and exhorted that, by virtuous living, God’s power would be someday instilled into and wrapped around all who accepted the Divine Covenant: “in those days, I will pour out my Spirit.” God would make the Divine Presence an intimate and overwhelming gift to believers, a gift which would be extended universally: “Then everyone shall be rescued who calls on the Name of the LORD.” The Spirit of God given at Pentecost was the same Spirit of God which had moved and changed, caressed and cared for, rebuked and reconciled God’s Chosen People ever since before Abraham, and with Moses and the prophets, and through Jesus of Nazareth, whom he raised from death to new life.

Paul, who as a young man named Saul, had encountered the Risen Christ, experienced profound conversion and the Divine Compassion of forgiveness. Remember, Saul had been a religious terrorist in his day who, by his own admission, violently persecuted the nascent Church (Galatians 1:13-14). Yet, he humbly described the intimately personal and powerful presence of God’s Spirit who changed his mind and heart as radically as one might imagine possible. Today’s reading from Romans might be called Paul’s constitutional statement which he addressed to the Christians in Rome to testify that he had come to appreciate and embrace the radical change God’s Spirit made in him. Paul had grown to a new hope in spite of his past, proclaiming that God’s salvation, which was bestowed even on him, was sufficient for the salvation of all! We ought to pray for just such conversions in the hearts, minds, and actions of all of us who profess Gospel faith and yet who practice lives of religious apathy, passivity, and neglect, or of us who embrace religious self-righteousness and ideological anger towards our opponents. There is indeed great hope for all of us, if and when we open our hearts and minds to the power of the Holy Spirit of God!

John’s Gospel text is short, almost an editorial comment early in his account, when Jesus had been recognized as a remarkable and gifted prophet. The evangelist, aware of how his narrative progressed and also aware of at what end it aimed, warned the Gospel audience that the glory of Jesus would be revealed not yet, but only once the very Spirit of God had been made manifest and received through him. This was a prediction of a future event at this point in John’s 7^th Chapter. Jesus’ proclamatory invitation echoed that of the major Old Testament prophets who preached future encouragement, hope, and salvation in the midst of tremendous human travail and suffering. Ezekiel had used the image of a river of life-giving water flowing from the Temple. Jesus’ imagery paralleled the idea that water produced life, and that true life was God’s Spirit and the divine power it produced.

To be clear, the actual narrative text of Pentecost (Acts 2) is saved for liturgical use until the actual feast day of Pentecost itself (tomorrow). The Vigil is designed to allow, invite, and encourage worshippers to return on Sunday for even more prayer and fellowship. We must pose the question, though, Do we really desire the Spirit of God to direct our lives? Do I really want the power and love of God to fall upon me, to change me, and to redirect all that I am about? If we are Christians, then the “gifts” of the Spirit listed by Isaiah (Isaiah 11:2-3) are offered to us: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude and fear (reverent respect) of the Lord. And, if we accept and embrace those gifts, then Paul’s components of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23) are visible and manifest in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-discipline.

Christ is Risen! He is truly Risen! Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in us the fire of your divine love! Alleluia! Alleluia!!