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A Radically New Humanity
Jesus envisions a new human family beyond ethnic, religious, gender or linguistic lines. Paul speaks of Christ who “reconciles everything in his person” (Col 1:20) “one new man” and proclaims, “All are one Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). In the Incarnation, Jesus crosses the border between the divine and the human, between the eternal and the temporal. Border crossing is most clear in the Pentecost event. The Holy Spirit offers an eschatological hope to be experienced and realized now. The Holy Spirit provides a new meeting ground for dialogue among various cultural groups.
The characteristics of the apostolic Church in Jerusalem as described in the Acts reveal the radically transformed self-understanding of the early Christians and hint at a new human community and a new humanity. When the Spirit descended on them, they did not speak a unified language, yet they somehow understood one another. The Church was manifested and created anew by the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost. Through the Spirit, the Church, the people of God, became the body of Christ. What is really significant about the event of Pentecost is the spiritual transformation and empowerment of the disciples by the Holy Spirit.
The Babel of pride and ambition symbolizes our divided and confused world, further exacerbated by an incommunicable multilingual mess. On Pentecost, on the other hand, people spoke in various languages, but they understood each other and were united with one another through the bond of love, the Spirit. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the disciples in Jerusalem began to speak in different languages, which Jews, Greeks, Mesopotamians, North Africans, and Italians heard in their mother tongues (Acts 1:1-11). This event symbolizes the missionary nature of the Church. From Jerusalem, the geographical center of the saving events, the early Christians were sent to the ends of the earth so as to bring the Good News to every creature: a movement from the center to the periphery. Therefore, the Church speaks many languages and embraces all cultures, but she proclaims one Lord of all, who is over all and in all.
The Holy Spirit reconvenes and reconstitutes the Church ever anew. There are cultural and spiritual elements and ethos that are peculiar and distinct to each of us and at the same time salient to contribute to the common good of the Church universal. Many of us are accustomed to being monocultural or bicultural at best. We must move beyond an entrenchment mentality in isolation. We need to build up our intercultural competency. When we discover something good and beautiful in other people and cultures, we should rejoice and celebrate the discovery, because our lives and perspectives are enriched. It is the challenge of modern times for us to actively live out the catholicity of the faith. I am so proud of the people of St. Jude for making room for one another, growing in mutual understanding, and showing a concrete sense of accommodation and friendship with one another.
Happy birthday to all of us, because Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. May the Holy Spirit continue to renew us, reform us, and recreate us as the Body of Christ in the world and for the life of the world! In this way, the Church remains a beacon of Christ and gives hope to the world.
Fr. Paul D. Lee