Born of the Spirit

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to explore the movement of the Spirit in our journey to fullness of life.

Called by the Spirit

In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the Believers pray for boldness.

* [4:27] Herod: Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39, who executed John the Baptist and before whom Jesus was arraigned; cf. Lk 23:6–12.

* [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. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 4, n.d.)

Psalm 2 is 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).

* [2:2] Anointed: in Hebrew mashiah, “anointed”; in Greek christos, whence English Messiah and Christ. In Israel kings (Jgs 9:8; 1 Sm 9:16; 16:12–13) and high priests (Lv 8:12; Nm 3:3) received the power of their office through anointing. (Psalms, PSALM 2, n.d.)

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.

* [3:1] A ruler of the Jews: most likely a member of the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin; see note on Mk 8:31.

* [3:3] Born: see note on Jn 1:13. From above: the Greek adverb anōthen means both “from above” and “again.” Jesus means “from above” (see Jn 3:31) but Nicodemus misunderstands it as “again.” This misunderstanding serves as a springboard for further instruction.

* [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. (John, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)

Angela Maynard asks some questions. “Why did Nicodemus go to Jesus at nighttime? Was he trying to do this in secret? Did his emotions get the best of him? Did he have to figure this out before another night of anxiety provoked insomnia?”

As I reflect on Jesus' answer to him, I feel a sense of peace—a soft nighttime breeze spreading calm over Nicodemus as he begins to notice God and discern how to develop a relationship with him. I imagine Nicodemus was feeling out of control and seeking some direction.

Let's take some time (maybe in the dark) to pray and consider our relationship with Jesus.  Let us consider the direction Jesus is trying to lead us.  Find some peace in the knowledge that prayer can open us to the Holy Spirit.

Getting back to the wind, consider what the wind does.  While it can be harsh, it can also cool, bring calm and clarity. (Maynard, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Reborn and Fed by the Spirit,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.-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) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 4:23-31 urges us to pray for boldness in areas of our lives. That boldness can help us push back against the fears that may creep into our hearts. When news headlines and social media feeds lure us into distraction and worry, that boldness can help us refocus and pay attention to what God is saying to us. When a medical diagnosis leads us into a swirl of worry, boldness can empower us to be still before the Lord and receive his peace. And when our own shortcomings and brokenness discourage us, that boldness will open us to receive his mercy and start the day afresh.

So keep asking for boldness, whether it’s so that you can stand up for your beliefs, spread the faith, or conquer your fears. God is faithful. Just as he gave the disciples boldness and courage, so he will give it to you. And who knows? With such boldness, you may just witness “signs and wonders . . . done through the name of . . . Jesus” (Acts 4:30)!

“Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit and enable me to speak and act with boldness today.” (Meditation on Acts 4:23-31, n.d.)

Tom Shufflebotham SJ, on the staff of St Beuno’s Ignatian Spirituality Centre, points us in the direction of some New Testament characters who can be a source of encouragement for anyone who might be questioning whether they have, or still have, faith, or who might feel that prayer has deserted them.

Nicodemus flits in and out of John’s Gospel. It sounds as if he may have come away dispirited from a night-time conversation with Jesus (chapter 3): his embryonic faith had shown up as limited, unadventurous, mean-spirited. When he tries (chapters 7 & 12), timidly but with some dogged courage, to put in a word for Jesus, he gets short shrift from the Pharisees – and, it seems, from the evangelist, too. However, after the crucifixion (chapter 19) he is there, and he brings spices for Jesus’s burial. While all looks to be darkness and defeat, he doesn’t seem to say anything; he just does his corporal work of mercy, and that is no insignificant crumb of faith. And his name will forever be associated with the Jesus Christ who died and rose. (Shufflebotham, 2018)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the influence of the Spirit on the courage and boldness of Peter, John, and the community. In one of three appearances of Nicodemus in John’s Gospel, he learns about the need for rebirth from Jesus. Friar Jude notes that Jesus' choice of language is the word used for wind, spirit, and breath.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that lamentation prayer is when we sit and speak out to God and one another—stunned, sad, and silenced by the tragedy and absurdity of human events. It might actually be the most honest form of prayer. It takes great trust and patience …  Fr. Richard thinks it is actually profound prayer, but most of us have not been told that we could, or even should, “complain” to God. We must complain like Job, Judith, and Jeremiah, or we do not even know what to pray for—or how to pray. Or we do not suffer the necessary pain of this world, the necessary sadness of being human. Peace activist Father John Dear asks what Jesus’ teaching “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” might mean for us in times of global injustice.

“Blessed are those who mourn,” Jesus [says]. Millions of people in our world mourn because their loved ones have been killed by war, starvation, or injustice. Do we grieve for those who die in war? For those incinerated by nuclear weapons and bombs? For the [many thousands] who die each day from starvation? Do we allow the sorrow of the world’s poor to touch our hearts? Do we look the suffering of the world in the eye … or do we turn away in denial and thus postpone our own inevitable confrontation with grief? Jesus promises that, as we mourn the death of our sisters and brothers around the world, God consoles us, and we find a peace—even a joy that we did not know possible. [2] (Rohr, 2023)

We have the gift of the Spirit to extend our reach beyond what we see, hear, and touch to participate in the life of the Kingdom of God.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 4. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/4?23 

John, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/3? 

Maynard, A. (2023, April 17). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/041723.html 

Meditation on Acts 4:23-31. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/04/17/659132/ 

Psalms, PSALM 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/2?1 

Rohr, R. (2023, April 17). Complaining to God — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/complaining-to-god-2023-04-17/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Unless One Is Born Anew. Daily Scripture Net. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=apr17 

Shufflebotham, T. (2018, March 7). Figures of faith. Thinking Faith. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/figures-faith 

Working with Intention

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be open to the Spirit nudging us to work with the intention of wisely using our gifts to build the Kingdom of God.

Develop our gifts

 

In the Letter of Paul to the Romans, he shares his reason for writing so boldly.

* [15:21] The citation from Is 52:15 concerns the Servant of the Lord. According to Isaiah, the Servant is first of all Israel, which was to bring the knowledge of Yahweh to the nations. In Rom 9–11 Paul showed how Israel failed in this mission. Therefore, he himself undertakes almost singlehandedly Israel’s responsibility as the Servant and moves as quickly as possible with the gospel through the Roman empire.1 

Psalm 98 praises the Judge of the World.

* [Psalm 98] A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9).2 

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus uses the Parable of the Dishonest Manager to comment on cleverness and prudence.

* [16:1–8a] The parable of the dishonest steward has to be understood in the light of the Palestinian custom of agents acting on behalf of their masters and the usurious practices common to such agents. The dishonesty of the steward consisted in the squandering of his master’s property (Lk 16:1) and not in any subsequent graft. The master commends the dishonest steward who has forgone his own usurious commission on the business transaction by having the debtors write new notes that reflected only the real amount owed the master (i.e., minus the steward’s profit). The dishonest steward acts in this way in order to ingratiate himself with the debtors because he knows he is being dismissed from his position (Lk 16:3). The parable, then, teaches the prudent use of one’s material goods in light of an imminent crisis.3 

Edward Morse comments that, as Paul suggests, even people full of goodness may need admonishment from time to time.  Perhaps we can get a little too full of our goodness for our own good! Focusing on thanksgiving, mercy, and goodness that comes from the works of God in our midst can help us escape this trap.  And perhaps effective admonishment also comes from examples of living out and honoring goodness, albeit imperfectly.

 I would venture that most of us do not like being admonished – particularly if it comes with being judged.  But we often need things we do not like.  The medicine we need in this life is sometimes bitter, not sweet.  Lord, help us accept your admonishments and live wisely in light of the truth and goodness we know, but sometimes fail to execute.  And when we fail, help us to flee to your tender mercies, knowing that your love endures forever.  Amen.4

 

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus recommends the foresight, prudence, and ingenuity of the steward,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Why did the Lord Jesus Christ present this parable to us? He surely did not approve of that cheat of a servant who cheated his master, stole from him and did not make it up from his own pocket. On top of that, he also did some extra pilfering. He caused his master further loss, in order to prepare a little nest of quiet and security for himself after he lost his job. Why did the Lord set this before us? It is not because that servant cheated but because he exercised foresight for the future. When even a cheat is praised for his ingenuity, Christians who make no such provision blush. I mean, this is what he added, 'Behold, the children of this age are more prudent than the children of light.' They perpetrate frauds in order to secure their future. In what life, after all, did that steward insure himself like that? What one was he going to quit when he bowed to his master's decision? He was insuring himself for a life that was going to end. Would you not insure yourself for eternal life?" (excerpt from 359A.10.)5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 16:1-8 comments that Jesus wants us to learn from this steward—not from his dishonesty, but from his shrewdness and ability to think about his future. We may or may not have material wealth, but we are all “stewards” of God’s gifts. We can be as creative as this steward when we consider how to use what God has given us to help ourselves—and the people around us. One day our “stewardship” will end. Our resources are only temporary. All the more reason to use them to build the kingdom of God here and now so that one day we can enter the “eternal dwellings” in heaven (Luke 16:9).

Take a look at what you’re doing with the goods you have. How can your gifts benefit God’s kingdom here on earth? How can you use your resources for the good of other people? As a child of God, you don’t have to act in fear like the steward. You can be sure that your heavenly Father will never let go of you. So get creative! Freely give of the gifts God has given to you, and build his kingdom in the process. “Lord, help me to be a good steward of all that you have given me!”6 

Friar Jude Winkler fleshes out some of the concerns of Paul as he prepares to evangelize the Gentiles of Rome. The journey of Paul reminds us that our peace is found living in the Lord. Friar Jude reminds us of the appreciation of the culture of Jesus' time for cleverness that was seen as a survival technique.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that in ‘Laudato Si’, Pope Francis urges Christians to consider the long-term effects of our actions which impact the future well-being of the human species, all living things, and our planet itself.

The notion of the common good also extends to future generations. The global economic crises have made painfully obvious the detrimental effects of disregarding our common destiny, which cannot exclude those who come after us. We can no longer speak of sustainable development apart from intergenerational solidarity. Once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others. . . . Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us. The Portuguese bishops have called upon us to acknowledge this obligation of justice: “The environment is part of a logic of receptivity. It is on loan to each generation, which must then hand it on to the next.” [1]7

 

Our gifts of prudence and cleverness are called to be in service of the common good as we respond to the direction of the Spirit.

 

References

 

1	(n.d.). Romans, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/15
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/98
3	(n.d.). Luke, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/16
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/110521.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2021&date=nov5
6	(n.d.). Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations for November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/11/05/239650/
7	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive: 2021 - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 5, 2021, fromhttps://cac.org/the-global-common-good-2021-11-05/