Pentecost

by David Lins  |  05/23/2021  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

Imagine a near-dystopian future where the United States has continued to slide away from the Faith to the point where speaking out against the culture and/ or the government gets you thrown in jail. But it isn’t just the authorities you have to worry about. Your primary enemy has become your fellow citizen. The vast majority are drinking the Kool Aid and will permit no dissent. Violence against those swimming against the tide is swift and carried out by self-appointed watchers.

You are frustrated, outnumbered, and ridden with anxiety.

Then, you hear word of a man who speaks against the insanity with such eloquence his words cannot be refuted. Yes, there is danger, but there is also hope. There is finally hope that this leader whose words are amplified by their very truth will stir up such an uprising that maybe – just maybe – this tsunami of insanity can be battered back into the ocean of deception from whence it came.

And sure enough. Momentum builds by the day. More people rally to reverse a culture formerly caught in a death spiral. The man is the real deal and his fearlessness spreads like wildfire.

And then...the man is brutally murdered.

This is where the early Church found itself after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This random group of wholly unqualified men with little in common (aside from their dead leader) were largely in hiding.

John wrote down what happened next.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked...Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Then, on Pentecost, they were given the Holy Spirit. After that day, the disciples didn’t spend much time in hiding. No matter what the cost.

Questions? Comments? Reach David at dlins@oloj.org.