The room was pretty full. It was warm but a gentle breeze was blowing—that would change. There was fear in the room. The Roman army was a thing to be feared, they had just crucified Jesus and it was a dangerous thing to associates of an executed criminal.
They were also anxious about the promise. The only thing they knew about God descending in fire was the experience of their ancestors at Mount Sinai. When that happened they all ran and hid and said to Moses, Never let God speak to us again; you go talk with Him and come back and tell us what the said.
He taught them a lot in those forty days, He had breathed on them, gave them power to forgive and retain sins, fed them loaves and fish, appointed Peter as his shepherd, commanded them to go out from Jerusalem to the world. He explained to them much about the Kingdom of God and their tasks as His emissaries.
They looked at each other with obvious concern on their faces—they were fearful. They locked themselves in the Upper Room to pray as He had commanded. They were praying for what they feared—fire upon a mountain, Mount Zion. They prayed for nine days, the first Novena, before the promise of the Holy Spirit fell.
In Israel is a group of Jews desiring to leave the big city and start their own new community they needed a minimum of 120 names on a list. What was happening here in the Upper Room? A new community was being started. The word “church” in the New Testament is ecclesia which means “a group of people called out.” Even today the Knessett (lawmaking body in Israel) is made up of 120 representatives.
This certainly implies the Church is not just a loose association of like-minded followers of Jesus. It is a social structure with legal boundaries. It has it’s own legislature, courts and hierarchy. It is a “new city” with a constitution and authority. You are in or out. This is exactly what the Church is – with leaders having the authority to bind and loose, make laws and adjudicate them, include or exclude people from the organization, to forgive or retain sins. Only the worldwide Catholic Church could even begin to claim this status.
Mary was also there because the others were afraid of the descent of God in fire on this new mountain. I am convinced they trembled in fear not only of the Jews and Romans outside, but of the prophesied “baptism of fire” within—as they wondered and feared that might be. The gentle breeze was about to become a rushing wind.
But Mary was there to calm their anxieties. I bet she said something like, “Don’t be afraid my friends, the Holy Spirit has already overshadowed me and He was pure love. Just wait until you are bathed in His love!” The gentle breeze became a rushing wind but it was warm and
Remember, Jesus said he was like a grain of wheat that would be buried in the ground. The grain must be buried and die to bear its fruit. Jesus died, was buried in the ground and rose from the dead as the first fruit. Now on the “Feast of First Fruits” the first of the harvest is brought to God. We learn that 3,000 people were added to the Church that day—all in keeping with the tremendous symbolism and deeper meaning to all these events.
And with these deep mysteries and truths we are just scratching the surface. Come to the Holy Land with us, get out your Bibles and study books (or Verbum Catholic Bible Study software) and dig deeper. “There is gold in them there hills” for those with eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts and minds to learn. Enter promo code STEVERAY for a 10% discount.
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Great article Steve!
love to know where you got the pictures of the Pentecost paintings. I would like to enlarge one of them and make it into a banner to put in front of our church (St. Peter – Omaha). I would need a high resolution picture to do this. Please let me know.
I missed you the last time you were in Omaha last January/February. I was on a trip to DC with the youth from Omaha for the March for Life.
Greetings to Janet and the family,
Fabio
STEVE RAY HERE: FABIO, I DON’T KNOW WHERE THE ORIGINAL IS OR WHERE I GOT IF FROM. SORRY. SORRY WE MISSED YOU IN OMAHA.
I am trying to understand that there were 120 people (names) in the upper room at Pentecost. I have read and reread Acts 1 and 2. Acts 1 mentions the 120 when they chose a replacement for Judas. Acts 2 speaks of Peter going out with the 11 to address the crowds that gathered at the sound of the Holy Spirit coming. They asked what they (the crowd) should do and Peter replies "Repent and be baptized…. and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." If they all had been in the upper room, they would already have the Holy Spirit. I hope you can see my confusion and help me understand better. Thanks Lisa
STEVE Ray HERE:
You’ll notice that 3000 people were added that day. So the crowd was obviously much larger than the 120 in the upper room.
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