Do you struggle as a Catholic in preaching the gospel to others? Do you see this as something that only the ordained do? Father Mayer explains the steps to take to allow the Holy Spirit to empower your tongue in the same way that happened to those in the early church, which led to the radical transformation of the disciples into an unstoppable missionary force. This homily was given on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022.
Do you struggle as a Catholic in preaching the gospel to others? Do you see this as something that only the ordained do? Father Mayer explains the steps to take to allow the Holy Spirit to empower your tongue in the same way that happened to those in the early church, which led to the radical transformation of the disciples into an unstoppable missionary force. This homily was given on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022.
There is a quote that is often thrown around often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, that lots of people like, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.” I think that people like this quote because there is truth to it. How you live your life, your actions, your witness is important. This quote is also convenient because many people would prefer not to share the gospel with words. Telling people that they need to convert, change their lives, can be awkward. However, there is a problem with this quote. I cannot find any evidence that St. Francis, of all people said this. St. Francis was the guy that was known to preach to anyone and anything. He would go to extravagant parties and share the gospel there. He would preach to anyone who he met. He was even known to preach to the birds. So, if anything, what St. Francis would much more likely to have said would have been something like, “Preach the gospel at all times and God’s sake, USE WORDS!”
I bring all of this up because today we are celebrating Pentecost, what is remembered as the empowerment of the Church by the Holy Spirit, God the spirit, the second person of the trinity, for the preaching of the gospel. The purpose of Pentecost was to fill those first disciples, to fill the church so, that they could preach the gospel.
- The scriptures says that they were gathered in that room and the Holy Spirit came down upon them as tongues of fire. Imagine that! A flame that was in the shape of a tongue. Why the shape of a tongue? Well, the next verse answers that question. The disciples then began preaching the gospel by being really nice to each other. No, they began miraculously SPEAKING with their tongues. They miraculously began speaking even in other tongues, to everyone to all people, even of different languages! They used their tongues. Interesting that the word tongue is used rather than other languages. Apparently the tongue is a pretty big deal as to what Pentecost is all about.
- Tell you what. Let’s do something uncomfortable (wink) so that you will always remember what Pentecost is about. I would like to ask you to stick out your tongue for a moment. Be brave. Stick it out there. I want to make sure that everyone here has one of these things. Alright good, everyone here has a tongue. You can put it back in your mouth. Alright. Now you won’t forget what this homily is about or what Pentecost is about. You can be like, “Remember that really awkward homily that Father gave where he asked us to stick out our tongues?”
I am doing this because I want to drive home the point that you need to use that thing, that tongue for good! On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down up on the disciples in the shape of a tongue and he empowered their tongues.
Preaching the gospel, that is using your words, is the essential mission of the Church. This is the message of Pentecost! While actions are important, this does not in any way diminish the importance of words, of sharing the gospel, sharing the story of Christ, of his resurrection, his teaching, and about the Church that he founded. Words are needed to do this.
- Words are important. Consider that Christ is described as the Word of God made flesh. The first chapter of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is the Word of God that has taken on human flesh and bones. His life was about actions, but also words. He taught his followers that the things that come out of your mouth are more important than the things that go in your mouth. He said in Matthew 12 “I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter; 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” In John 20 he gave the leaders of the Church the authority to use words to forgive sins. He said, “whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you do not forgive are not forgiven.” If you have serious sin and you have not absolved by the words of a priest, according to Christ your sins are not forgiven. I still remember at my first confession when the priest said, “I absolve you of your sins.” Those words were filled with real power and it changed my life. Words are important.
- Preaching the gospel is the essential mission of the Church. We are here to be a blessing both in our actions and through our words. Remember what Jesus said when he began his ministry. “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news. He said in another place, “I must preach the good news. That is what I was sent to do. St. Paul said, 1 Cor 9:16 Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! In other words, if I did not preach the gospel, if I did not share this good news that I have, then I would deserve to be punished. Pope Paul VI quoted the bishops gathered together in Rome in 1974 to discuss evangelization: "We wish to confirm once more that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church. . . to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ's sacrifice in the Mass, the memory of his death and resurrection. Pope Benedict wrote: “everyone, according to his or her proper state in life, is called to give an incisive contribution to the proclamation of Christ” (Verbum Domini).
- To those being confirmed today, one of the primary reasons, if not the primary reason for you to receive this strengthening, this empowerment of the Holy Spirit is so that you can evangelize, so that you can use your words to share the gospel with others. The Church teaches that “The Holy Spirit is the principal agent of evangelization” (Evangeli Nuntiandi 75). The Church’s Code of Canon law states that through receiving this sacrament you are enriched by special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence, you will become a true witness of Christ, and be more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed. That might sound scary, but do not worry. You are not on your own. You are receiving power from on high today.
The Church definitely wants you to live a holy life and will do everything possible to help you with this, but also to spread and defend the faith with your words, with your tongue. This preaching of the gospel is the essential mission of the Church. If we simply get together, enjoy one another’s company, and then go out into the world as nice friendly people, but do not use our words to share this good news that we have been given, then we are missing our mission, our purpose for being.
The challenge of course is, how do you do this? How do you share your faith? How do you use that tongue of yours? I would recommend following the Pentecost example.
- 1. In getting ready for this big day, the disciples studied and learned and allowed themselves first to be evangelized. Pope Saint John Paul II once said that we have lots of Catholics, baptized as infants, raised in the Church, but never committed to a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus and the Gospel (Redemptoris Missio). Commit to this and learn about the joy of your faith and the joy of evangelization. Read the document that Pope St. Paul VI wrote on evangelization, Evangelii Nuntiandi. Read the Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis. A great place to start is by being evangelized yourself.
- 2. Next, pray with the Church. Notice that in getting ready for Pentecost, for this filling of the Holy Spirit, the 12 apostles and the blessed mother gathered together with the disciples and prayed together, all while being led by Peter. This is how they got ready for the Holy Spirit to empower them. This sounds a whole lot like the Catholic Church! We gather with the successors of the apostles, the bishops in our prayers. We are led by Peter, that is the Pope. The blessed mother who is very important to us, is here praying with us, as are the apostles. This is how you get ready to be filled by the Holy Spirit. Through prayer and spending time with the Church. This is how you get ready to use that tongue of yours.
- 3. However, there is one more step. Embrace the awkward! I already got you to stick out your tongue, which means that you are well on your way. Can you imagine how awkward it was for the disciples on the day of Pentecost, here they are all speaking in other languages in some miraculous way. Some people are amazed. Other people are calling them drunk. All of this must have been a little or a lot awkward, not the norm, they probably felt silly. Especially when you first getting started evangelizing, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through you, it can be awkward and that’s okay. Awkward is okay. Embrace the discomfort. Embrace humility. The Lord will work in spite of your self consciousness.
So, how do you use that tongue of yours? Follow the Pentecost example. Allow yourself to be evangelized, commit yourself to the Lord and the gospel. Open yourself to the movement of the Holy Spirit by praying with the Church, with the Pope, with our bishops, with our Blessed Mother. Then use that tongue of yours even though it might not feel right at first.
On the day of Pentecost the Spirit of God came down upon the disciples in the form of a tongue. He empowered their tongues to preach the gospel. Word’s matter. Do not give into the temptation of saying, “Well, I am just going to be a nice person. I’m going to keep my beliefs to myself.” Preaching the gospel, sharing the good news using actions AND words, is essential to our mission. So be open yourself to being evangelized, pray with the church so that the Holy Spirit can flow through your to share the good news of Christ with others. Embrace the awkward, allow the Holy Spirit to use that tongue of yours. Amen.