We All Have a Mission - Pentecost Reflection (May 28, 2023)

“Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” - John 20: 22-23

For most of my childhood I played sports: team basketball, team baseball, and the occasional football and lacrosse with friends. And I loved playing sports, I loved being on a team, and I loved having a part within the larger organization that was my team. But despite my love for the sport, I simultaneously hated it. The thought of having a game the next day kept me up and I had a hard time focusing throughout the whole day. It was as if I had the LSAT exam the next day. But I didn't. I had a 7th grade CYO basketball game.

Every day that I had a game I had the same routine -- I would get nervous, then forget about it when I was with my friends, and then think about it again and see if I could coerce my dad into letting me stay home -- I knew I had no chance with my mom. And there was a reason I didn't have a chance with my mom -- she made it clear that I made a commitment and I had to stick with it. If next year I decided I didn't want to play we would talk, but for now, I am going to the games. It is important to note this -- all the nervousness and anxiety I had wasn't because I didn't love basketball or baseball. It was because I was nervous I wouldn't be able to carry out the plays and execute my skills accordingly.

Most of the time I ended up going to the games, and most of the time I did well -- I definitely made mistakes along the way, but for the most part, I played well. But how well I played isn't totally the point. The point is that I had a mission; my mission was to go to the games and play the best I can.

Isn't that the point of today's gospel? Jesus has his apostles a mission and with the power of the Holy Spirit, they are sent forth, expected to fulfill the mission to which they have committed. Jesus knows that his apostles, just like us, will make mistakes along the way -- they are human. But they have to try and spread the word of God, and fulfill their mission. I didn't want to go to the games, but my mom explained to me that I had made a commitment to that mission, and therefore, I was expected to do it. But I wasn't expected to do it alone. I had the support of my teammates, family, and coaches. Jesus gave his apostles an even better form of support: the Holy Spirit.

I used to watch a great series on Netflix called Manifest. It was about a plane that disappeared and then reappeared 5 years later, after experiencing some turbulence. None of the passengers had known what happened. But after they came back from the 5 year time gap, they started having these callings or visions. Not to give any spoilers, but eventually the wife of one of these passengers dies. And like any death it was completely devastating for the husband and the family. But for this family more than others based off what had happened in their past, namely the husband disappearing for 5 years and then suddenly reappearing.

But, after the wife died, the husband gave up. He literally ignored his children, not out of a lack of love, but out of immense sorrow for the passing of his wife. He felt his couldn't raise or support them well. He slept in the attic, where he planned and plotted out the events that had happened that led to his wife's death. But over time he realized he had an obligation to his kids but also to his deceased wife to be the best dad he could be. That was his mission. And although he wanted to give up, although he wanted to just live in sorrow for the rest of his life, he knew he couldn't, because he had a mission of caring his for children, and he had an eternal commitment for that. And just like my commitment to sports, he wasn't alone. He had a whole family at his side to help him, and he needed that help, just like we all do.

That is, at least in my opinion, the whole point of Pentecost. Jesus is calling us to a mission that we definitely aren't always ready for. There will be times when we feel like we don't want to believe or don't want to make that commitment to Jesus. But we have to remember that we have a mission. He charged us with the most important thing ever: spreading the Kingdom of God on earth. And to help us with this mission he gives us the Sacrament of Confirmation. We receive the Holy Spirit in the same way the apostles did 2,000 years ago. The bishop says "Be sealed with the Holy Spirit," and then says "Peace be with you." That dialogue comes right from John's gospel today. Therefore, we are ready for our mission.

The apostles accepted their mission. Will you?