“We are not
gathered here to argue the truths of faith, they have been passed down from generation
to generation. We are here to figure out how we can transmit the faith to tomorrow’s
men and women in such a way that will penetrate their consciences and thereby
move consciences to live by faith!" (Pope St. John XXIII as he opened the Second
Vatican Council in 1962)
There are so
many remarkable things that Luke gives us in his account of the coming of the
Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-11). There’s that “noise like a
strong driving wind”
that drew a crowd to where the apostles were. Then there was the appearance of “tongues
as of fire” that
descended on each of the apostles. And
there’s just the fact that these apostles, who not long before this, locked
themselves in an upper room out of fear, are now going out, boldly proclaiming
the Good News of Jesus Christ to anyone who was listening!
But what should
strike us more than anything, I guess because of the times in which we’re
living, is that when the apostles came out and spoke to the crowd, everyone in
the crowd could understand them, even though they came from different parts of
the world and spoke different languages. Maybe you could say it was a miracle of
communication, even without Google Translate and Zoom and Skype, and all the
rest.
We believe
that at our baptism we, too, received the Holy Spirit, which was confirmed at
our confirmation. And so, we, too, are
called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Our challenge is to proclaim the Gospel in
such a way, following John XXIII, that people can understand.
But in order
to speak in a way that makes sense to people, we need to listen to them. In our politics, and in our ongoing “culture
wars,” there doesn’t seem to be much value placed on listening to the “other.” The only way most people get their ‘news’
these days is through “opinion journalism”, which has become neither “fair” nor
“balanced”, with little room for dissention.
But how can we truly communicate unless we’re willing to listen as well
as speak, and to be impacted by what we hear?
In the
Gospel (John 15:26-27, 16:12-15), Jesus says to His disciples: “I
have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the
Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” It’s been my experience that the
more I listen to those whose experience and background and culture are
different from mine, that I gain in understanding and knowledge of the truth.
And so I
wonder, at this time in our history, that, as the Holy Spirit is moving us to
be witnesses to the love of God in Jesus Christ, that we’re also being called
to listen and to serve, so that our testimony may be better understood and
accepted.
May we be
found, in the words of those listening to the apostles, speaking of “the
mighty acts of God.”
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