Straight Forward and Stoic, Gnostic and Mystic?

The Collect prayer of the Church today which proceeds the reading from the Roman Catholic Lectionary expresses the desire that we understand the font in which we have been washed, by whose Spirit we have been reborn and by whose Blood we have been redeemed. The Sunday School answer to this desire for knowledge can be too rote and quick and may not give appropriate time and consideration to some of the struggle of people in Jesus time and now to comprehend the relationship between God and humanity. Friar Jude Winkler reviews the passage from the Acts of the apostles as being tinged by Luke's tendency to Stoicism which would promote the concept that the community of Christians, inspired by the Spirit, would live as selflessly and harmoniously as described in todays' text. Father Larry Gillick, SJ, sees the ability of the early disciples in the passage from Acts to give up on acquisition of personal material wealth and to replace it with charity as the power of the life in the Spirit to diminish the natural "envy" which draws us to identify ourselves in relation to what we do not have that the other has. We are poorer, less skilled, not as athletic and so on. The Gospel of John which continues today with the appearance of Jesus to all but Thomas and the beginning of the realization that the breath of Jesus is "naming" them with "the Christ". The shame of disappointing Jesus and envy towards those at peace without torment is being replaced by deep gratitude. The "envy" and disbelief is deep for Thomas as he is desolate at the loss of his great friend and the action of his companions is most disconcerting. The Divine Mercy toward Thomas is repeated daily as intimacy is restored by the initiative of God to those who seek faith. The depth of the Scripture today also includes the testimony of John in correction of Gnostic thinking that the body and the world are essentially evil which would prohibit God from entering in humanity and  becoming "fully human". The mystic John declares that Jesus came by water (the Spirit) and by blood (the Body). Friar Jude also comments that John's mysticism means that the historic timing of events, important to historians like Luke, is not vital to John who understands that eternal time is lived by those in intimate relationship with Jesus.