PENTECOST SUNDAY (A) : 31st May 2020

St John speaks of Jesus breathing his last breath and dying in a simple but enigmatic and even mystical way. Expressed in this manner is a help to understand the words “He handed over the spirit”. Besides, it is also a theological statement concerning the Pentecost: He sends the Holy Spirit on his mother Mary and the Beloved disciple, symbols and representatives of the Church.

Speaking of the Risen Jesus, St John tells us that Jesus bestowed the Holy Spirit on his disciples. In neither case is his account as dramatic as St Luke’s account in Acts. People who are not finely attuned to reading the Gospel according to John may even find a contradiction between what he says and what Luke records.

Any account of any event can contain many “parameters”, that is, details of place and time such as geographical, political or religious locations or time of the day, feast day, year of a particular reign. In recounting such an event, not all writers will note all the details. Thus John prescinds from these “parameters” in speaking of Jesus handing over the Spirit to emphasize the necessary theological insight that the coming of the Spirit was part of the whole mystery of Jesus. We cannot separate the Holy Spirit from the mission of Jesus.

Come, Holy Spirit, in our day and age and guide us into the truth.