In today’s Gospel, we see the reversal of the tower of Babel. At Babel, they tried to get to Heaven on their own, no humility. Instead, they found themselves separated from one another (no communion.) In the upper room, we find the disciples on their knees in humility, praying for God’s will. The Spirit descends like tongues of flames and we see people brought to life, filled with vigor and purpose. They go out into the world and begin immediately to make a difference. As I was pondering on these thoughts during Mass, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look at one of the flowers near the Altar. A leaf, dead and withered, fell silently to the ground. What does all of this have to do with faith? Well for some reason it reminds me of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
I’ve been thinking a lot about confession lately. Mostly about how under appreciated it is. I think most people see it as if God is up there pruning the Church just trying to get rid of you. That Confession is really just your way of not getting cut this week or month or year. Or that God has already cut you off, and confession picks you up off the floor and puts you back on the tree. Maybe in some way that analogy works, but it misses the greatest part of confession… love. You see the leaf isn’t you. The leaf falling to the ground is all those sinful things in the world that are weighing you down. Confession is indeed the pruning process, but it’s pruning things off you, not you off of the body of Christ. God isn’t waiting up in the sky for you to make a mistake just so he can kick you out… He is waiting with love behind the door of confession, to help you live a life of abundance.. a life filled with joy. He’s there in all of the Sacraments, giving you access to life-changing grace. Just as He breathed on the disciples to imbue them with the tools they need for the journey, He is waiting to fill us with the grace we need to shed anything keeping us away.
A friend of mine recently told me he thought I had no joy in my life because I don’t enjoy dirty jokes or raunchy humor anymore. No, my life is not lacking in joy. I am far from a prude. The thing is I know that some things weigh me down and keep me from being like the Apostles, filling up with the Holy Spirit and stepping out into the world to help bring the Gospel to those who misunderstand it. Easter officially ends tonight with Evening Prayer, bringing us back into Ordinary time. Pentecost is a reminder that this isn’t the end of our journey. The changes we put forward in Lent, the joy we expressed in Easter, they are just the start of our journey. Ordinary time isn’t more of the “ordinary”, more of the same. It’s the moment we burst forth from the upper room, preaching the Gospel with every ounce of our being. As the second reading today reminds us, we all have work to do, each of us belongs and each of us was created with unique gifts to deliver the Gospel in our own way. Happy Pentecost!
A reflection on the readings for Pentecost, June 9th, 2019.