Gospel Reflection May 24 – Fr. Carter
Sunday, May 24
Pentecost Sunday
John 20: 19-23
Gospel:
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
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.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Gospel Reflection:
“The doors were locked…”
Pentecost begins not with boldness, but with fear. The disciples are gathered behind locked doors, uncertain and afraid. Yet Jesus enters directly into that fear and speaks the words they most need to hear: “Peace be with you.” Then He breathes the Holy Spirit upon them and sends them out on their mission to be His witnesses, to go forth spreading the Gospel and baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The same Holy Spirit given to the Apostles is also given to us in baptism. The Holy Spirit does not remove every difficulty from our lives, but He gives us the courage, peace, and strength to face them with Christ’s help, living as faithful disciples. Pentecost reminds us that the Church was born not through human power, but through God’s Spirit working in the lives of ordinary people.
This week, let us ask the Holy Spirit to open the locked doors of our own hearts — our fears, doubts, and complacency — so that we may live with greater faith, forgiveness, and joy, relying on His sevenfold gifts in us, and living out the faith we profess in our daily lives.
Fr. T. A. Carter