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Reflections After Paschaltide 2026: Pentecost

Reflections After Paschaltide 2026: Pentecost

Last updated on: May 24, 2026 at 1:55 am by Henry Karlson

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Reflections After Paschaltide 2026: Pentecost 2026-05-24T01:55:13-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Pete unseth: Pentecost mosaic / Wikimedia Commons

Sin turned humanity against itself, having people divided into various smaller groups of people who were unable to properly understand and work with each other. This was one of the points of the story of the Tower of Babel; in it, we see how pride makes humanity unable to hold itself together as one, but rather, it has people divide up into groups which eventually end up warring against each other. At Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s followers in Jerusalem, we are shown the eschatological reversal of the tower of Babel. As Christ’s followers receive the Spirit, they find themselves coming together in love, breaking down the barriers of pride, seen in the way they can understand each other, even if they normally speak different languages:

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4 RSV).

In hindsight, the faithful saw what happened at Pentecost as fulfilling the prophecy of Joel when he said, “”And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit” (Joel 2:28-29 RVS). Thus, the Spirit came upon Christ’s followers, empowering them to set aside their pride and everything which could divide them, so they could form bonds of love which had them represent the unity humanity will have in the eschaton: The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, sent to the world after Christ’s ascension, after Jesus went “away”: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (Jn. 16:7 RSV). Several times throughout his ministry Jesus indicated that he would give “living water,” that is, the Spirit, to his followers, and at Pentecost, we see exactly what he meant, which is why, in the Gospel of John, we see him writing about Jesus’s words with understanding as to what Jesus meant:

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, `Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'”

Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (Jn. 7:37-39 RSV).

It was with this hindsight Christians came to see the connection between what Jesus promised with the prophecy of Joel, a prophecy they had already believed would be (and so was) fulfilled in the “last days’ (cf. Acts 2:17). As to what it meant to to say they were in the last days, the time spoken of by Joel,it took Christians time to properly understand. Initially, most believed it meant that Christ would return quickly after his ascension, bringing an end to world history. This, of course, did not happen. Now, with our own understanding of history, we can suggest that it related to changes Jesus brought to the world, changes which brought in a new “age” of human history, one which is also its last. It was brought about by the incarnation; that is the end times was initiated when the eschaton became immanent in Christ Jesus. After his birth, all of history experiences, in some way, the fruit of the immanent eschaton, allowing all subsequent history to be designated as the “end times,” that is, the time in which the influence of the immanent eschaton, and the grace the eschaton has brought into the world, can be experienced the most. Thank to the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost, we are able to participate in the kingdom of God, to experience, even during our lives, the eschaton for ourselves, even if history has not yet come to an end (showing that, even though the eschaton is immanent, there is an element of the eschaton which transcends us, an element which lies outside of time and exists in eternity). Thanks to Christ, the immanent eschaton, those living in the history after his ascension can have anticipatory experiences of the eternity, with Pentecost, with the way it has Christians (and those who saw what was happening) able to understand each other and come together as one being a great example of this:

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God” (Acts. 2:5-11 RSV).

In eternity, where sin will have no place, the confusion which sin causes to humanity, the divisions it creates, will no longer be found. Humanity will truly be one, even as creation will become one. But now, after Pentecost, we are called to receive the Spirit for ourselves (such as in and through the sacrament of confirmation or chrismation). Like those who came before us, if we open ourselves to the Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, we will find ourselves united to others in the body of Christ, becoming one with them, allowing us to experience, in part, the eschatological reality unleashed by Christ. We will receive various charisms, charisms which are also representations or foretastes of eternity. Each charism is special, giving us the grace we need to live our our own unique lives, our own unique place in history but also in the body of Christ. The Spirit who gives some the charism of priestly orders is the same Spirit who comes to the laity, giving them charisms of their own, helping some to become mystics, some to become doctors healing the sick, some to become laborers working hard producing food and other goods needed for the common good, and to others, their own gifts, which they might not even know they have and will need someone else to help them discover it for themselves (be it a good friend or a spiritual director). Everyone who receives the Spirit will have their own charism(s), but it is up to them to use what has been given to them, and to them well. Will we do so with what we have been given? That depends upon us and if we will the other call of the Spirit, the call to a life of holiness, not just by looking to particular sins and avoiding them, but by embracing the virtues, and the love which is the foundation of all virtue. The Spirit who comes to us, the Spirit who sanctifies us and gives us charisms, is the Spirit of Love; the holiness of the Spirit if the holiness of Love. And so, on Pentecost, the Spirit of Love descended on the faithful to show to them, and the world, the glory which is to come in eternity, when all will come together as one, so filled with love, they not only understand each other, they will find great joy in the love and unity they have with each other.

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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