When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

– The Acts of the Apostles, 2:1-4

What does the Holy Spirit want us to proclaim about the appalling conflict and carnage in Israel between two peoples tracing their descent to Abraham's sons Isaac and Ismael? And how are we to speak in order that we may be heard and heeded?

On Pentecost Sunday, celebrating the Solemnity of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, the weeks of mutual bombardment by Hamas Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the Israel Defense Force (IDF) cannot but cry for heaven to still the blasts and heal fatally fissured flesh and families.

For what does it say about God and faith if both are silent over the decimation of innocents and the conflagration of hate? And it cannot just be 'Love one another' or even 'Love your enemies,' when clearly those words repeated for millennia do not stop the fingers pushing projectile buttons.

Thank God, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire last Friday, after eleven days of attacks. Israelis and Gaza Strip Palestinians can come out of hiding, aid workers can tend to the wounded and the hungry and peacemakers can try to restore the mechanisms of dialogue and restraint indispensable in avoiding future attacks.

With hardly any or no Christians on both sides, do the Holy Spirit and the faith he inspires have any role in this globe-shaking conflict in the Holy Land? What about countless other explosive concerns in which Christians and Christianity wield little influence, from the worldwide scramble for vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019, or Covid-19, to global poverty and climate change?

The real Pentecost miracle

There is nearly two millennia between the Pentecost events we celebrate today and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of our time, but the challenge for the faith remains the same: getting the Gospel message across to people with various tongues. Not just different languages, but also disparate beliefs and concerns.

When the Apostles, fired up and enlightened by the Spirit, preached to the street crowd, they had to mouth not just words in each person's own language, but also precepts they would comprehend and accept, as well as situations and problems they cared about.

So, it was not just hearing the Pentecost preaching in their own tongues that was the miracle wrought by the Spirit. Far more astounding was the attention and, for thousands, the belief given by this crowd of strangers to the claim that a crucified man was the Messiah promised by God, who died for Israel's salvation and rose from the dead.

Imagine seeing and hearing Peter speak for the first time and actually believing him when he proclaimed:

'Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know--this Jesus, delivered up according the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it' (Acts 2:22-24).

Indeed, as told by St. Luke the Evangelist, who wrote both his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, the people 'were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do?' (Acts 2:37).

To which Peter replied: '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' (Acts 2:38).

'About three thousand souls' were baptized (Acts 2:41). Probably among them were many who never heard of Jesus. And all of them surely never imagined, let alone believed until then, that a dead man, brutalized by crucifixion, could come back to life.

Speaking in tongues today

Today, we disciples of Jesus Christ are also asked to preach to all humanity, trusting that the Spirit would also open the ears and souls of strangers, even in today's materialistic, hedonistic, and irreligious world.

Like the Apostles at Pentecost, we too face the challenges not only of foreign languages, but also the ungodly cares and thinking of modern society. To get through those barriers to the Gospel, Christians not only learn to speak in many tongues, but also reach out through music and media, education and culture, charity work, justice advocacy, scientific research and a host of other human endeavors that touch people in ways they care about and understand.

In the words of St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians (9:22), Christians 'have become all things to all men that [we] might by all means save some.'

In today's global pandemic and recession, the ways we can reach out and proclaim God's love and mercy have exploded, with billions of people in dire need, daunting fear, or harrowing tragedy. When Christians lend a hand, give comfort or share wisdom, we open souls to the light of the Spirit, who can then work wonders.

Let us continue Pentecost in our particular lives and places by acts of mercy and justice, words of wisdom and inspiration, and even just our caring gaze, if not our touch of love. Then God can enter hearts and lead them to His salvation. Then, our prayer in the Responsorial Psalm 104 shall be answered:

'Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.' Amen.