by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace
As I mentioned in introducing the Gospel and as you noticed when you listened, St. Luke tells us Pentecost Sunday happened 50 days after Easter. St. John tells us it was Easter Sunday night. You might wonder, “Well, how come such a clear discrepancy?” But it’s a reminder to us — and it’s a very important reminder — of how the Scripture writers were not writing history as we think of it, were not writing the biography of Jesus.
They each had a perspective, a theological perspective, and they were writing in order to back up their perspective: what they had experienced with Jesus, and how Jesus had lived in their midst, and what Jesus had commanded them to do. So John probably is giving us what really happened Easter Sunday night. Jesus visited those very frightened disciples, who had abandoned him, and comes into their midst and says, “Peace be with you,” and then gives them a charge: “As God has sent me, I send you.”
But Luke was writing 50-some years later, and by that time, probably what had happened was that the original enthusiasm that the disciples felt at the resurrection and then being inspired with the Holy Spirit, it had begun to die out, and soon it was time to show them the importance of this outpouring of the Holy Spirit…
Why doesn’t EWTN even demonstrate recognition of your work? They claim to be sharing “the splendor of truth” but their behavior seems very committed to supporting right-wing politics at all costs to the church and the world. Thank God for you and others who proclaim the whole truth of the Gospel that Holy Mother Church proclaims.
Thanks so much Bruce for your kind words!
I think this is a real great blog article.Really thank you! Much obliged.
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