Gospel in Art: The Feast of Pentecost

The Descent of the Holy Spirit, by Gustave Doré, Engraved in 1870's ©Christian Art

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 19 May 2024
John 15:26-27, 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples:

'When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the outset.

'I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now.

But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He will glorify me, since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: All he tells you will be taken from what is mine.'

Reflection on the engraving

In our engraving today we have the three classical depictions of the Holy Spirit:

- the dove (based on the account in Matthew 3:16: As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove);
- the rays of light (this imagery for the Holy Spirit is taken from the Annunciation announcement when the Holy Spirit came upon - - - Mary, and she was overshadowed with the power of the Most High, Luke 1:35);
and - the small flames (the Acts of the Apostles, Acts 2:3, describes the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles as tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them).

Pentecost is the feast of the Holy Spirit. Today's gospel reading from John's gospel refers to the Holy Spirit as the 'Spirit of Truth'. At every step of our life's journey, we look to the Spirit to lead us towards the complete truth, towards a completely truthful way of living. But that isn't easy. When we come to Mass on a Sunday we not only proclaim the gospel; we also proclaim ourselves to be gospel people. We do that knowing there is a gap between the proclamation we make and the daily reality of our lives.

We will always be straining to reach the values of the gospel. In that sense, being a Christian is a strain, what Paul calls 'straining forward to what lies ahead'. Being a Christian thus involves tension, but it is a healthy tension: between what we say and what we do; between who we are and who we want to be. The Spirit is given to us to empower us so that we keep journeying towards the truth, especially in the times when we are painfully away of the gap between the person we feel called to be and the person we are in reality.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-15-26-27-16-12-15-2024/