The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today urge us to share the Life we have in the Spirit of God.
Sharing Life in the Spirit
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes 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 praises 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 explains to Nicodemus the way of ‘everyone who is born of the Spirit.’
* [3:8] Wind: the Greek word pneuma (as well as the Hebrew rûah) means both “wind” and “spirit.” In the play on the double meaning, “wind” is primary. * [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
Scott McClure asks If we know things will never make us happy (even if that larger house is sure nice to have) how do we navigate this world, and as Jesus puts it to Nicodemus, be born from above?
A source of helpful and centering reflection for me of late has been a contemporary interpretation of the first principle and foundation from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius by David Fleming, SJ. It reads, in part: The goal of our life is to live with God forever... We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God. 4
Don Schwager quotes “He descended so that we might ascend,” by Saint 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 like the wind, the Spirit can’t be seen, but we can sense his call and feel his “push.” We’ve all experienced this type of thing; we’ve all felt prompted at times to do something—or not to do something—that we hadn’t thought of before.
When you obey those promptings of the Spirit, you make him “visible” to the people around you. Like Nicodemus, many people today are looking for tangible proof that God is real. Oftentimes, even if you speak persuasively, it’s not the actual words that draw people to Jesus. It’s the spirit behind your words. That’s where listening to the Spirit comes in. When you’re trying to follow the Spirit, people will see that God is real and is at work in and through your witness.6
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the second picture of an idyllic lifestyle in the community as described by Luke. We cannot control the Spirit which is like the wind. Friar Jude reminds us of the imminent eschatology in the Gospel of John and Luke.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces his friend Mirabai Starr who offers a vignette based on tales about Francis and Clare, and shows a mutual friendship built on their shared dedication to Christ.
Clare gave up everything to be with Francis, to live as he lived, to see the face of the Divine in the faces of the poor and the oppressed and to love them as he loved them. “Her goal in life,” says Robert Ellsberg about Saint Clare, “was not to be a reflection of Francis but to be, like him, a reflection of Christ.” [1]. While Francis guided his growing order of Little Brothers, he assigned Clare as the leader of the Poor Ladies. When Francis felt most alone in the world, most persecuted and misunderstood, it was Clare he would turn to for clarity, wisdom, and a love stripped of sentimentality. “All I want is to live as a hermit and love my Lord in secret,” he confessed to her. “And yet I am moved to preach the gospel of holy poverty in the world. What should I do?” Clare did not equivocate: “God did not call you for yourself alone, but also for the salvation of others.” [2]7
The movement of the Spirit in our lives is frequently made known to us through the nudges of our authentic friends.
References
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