the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews
The doors were locked, because of fear. Fear, an enemy of faith, an enemy to those who work to do God’s will.
In our day and age it’s easy to fear. We have wars going on all about us. Our cities are ravaged by crime. Immigrants come from all corners of the world and we are distrustful of them. We are in the middle of a political war that will drag on for at least another six months. Real fear and fear perceived. As people of faith we cannot let fear turn us from our mission. We cannot left fear rule human lives.
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, —Peace be with you.—
We hear that the disciples rejoiced. Of course they did. Their rock and strength had returned. They saw the awesome power of God. No one could touch them now.
Jesus said to them again, —Peace be with you.
What happened in-between the first peace, the rejoicing, and the second peace?
I think that the disciples soon realized that Jesus wasn’t going to hand-hold them anymore. Perhaps they realized that He would soon ascend, leaving them to do something, something they were ill prepared for, something that no locked door could stop. Something they did not understand because of fear.
Then Jesus said:
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.—
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
—Receive the Holy Spirit.
The disciples couldn’t lock the door any longer. The danger wasn’t on the outside anymore. The disciples held the most dangerous thing ever given man in their hand and hearts – Jesus’ commission to them.
They now had a power and a commission that could not be contained in a small locked room. On Pentecost Sunday it burst forth:
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
My friends,
So what?
So what?
The strong driving wind, the tongues of flame, the fire and power of the Holy Spirit, given to us so that we might carry out the commission of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, mean absolutely nothing unless we get to work.
Our parish does a lot. We sponsor many events. We talk to many people. These are all worthy and valuable endeavors, but only insofar as we use them as a means to further our core mission – the proclamation of Christ, the teaching of the unchurched, and the baptism of the unbaptized – all in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
We received the Holy Spirit – each of us was anointed and the bishops of the Holy Church breathed upon us – just as Jesus did, and they said to us – receive the Holy Spirit.
We have to get to work because the people out there are slipping away. They do not love Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. They do not follow His commands. They think that God is about being nice and polite. It’s not true. God is dangerous and subversive because He destroys fear. The vastness of His love is scary, and His mercy is undeserved, and He gives freely of love and mercy. They need to know that He is here, that He has shown the way, that eternal life awaits them and that God loves them. We need to call them so that they would acknowledge and cling to His way.
We cannot lock our doors, trying to hold it all in, fearful of what is out there. They are out there, and they are living in fear – they are waiting to hear His word. We have to get to work.
Like the disciples, Jesus isn’t going to hand hold us. Jesus has left us with something we must do, even if we feel ill prepared for it. No locked door can stop what we must do. Let us get up. Let us be on our way. We have the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, a commission, and faith. Throw open the doors, and be about His work. The people out there will say of us:
—we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.——¨
Amen.