“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst…” Now, after the disciples witnessed the resurrection of the Lord and His ascension to Heaven, they locked themselves up because they were fearful. They knew that they would face rejection and maybe even death for openly speaking about Jesus. They still remember Jesus’ terrible suffering and crucifixion; they didn’t want to end up like that. That’s why they needed the Holy Spirit in order to enable them to go into the world and proclaim the good news. I think that many Christians underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit; we don’t pray to Him often and we don’t ask for His gifts. This is a mistake. We can’t be good Christians without the Holy Spirit’s help. This feast of Pentecost reminds us that just like those disciples, we can’t just lock our Christianity within the walls of the church where we feel comfortable. We need to open those doors and go out into this world, despite any rejection and persecution we may encounter. All we need is to ask for the same Holy Spirit to give us the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
Commentaires