Pentecost caps off the Paschal Mystery. Jesus accomplished the work of redemption, destroyed the power of death, gave the Church its priesthood and sacraments, gave the Apostles His authority (and the mission) to forgive sins, commissioned them to spread the Gospel, and then ascended into heaven. With the gift of the Holy Spirit, the nascent Church had everything divine it needed.  

Of the many ways we can consider this great mystery, here’s one off the beaten path for many modern Catholics: the Decalogue. The Jewish feast of reception of the Ten Commandments and Pentecost have many parallels. Not the least of which is that the Jewish Feast of Weeks, or Shavout, was the occasion for Pentecost.  

At Shavuot, the Jews celebrate the wheat harvest and the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. It was one of the three “traveling” feasts where Jews would go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem—Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles being the other two.  That’s why there was such a crowd in Jerusalem. Every year, Shavuot falls on the calendar seven weeks after Passover.  

This is also a helpful lesson to remind us that salvation history didn’t start with the New Testament. Moses, the prophets, the patriarchs, and everyone in between are our ancestors in the faith. We are part of a single story and a single family. 

Covenant & Mediation at Sinai

At Sinai and at Pentecost, God renewed a covenant with His people, and used a mediator to communicate it.  

Mountains often hosted encounters with God in the Old Testament; man went to God and then brought God’s message back down to the people. As a shepherd before the Exodus from Egypt, Moses went up Mount Sinai and first encountered God in the burning bush (Exodus 3). Later, after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, Moses went up Mount Sinai again and came down with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).  

If Moses’ job was simply to deliver the law, the feast would be stripped of much of its meaning. If the Israelites merely had to assent to this new manner of living, fine.  

“Sure thing, God.  Joshua, can you please pass the manna?” The scene that unfolded in Exodus 24 had God binding Himself to His Chosen People in a covenant. The Israelites heard the Word of God from Moses twice (verses 3 and 7), responding, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do.” After the first reading, Moses built an altar at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Young men of Israel offered sacrifice on the altar. Moses took part of the blood of the sacrifice into basins, read the “book of the covenant” again to the people, and then threw the blood onto the people. This sealed the covenant between God and Israel and it got even more dramatic. 

“Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.  And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.”  – Exodus 24:9-11

This last part is important, since later in Exodus, God declares that no man can see His face and live (33:20).  Yet here, Moses, Aaron, and the other 72 went up the mountain, beheld God Himself, and shared a covenant meal with Him.  Imagine the stories they told their children and grandchildren!

Covenant & Mediation at Pentecost

At Pentecost, many of the similar elements exist. It took place on a mountain: Mount Zion, the city of Jerusalem. Thanks to the Feast of Weeks, a large number of Jews were gathered. It wasn’t quite the whole nation, as at Sinai, but Jerusalem was packed with Jews from all over the diaspora. St. Luke gives us a geography lesson in the ancient world in his account of Pentecost.  Parthia, Media, Elam, Persia, and Mesopotamia all came from the east; primarily modern-day Iraq and Iran.  Phrygia, Pamphylia, Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia are part of modern-day Turkey. Others came from north Africa, Crete, and Rome (Acts 2:7-11).  I think we should look at this as a superabundant fulfillment.  

God previously gave His Law and Himself to the people of Israel.  Their mission was to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6, 49:6, 60:3). In the New Covenant, Israel fulfills its mission in the preaching of the Church.  Vivified and illumined by the light of Christ, the Word of God goes out beyond Jerusalem to ‘the nations’ that were assembled at Mount Zion for the Feast of Weeks.  

There is a key difference in the transmission of the Word of God, however. At Sinai, man went up to God. At Pentecost, God the Holy Spirit came down to man. This follows the pattern of the Incarnation, which some of the Church Fathers described as an ineffable condescension. The God Who created the universe and knit together the human body, soul, and intellect came to save us by becoming one of us. Then Jesus gave us the Eucharist, His very self!  He promised the Advocate before ascending into heaven, and what comes down, but the very life of the most Holy Trinity!  

Bold, highlighted, italicized, with flashing neon lights: WHAT MORE COULD GOD HAVE POSSIBLY GIVEN US?  

 Just like at Sinai, the people that heard Peter and the apostles preach had to respond. Some scoffed, but many replied. St. Luke notes that they were cut to the heart. “What do we do?”  St. Peter responded in love—yes, Peter’s words are from the very heart of Christ: 

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.” – Acts 2:38-39

What is St. Peter telling us from the heart of Christ?  Repent of sin and leave it behind.  It comes between us and Jesus, and if we do not repent, it will be an eternal obstacle.  Then be baptized and be one with Him!  Entering into baptism is entering into the New Covenant that far surpasses the blood of goats and bulls.  We receive the Holy Spirit, which draws us and envelops us in the loving communion of the Holy Trinity. 

This Pentecost, take some time to reflect on the long, forbearing love that God has shown humanity.  Pray for an open heart to receive the great gift of the Holy Spirit!