Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It does not seem by accident that Luke in his first book, the gospel, has the Messiah born in his second chapter and in his second book, the Acts of the Apostles, the Church is born as well in the second chapter. We celebrate Pentecost today which marks the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and disciples and gives them unity and courage. The same can happen to us today, if you and I believe in this.
God uses stones not bricks to build his Church. The men in Babel were making bricks by hand in their pride to make a name for themselves and to build a tower up to the heavens. They did not realize that God builds with living stones where there is no need of cement since these stones fit perfectly together. With these stones he constructs his Church, his temple. So don’t be surprised that this brother rubs you the wrong way; this is part of God’s plan. They say the stones of the Jerusalem temple were so close together that one could not pass a knife between them.
This is what God is doing with us; he is sculpting stones that will make something truly beautiful, but he has to cut a little off here and something over there, then they will all fit together. Don’t despise those difficulties with your spouse, an office mate or family member. God is using that situation, that suffering for our good.
The story of Babel is a continuation of the Fall of our first parents. Then the sin of Adam and Eve alienated them from God and from one another. In this chapter of Genesis (11: 1-9) we see how sin results in the alienation of all society, among themselves and from God. This place called Shinar is Babylon, which means the ‘gate of God.’ The people were trying to build a gate to God to tell him what to do. Babylon was known for its multi-leveled gardens, the first skyscrapers. Ironically they do make a name for themselves and their greatest fear, to be scattered, comes naturally upon them. They were always lusting for more, to go east, to prove themselves better than the rest. But in the end there was no rainbow, no mark or tau on their foreheads; they were left without hope.
The feast of Pentecost comes to reverse this mess. When the apostles spoke it was in different languages of the people present, and they understood everything. They no longer were afraid to announce the good news and when they did so everyone understood them. This Jewish feast is the harvest of the first crops. Now they harvest 3,000 men and women who become followers of this Way.
The Holy Spirit comes in tongues to set us on fire; tongues can also mean languages and the purpose of our tongues is to strengthen others, to announce to them that salvation is close at hand. When a community limits itself to its own way of thinking and acting it shows that it is distanced from the Spirit. This Spirit comes to set us on fire, to unite us and change us from a logic of having to a logic of self-donation. By giving ourselves we find ourselves.
The prophet Isaiah predicts that all nations will come to Jerusalem and be united. It may not be a physical coming together but a spiritual one, where all men and women will one day worship the one true God. In a parish unity is very important so that everyone is working in the same direction. It doesn’t mean we are all doing the same thing, but that we are all working in various ways to bring others to God. We work together to give glory to God and not ourselves.
It could be that many people will never step inside a church, but our friendship and our charity helps them to see that God exists. It is necessary for us to speak in different tongues in order to reach all. Today it is fundamental to know Spanish, and many other languages in order to reach those who may be far from the Church.
The Pope beatified seven Greek-Catholic bishops who were cruelly tortured and put to death in Romania under Communist rule. They were killed in hatred of the faith. Pope Francis said these ideologies that threaten people today want to destroy life, marriage and the family. One of the bishops said that God had sent them into this darkness to offer forgiveness and to pray for the conversion of all.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us courage to not be afraid to praise God and to speak of him to those around us. The Spirit will help us to work for others and to forget about ourselves.