The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today call our attention to our invitation to be bold in living according to the Spirit of God and the role of authentic friendship in adjusting to transformation in our lives.
Bold in the Spirit
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles the believers pray for boldness.
* [4:31] The place…shook: the earthquake is used as a sign of the divine presence in Ex 19:18; Is 6:4. Here the shaking of the building symbolizes God’s favorable response to the prayer. Luke may have had as an additional reason for using the symbol in this sense the fact that it was familiar in the Hellenistic world. Ovid and Virgil also employ it.1
Psalm 2 proclaims God’s Promise to His Anointed.
* [Psalm 2] A royal Psalm. To rebellious kings (Ps 2:1–3) God responds vigorously (Ps 2:4–6). A speaker proclaims the divine decree (in the legal adoption language of the day), making the Israelite king the earthly representative of God (Ps 2:7–9) and warning kings to obey (Ps 2:10–11). The Psalm has a messianic meaning for the Church; the New Testament understands it of Christ (Acts 4:25–27; 13:33; Heb 1:5).2
In the Gospel of John, Nicodemus Visits Jesus.
* [3:1–21] Jesus instructs Nicodemus on the necessity of a new birth from above. This scene in Jerusalem at Passover exemplifies the faith engendered by signs (Jn 2:23). It continues the self-manifestation of Jesus in Jerusalem begun in Jn 2. This is the first of the Johannine discourses, shifting from dialogue to monologue (Jn 3:11–15) to reflection of the evangelist (Jn 3:16–21). The shift from singular through Jn 3:10 to plural in Jn 3:11 may reflect the early church’s controversy with the Jews.3
John Shea, S.J. notes that in this Easter season, we rejoice in the resurrection of Christ and the promise of new life. But we are also reminded of the risks entailed in following Christ and, at the same time, the assistance we have from the Holy Spirit.
This sober reminder of the consequences of being a disciple of Christ is tempered by God’s answer to their prayer: “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” In the Gospel, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night in the cover of darkness. As a member of the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus probably didn’t want any of his fellow Pharisees to know of his clandestine visit with Jesus. We’re immediately alerted to the dangers associated with following Christ. The darkness also recalls the womb of our birth. However, these reminders are tempered by Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus. Jesus calls us to be born again in water and Spirit. Our rebirth with baptism brings us out of darkness, out of sin and death, and into new life.4
Don Schwager quotes “Reborn and Fed by the Spirit,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"And then that rebirth, which brings about the forgiveness of all past sins, takes place in the Holy Spirit, according to the Lord's own words, 'Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, one cannot enter the kingdom of God.' But it is one thing to be born of the Spirit, another to be fed by the Spirit; just as it is one thing to be born of the flesh, which happens when a mother gives birth, and another to be fed from the flesh, which appears when she nurses the baby. We see the child turn to drink with delight from the bosom of her who brought it forth to life. Its life continues to be nourished by the same source which brought it into being." (excerpt from Sermon 71.19)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 4:23-31 comments that plenty of modern-day people have believed in the Spirit’s power and have seen their prayers for physical healing answered. Think of Blessed Solanus Casey, who was just the porter of a monastery. Or St. André Bessette, the doorman as well as the “miracle man” of Montreal. God delighted to work through them, and he can work through us too.
That’s the key: expectant faith. When we believe that God can heal through our prayers, we are giving him the chance to work through us. Sometimes physical healings do occur when we pray with someone. But even when they don’t, we can trust that our prayers make a difference. Perhaps the person we pray with will experience a sense of peace or an assurance that God is with them. Or they may receive a deeper understanding of God’s love or a greater confidence that God is at work and will take care of them.6
Friar Jude Winkler defines our boldness as the courage to give witness to what we hold true. The dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus is shaped by interpretation of being born again or from above. Friar Jude reminds us the word for Spirit and wind are tied together by uncertainty about direction and source.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces depth psychologist and author David Benner. He highlights how modern forms of friendship rarely become the life-giving relationships that our souls desire. In contrast to the transactional relationships we often settle for today, the twelfth-century Cistercian monk Aelred of Rievaulx (1110–1167) viewed friendship with other people as a way to deepen our friendship with God in Christ. In his classic work Spiritual Friendship, he writes:
How happy, how carefree, how joyful you are if you have a friend with whom you may talk as freely as with yourself, to whom you neither fear to confess any fault nor blush at revealing any spiritual progress, to whom you may entrust all the secrets of your heart and confide all your plans. And what is more delightful than so to unite spirit to spirit and so to make one out of two that there is neither fear of boasting nor dread of suspicion? A friend’s correction does not cause pain, and a friend’s praise is not considered flattery.7
The movement of the Spirit in our lives calls us to boldness in expressing the truth and being authentic in friendship guided by the same Spirit.
References
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