John 7:37-39

On the last and greatest day of the feast,
Jesus stood up and exclaimed,
“Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.
As Scripture says:
    Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.”

He said this in reference to the Spirit
that those who came to believe in him were to receive.
There was, of course, no Spirit yet,
because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus, came upon the Apostles, inspiring them with the courage to overcome the fear that had consumed them in the days following the crucifixion of Jesus. In the Gospel According to John, Jesus comes to them in the place where they had hidden away and brought His peace. They He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn. 20:22).

In Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles were gathered with Mary, the mother of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit came upon them. The miracle of Pentecost was not simply the flames of fire appearing over the heads of Mary and the Apostles. The miracle of Pentecost was not simply that the Apostles preached and those who spoke various languages understood them. The miracle of Pentecost was not simply that three thousand people were baptized in Christ on that one day. The miracle of Pentecost was also that Peter was transformed from a disciple who cowered at the accusation of a servant girl into a pope who could spit in the eye of Ceasar. Courage. Courage is the common denominator of every saint – the courage to remain faithful even against the greatest pressures to give up on Jesus. That courage is rooted in trust, trust in the promises of Jesus. We know that Jesus will come through for us, because we know that His word is truth.

Those fully initiated into the Church experience our own personal Pentecost when we are confirmed. On that day, we are given the same Spirit the Apostles received on that first Pentecost. No, there are no flames of fire, or gift of tongues, but Jesus doesn’t require exceptional miracles to move His grace. The miracle of every confirmation is the movement of His grace to encourage us (that is, fill us with courage) to live the gospel faithfully and unashamedly, to never exchange our faith for lesser things that may give temporary pleasure or satisfaction, but demand of us our hope in our salvation.

Jesus promised the Spirit, and He delivered. It was only the first of His many promises fulfilled.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.

Health update: I am in the hospital again, again for diverticulitis. The doctors now feel that the solution is to remove the part of my bowel that is consumed by the diverticula. That may happen during this hospitalization, I don’t know yet. I honestly hope so. Prayers, please, for successfully treating the diverticulitis. I can’t keep coming to the ER every week. This is too much. So far, the dialysis is going well. UT called and the process for getting me on the transplant list is beginning.