The Birthday of the Church, Pentecost: Reversing the Divisive Effects of the Tower of Babel by Redeeming Unity

It's Pentecost, wrapping up with the 50 day celebration of the resurrection of Christ. And, it is also the day of celebration for this is the birthday of the Church - the one holy catholic apostolic Church, as proclaimed in the Nicene Creed.  It's time to be sent out to do some serious works - very important work, given how sick the world is today.

There is something important drawn from the First Readings on Pentecost Vigil Mass and Pentecost Day Mass. And, what is discern from this comparative reading gives a lesson very necessary today, especially in this time the world suffer from divisions and confusion. The current covid-19 pandemic’s social effects are characterized with confusion and division. Many are confused if covid-19 is a real new deadly pandemic or nothing but one of these influenzas and if the responsible pathogen, novel coronavirus, is artificially developed with a certain malicious intention or is one of these zoonotic viruses. And divisions accompany with this confusion as to how we should respond to the pandemic phenomena: There are those who take it seriously with a careful measures and those who refuse to do so but laugh at those who take the matter seriously. This does not help combat the pandemic at all. In order to overcome it, we must be in unity. When divided and confused, no battle can be won. And, one important lesson from Pentecost is unity.

The first option for the First Reading for Pentecost Vigil Mass (Genesis 11;1-9) recalls how our sin of pride to make our own name, trying to stand in par with God, resulted in division and confusion, represented with many different tongues. However, as the First Reading for Pentecost Mass (Acts 2:1-11) describes, God has begun reversing the dividing and confusing effects of building the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:9), by sending the mighty Holy Spirit to the disciples in unity, baptizing them into one body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13 – from the Second Reading for Pentecost ), thus, giving birth to the one holy apostolic catholic Church, through the Holy Spirit and one unified body of the disciples, as the Logos-Theos became flesh (John 1:14) through the Holy Spirit and the flesh of Immaculate Mary (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35), to give birth to Christ (Luke 1:26-38).

As Christmas is the birthday of Jesus, who is pre-existing Christ, the Logos-Theos, the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, his bride, also by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christ in the human flesh of Jesus has come to reverse the evolving effects of what Adam and his wife, Eve, has brought with their Original Sin. For this reason, he came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, as John the Baptist claimed of Christ (John 1:29). On the other hand, the Church, born through the Holy Spirit, as the disciples were baptized into this powerful Spirit as one body (1 Corinthians 12:13), to reverse what the Tower of Babel symbolically reminds: divisions and confusions, resulting of our sins.

It was Christ in Jesus, who came to this earth, to bring scattered people as one, back to his fold, as the Good Shepherd. And, for this he laid his life for us – our redemption (John 10:11). He invites us to be one with him as he is with the Father (John 14:20) and as the vine and its branches are connected seamlessly so that we can bear abundant fruit of mission of his love (John 15:1-17). After all, unity is Christ’s deep desire for us (John 17:21). So, while he is up in heaven, working on our places (John 14:2-3), Christ wants us to carry on his works on earth (John 14:12). Of course, he is not expecting us alone to do his works without any help and resources. That is why he has promised us to have a great gift – another Parakletos (John 14:16), the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17), echoing his statement in John 14:13-14). And, this promise of his on the gift has delivered on Pentecost as the mighty Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), the very one Spirit, to which we are called to be baptized to become and united as one body (1 Corinthians 12:13).

Before ascending into heaven, returning to the Father, Christ has commissioned us to be sent out as the apostles to make disciples of all nations with a promise of perpetual companionship of Parakletos (Matthew 28:19-20  and 1 John 2:1). This is for us to reverse to reverse the effects the Tower of Babel out of our pride (Genesis 11:1-9) so that all the divisions and confusions will be overcome and so that all the scattered people will be brought and united as one – as one growing body of Christ, who is one with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

Let us embark upon our mission for unity, overcoming divisions and confusions by renewing and empowering our faith in the risen Christ through the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.