Jesus Appears to the Disciples

It’s Pentecost Sunday, a day when the Holy Spirit is endowed on the faithful. In today’s gospel Jesus suddenly appears in front of the frightened apostles. His presence is reassuring and his words of peace calm them. But being apostles isn’t about being at peace and comfortable. Jesus knows that it is going to be difficult for him to appear in physical form to reassure his followers every time. He therefore, gives them the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that transforms the scared apostles into world changing courageous saints.

We too are afraid, we easily give up the battle. Our hearts seem too fickle. We love God and praise him when it’s easy and comfortable. We let go of his hands when it gets difficult. We find it difficult to imagine Jesus with us saying, I’m here… peace be with you. Why is it so difficult to possess the fruits and virtues from the Holy Spirit? Well, the answer is to be filled with the Holy Spirit will require emptying out of ourselves. The flesh and the Spirit are always at conflict. So calling out to the Holy Spirit isn’t gonna work if we can’t get our priorities right. What do you need to empty from yourself?