(Optional Memorial of Saint Pius V, Religious)
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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 republication is
not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] See NAB footnote on Ps 93.
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