The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit through which our relationship with Jesus and our actions towards others may be transformed in unexpected ways.
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| Moved by the Spirit |
In the reading from the Book of Acts, Luke pictures how the believers shared their possessions.
* [4:32–37] This is the second summary characterizing the Jerusalem community (see note on Acts 2:42–47). It emphasizes the system of the distribution of goods and introduces Barnabas, who appears later in Acts as the friend and companion of Paul, and who, as noted here (Acts 4:37), endeared himself to the community by a donation of money through the sale of property. This sharing of material possessions continues a practice that Luke describes during the historical ministry of Jesus (Lk 8:3) and is in accord with the sayings of Jesus in Luke’s gospel (Lk 12:33; 16:9, 11, 13).1
Psalm 93 declares the majesty of God’s rule.
* [Psalm 93] A hymn celebrating the kingship of God, who created the world (Ps 93:1–2) by defeating the sea (Ps 93:3–4). In the ancient myth that is alluded to here, Sea completely covered the land, making it impossible for the human community to live. Sea, or Flood, roars in anger against God, who is personified in the storm. God’s utterances or decrees are given authority by the victory over Sea (Ps 93:5).2
In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Nicodemus “You must be born from above.”
* [3:14] Lifted up: in Nm 21:9 Moses simply “mounted” a serpent upon a pole. John here substitutes a verb implying glorification. Jesus, exalted to glory at his cross and resurrection, represents healing for all.
* [3:15] Eternal life: used here for the first time in John, this term stresses quality of life rather than duration.3
Larry Gillick, S.J, shares believing is much harder for us, as we rely so much on the immediate data from computers and electronic social media… He has a friend Alexa right here and she is most willing to fill him in on the old and the new. Believing for us is not an easy habit or practice.
We have the Nicodemus drive to know the old and the new. What Jesus tells Nicodemus is that there is a new way of knowing, called Spirit, not flesh. The flesh will never be satisfied, always the juvenile demanding “why!” We are given the gifts of mind and heart. Both can never be satisfied! The new is kind of a trick, becoming old as soon as it is digested. The heart longs, not so much for satisfaction, but for completion which it can never have. To be born of the Spirit is to be born into the land and life of longing. Jesus is offering this way of being born and living to his hearer here and to all whom He is meeting these Easter Days, including to ourselves. Alexa can not figure Jesus out either, at least not yet.4
Don Schwager quotes “He descended so that we might ascend,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Spiritual birth happens when human beings, being earthly, become heavenly. And this can only happen when they are made members of me. So that he may ascend who descended, since no one ascends who did not descend. Therefore everyone who needs to be changed and raised must meet together in a union with Christ so that the Christ who descended may ascend, considering his body (that is to say, his church)6 as nothing other than himself." (ON THE MERITS AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND ON INFANT BAPTISM 1.60)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 3:7-15 comments that Jesus wanted Nicodemus to understand what it meant to be “born from above” (John 3:7). But Nicodemus didn’t understand, and Jesus knew it. Yet he didn’t give up on him. Rather, Jesus gently tried to draw Nicodemus closer to the truth by using the analogy of the wind—something Nicodemus could grasp.
God is still patient with us. He still finds many different ways to speak to us so that we will understand. For example, when feelings of peace or hope or expectancy well up as you ponder Scripture, that is God speaking to you. When creative ideas or resolutions to issues you are dealing with come to mind while you sit in prayer, that is God speaking to you. When you are filled with wonder and praise for the Lord as you watch a glorious sunset, that is God speaking to you. He could even speak to you in a dream or through a beautiful piece of art or music.6
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the commune described by Luke in the light of the tendency of the Evangelist to be a Pollyanna. Our new life is celebrated in water and the Spirit. Friar Jude reminds us that John declares Jesus, as exalted on the Cross where glory is defined as outpouring of Love.
Francisan Media describes the life of Saint Anselm, Saint of the Day for April 21, who was indifferent toward religion as a young man and became one of the Church’s greatest theologians and leaders. He received the title “Father of Scholasticism” for his attempt to analyze and illuminate the truths of faith through the aid of reason.
Like every true follower of Christ, Anselm had to carry his cross, especially in the form of opposition and conflict with those in political control. Though personally a mild and gentle man and a lover of peace, he would not back off from conflict and persecution when principles were at stake.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, presents author Tessa Bielecki who writes about Teresa of Ávila as an extraordinary example of action and contemplation. In addition to her physical suffering, Teresa also suffered from difficult life circumstances, including the suspicion of church authorities who disapproved of her visions, her Carmelite reforms, and her status as a converso, a member of a Jewish family that had converted to Catholicism (likely under duress). In her book Holy Daring, Bielecki shows us that it was the deeply mutual and loving nature of the “spousal” prayer Teresa entered into with God that led to such bold and faithful action.
Teresa uses the various stages in human courtship to describe the stages of prayer. First we meet [with God], exchange gifts and get acquainted. Eventually we are betrothed, and then finally we marry. True love deepens and grows gradually, over a lifetime. . . .
But the matter does not end here. Another consequence of prayer is far more demanding: generous, self-spending, and exhausting service. . . . The proper relationship between these two consequences is clear in the teachings of Jesus. First, he says, “Love the Lord your God with all your mind and heart and soul and body.” Espousal. Second, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Service. [see Mark 12:30–31] . . .
As our prayer grows deeper and more authentic, we want to spend ourselves serving God and the world created out of divine love.8
In being “born from above” we are open to transformation by the Spirit to live life fully in Christ.
References
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