Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
Saint Martin I, Pope, Martyr
Alternate Proper for the Memorial of St. Martin I
Readings for Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 4:32-37
The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated "son of encouragement"),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that he owned,
then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 4:32-37
This selection from Acts is the second summary describing the community of faith at Jerusalem. The description is of a community completely unified in the faith of the risen Lord living, in accordance with the practices followed by the disciples when they were with Jesus, sharing all material possessions. The Barnabas mentioned in this selection is the presumed to be the same person who later joins Paul in his missionary quests.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
“The Lord is king”: literally, "the Lord reigns." This psalm, and Psalms 47; 96-99, are sometimes called enthronement psalms. They may have been used in a special liturgy during which God's ascent to the throne was ritually reenacted. They have also been interpreted eschatologically, pointing to the coming of God as king at the end-time.”[4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 3:7b-15
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"'You must be born from above.'
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
'How can this happen?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 3:7b-15
Jesus continues the discourse with Nicodemus started in John 3:1-8. When Nicodemus still does not understand the resurrection to which Jesus points saying “You must be born from above”, the
Lord becomes more explicit, using the remedy of the saraph serpents employed by Moses (Numbers 21:9) as an analog to his own Crucifixion, the salvation of all who are poisoned by sin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus points out a paradox that has long driven different people to express the lived faith differently. We see this expressed in St. Luke’s description of the early church in the Acts of the Apostles selection heard as the first reading today.
Accepting Jesus as the Son of God; as the one who came from heaven to earth, bringing the revelation of God’s love, and knowing he died and rose again, returning to the Father, Christians are asked to follow what he taught. They are to try to emulate the perfect unity with Christ that exists in his Heavenly Kingdom. To do this the Christian is called to remain separate from the world but paradoxically is sent into the world to bring the Good news to all they encounter. In the very early Church we see that some remain very isolated from the world, attempting the communal life that both insures the love of the poor is expressed and at the same time insulates the community from secular mores and attitudes.
This idyllic expression of compete devotion to Christ is expressed today in monastic communities and the cloistered life of religious brothers and sisters. It is also expressed by some movements within the greater faith community, people who feel they need to completely align themselves with specific practices in order to express their faith and love of God.
There is an inherent difficulty with these communities. It is difficult to remain balanced. There is a balance between remaining separate from the world and being a part of it. The model of the Apostles was extraordinary because of the strength of the Holy Spirit that was given to them. Many times, in attempts to imitate that beautiful communal existence of a large family unified in faith, the weaknesses of human character are exposed and individuals take advantage of the willingness of the community to support all equally and some might feel they contribute too much while others not enough and visa versa.
We have seen the lengths to which these abuses of power the willingness of some to take advantage of the generosity others can go. Unfortunately, we must always remember that our only true head is Christ and our informed conscience must always measure the direction given by human leaders according to that standard. The fact remains that we are called to follow Christ as best we can by remaining apart from the world and its secular values yet bring Christ to it by our witness. We pray today for the strength of the Holy Spirit to provide us with the guidance to place those two commands in balance.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Christ Crucified between the Virgin and Nicodemus“ by Michelangelo Buonarroti c. 1552-54
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[4] See NAB footnote on Ps 93
Saint Martin I, Pope, Martyr
Alternate Proper for the Memorial of St. Martin I
Readings for Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 4:32-37
The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated "son of encouragement"),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that he owned,
then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 4:32-37
This selection from Acts is the second summary describing the community of faith at Jerusalem. The description is of a community completely unified in the faith of the risen Lord living, in accordance with the practices followed by the disciples when they were with Jesus, sharing all material possessions. The Barnabas mentioned in this selection is the presumed to be the same person who later joins Paul in his missionary quests.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
“The Lord is king”: literally, "the Lord reigns." This psalm, and Psalms 47; 96-99, are sometimes called enthronement psalms. They may have been used in a special liturgy during which God's ascent to the throne was ritually reenacted. They have also been interpreted eschatologically, pointing to the coming of God as king at the end-time.”[4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 3:7b-15
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"'You must be born from above.'
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
'How can this happen?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 3:7b-15
Jesus continues the discourse with Nicodemus started in John 3:1-8. When Nicodemus still does not understand the resurrection to which Jesus points saying “You must be born from above”, the
Lord becomes more explicit, using the remedy of the saraph serpents employed by Moses (Numbers 21:9) as an analog to his own Crucifixion, the salvation of all who are poisoned by sin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus points out a paradox that has long driven different people to express the lived faith differently. We see this expressed in St. Luke’s description of the early church in the Acts of the Apostles selection heard as the first reading today.
Accepting Jesus as the Son of God; as the one who came from heaven to earth, bringing the revelation of God’s love, and knowing he died and rose again, returning to the Father, Christians are asked to follow what he taught. They are to try to emulate the perfect unity with Christ that exists in his Heavenly Kingdom. To do this the Christian is called to remain separate from the world but paradoxically is sent into the world to bring the Good news to all they encounter. In the very early Church we see that some remain very isolated from the world, attempting the communal life that both insures the love of the poor is expressed and at the same time insulates the community from secular mores and attitudes.
This idyllic expression of compete devotion to Christ is expressed today in monastic communities and the cloistered life of religious brothers and sisters. It is also expressed by some movements within the greater faith community, people who feel they need to completely align themselves with specific practices in order to express their faith and love of God.
There is an inherent difficulty with these communities. It is difficult to remain balanced. There is a balance between remaining separate from the world and being a part of it. The model of the Apostles was extraordinary because of the strength of the Holy Spirit that was given to them. Many times, in attempts to imitate that beautiful communal existence of a large family unified in faith, the weaknesses of human character are exposed and individuals take advantage of the willingness of the community to support all equally and some might feel they contribute too much while others not enough and visa versa.
We have seen the lengths to which these abuses of power the willingness of some to take advantage of the generosity others can go. Unfortunately, we must always remember that our only true head is Christ and our informed conscience must always measure the direction given by human leaders according to that standard. The fact remains that we are called to follow Christ as best we can by remaining apart from the world and its secular values yet bring Christ to it by our witness. We pray today for the strength of the Holy Spirit to provide us with the guidance to place those two commands in balance.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Christ Crucified between the Virgin and Nicodemus“ by Michelangelo Buonarroti c. 1552-54
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[4] See NAB footnote on Ps 93
No comments:
Post a Comment