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| “Jesus and Nicodemus” by Alexandre Bida, c.1873 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 4:32-37
The community of believers
was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any
of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in
common.
With great power the Apostles
bore witness
to the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded
them all.
There was no needy person
among them,
for those who owned property
or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the
sale,
and put them at the feet of
the Apostles,
and they were distributed to
each according to need.
Thus Joseph, also named by
the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated
"son of encouragement"),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that
he owned,
then brought the money and
put it at the feet of the Apostles.
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Commentary on Acts 4:32-37
This selection from Acts is the
second summary describing the community of faith at Jerusalem. The description
is of a community completely unified in the faith in the risen Lord. They live
in accordance with the practices followed by the disciples when they were with
Jesus, sharing all material possessions. The Barnabas mentioned in this
selection is presumed to be the same person who later joins Paul in his
missionary quests.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendor
robed;
robed is the LORD and girt
about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is
robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And he has made the world
firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from
of old;
from everlasting you are, O
LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is
robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your decrees are worthy of
trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is
robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
Psalm 93 is a hymn of praise
commemorating Yahweh as king. The external revelation of God mentioned in Sirach 1:1-10 is
celebrated in this song of praise. The image of God’s throne on high, repeated
here, reinforces God’s omnipotence.
“'The Lord is king':
literally, 'the Lord reigns.' This psalm, and Psalms 47; 96-99, are sometimes
called enthronement psalms. They may have been used in a special liturgy during
which God's ascent to the throne was ritually reenacted. They have also been
interpreted eschatologically, pointing to the coming of God as king at the
end-time.” [4]
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Gospel: John 3:7b-15
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"'You must be born from
above.'
The wind blows where it
wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it
comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is
born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said
to him,
'How can this happen?"
Jesus answered and said to
him,
"You are the teacher of
Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and
we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept
our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly
things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I
tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come
down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be
lifted up,
so that everyone who believes
in him may have eternal life."
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Commentary on Jn 3:7b-15
Jesus continues the discourse with Nicodemus started in John 3:1-8. When Nicodemus still does not understand the resurrection to which Jesus points when the Lord says “You must be born from above,” he becomes more explicit, reminding Nicodemus of the remedy of the saraph serpents employed by Moses (Numbers 21:9). He uses this as an analog to his own crucifixion, the salvation for all who are poisoned by sin.
CCC: Jn 3:7 526,
591; Jn 3:9 505; Jn
3:13 423,
440, 661; Jn 3:15 1033
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Reflection:
The dialogue between Jesus
and Nicodemus points out a paradox that has long driven different people to
express the lived faith differently. We
see this expressed in St. Luke’s description of the early church in the Acts of
the Apostles selection heard as the first reading today.
Christians are asked to
follow what Jesus taught: accepting the
Lord as the Son of God, as the one who came from heaven to earth bringing the
revelation of God’s love, and knowing he died and rose again, returning to the
Father. They are told to try to emulate
the perfect unity with Christ that exists in his Heavenly Kingdom. To do this the Christian is called to remain
separate from the world but, paradoxically, is sent into the world to bring the
Good News to all the people they encounter.
In the very early Church we see that some Christians remain very
isolated from the world. They attempt the communal life that insures that the
love of the poor is expressed, and, at the same time, insulates the community
from secular mores and attitudes.
This idyllic expression of
compete devotion to Christ is expressed in this day and age by monastic
communities and the cloistered life of religious brothers and sisters. It is also expressed by some movements within
the greater faith community, people who feel they need to completely align
themselves with specific practices in order to express their faith and love of
God.
There is an inherent
difficulty with these communities. It is
difficult to remain balanced. There is a
balance between remaining separate from the world and being a part of it. The model of the Apostles was extraordinary
because of the strength of the Holy Spirit that was given to them. Many times, in attempts to imitate that
beautiful communal existence of a large family unified in faith, the weaknesses
of human character are exposed. Individuals selfishly take advantage of the
willingness of the community to support all equally. Some members might feel
they contribute too much while others not enough and vice versa.
We have seen the lengths to
which these abuses of power and the willingness of some to take advantage of
the generosity others can go.
Unfortunately, we must always remember that our only true head is
Christ, and our informed conscience must always measure the direction given by
human leaders according to that standard.
The fact remains that we are called to follow Christ as best we can by
remaining apart from the world and its secular values, yet bring Christ to it
by our witness. We pray today for the
strength of the Holy Spirit to provide us with the guidance to place those two
commands in balance.
Pax
[1]
The Picture is “Jesus and Nicodemus” by Alexandre
Bida, c.1873
[3] The readings are taken
from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response
which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy
(ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use
only.
[4] See NAB footnote on
Ps 93
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