Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Christ's Pentecostal breath resuscitates our lives. Again and again he inspires (literally breathes into us) and fills us with his Holy Spirit. Pentecost is an act of recreation, freeing us to leave the darkness, to step out of our house into a new world and a new life. Nothing is retained against us, so let us not retain anything against ourselves or one another. We are invited to be forgiven; in other words, we are invited to be pentecosted- God and humanity sharing one breath, one life. So what are we to do with this holy breath of God? Just breathe.
Meditation by Abbot Damian.
