May 26
Pentecost John 20: 19-23BACKGROUND
This brief Gospel reading from John's rendering of a traditional account of Jesus' post-resurrection appearance in Jerusalem has the bestowing of the Spirit occurring on Easter. Jesus breathed on the disciples, recalling the action in Genesis 2 when God breathed on Adam, giving the first human life. Adam's life came from God and now the disciples receive a new life from Jesus. Some scholars suggest that the commission may apply to the believing community as a whole, not just to the "the Twelve" (really only ten) gathered in the upper room. Instead of the power of forgiveness referring to the process of forgiving the sins committed by the Christians, it would be the bestowing of the Spirit on those who believe as a result of the disciples "mission" and join the community.
STORY
Once upon a time, long ago and far away, an unmarried woman gave birth to a son. The laws of her church required that she repent of her sin and identify the father of her child. When she refused, the church community voted to banish her from their midst. The mother, angered by this action, cursed her accusers. She and her son continued to live in the village. Whenever she encountered members of the congregation, she would heap accusations upon them. When her son grew to adulthood, he left the town to fight for his country in a terrible war. He was a great hero in that war; but did not return to the town where he, as well as his mother, had been the object of much ridicule. One day, his mother, lonely and eager to make her peace with God, went to the new pastor of the church and confessed her sins and asked forgiveness. She told him she had not wanted to name the father of her child because it would cause great sorrow for that married man's family and force him to give up his prominent position in the community. The pastor forgave her sins and promised to ask the church community to welcome her back. At the next gathering of the congregation, the pastor presented her case to the members and asked for a vote for her re-admission to the congregation. The members, still smarting from her long ago curses and her ongoing accusatory behavior, cast a unanimous vote against her. At the end of the service, the pastor stood and announced that this would be the congregation's last meeting. Since the members were unwilling to be witnesses to the mission of Jesus and recognize the goodness of a woman who believed in his admonition to "judge not and you will not be judged, " the community was no longer a sign of God's Spirit in their world. The next day, a woman of the congregation approached the pastor and asked if he would assemble the people one more time for another vote on the repentant woman's fate. She then spent the remainder of the week encouraging her fellow members to see what the pastor was trying to tell them about themselves as a community. The second vote was unanimous for accepting the mother back into the congregation. The Spirit of God worked in strange ways for this congregation, a reminder to all of how that Spirit constantly challenges all believers.
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