Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

Readings for Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible at Universalis

Commentary:

Reading 1 Acts 5:17-26

This is the second time the Apostles are attached by the Sanhedrin. They have already been told by the Jewish leadership to stop teaching and have been condemned as false prophets so there is no need for a second trial – they are jailed.

Jailing Apostles in Acts don’t seem to work very well (see also Acts 12:6-11; 16:25-29.) They fearlessly return to the Temple area and resume their mission to proclaim Christ Crucified and Risen, forcing the Sanhedrin to take action.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

This song of thanksgiving places emphasis on God’s mercy and compassion. The Lord in his faithful love always hears those who call to him for help and salvation.

Gospel Jn 3:16-21

The dialogue Jesus was having with Nicodemus has now turned into a famous monologue in this passage from the Gospel of St. John. Here Jesus is clear about his own identity as God’s “only-begotten Son” and his mission “…that the world might be saved through him.”

The Lord continues by explaining that the salvific event is dependent upon faith and acceptance by those to be saved (“…whoever believes in him will not be condemned”) and those who reject this belief are already condemned. The passage is concluded with the analogy or light and darkness where the Lord who is light comes to save the people but will be rejected by many (“…but people preferred darkness to light”). Those who believe in the Lord will be identified by their good works and the glory that those works bring to God the Father.

Reflection:

The word “Darkness” has at minimum about six different definitions. In addition to two of them that relate to either the “quality of being dark”, which I don’t really understand, and the lack of light, the remaining definitions are very subjective;

-Wickedness or evil: Satan, the prince of darkness.
-Obscurity; concealment: The darkness of the metaphor destroyed its effectiveness.
-Lack of knowledge or enlightenment: heathen darkness.
-Lack of sight; blindness.

Since modern English was not even a language at the time of Christ, I am not sure if the four metaphors or the symbolic significance of darkness was, in part, created by the Lord’s use of this analogy or if it existed since the beginning of time – the human being is not, after all, nocturnal.

It is clear that the Lord of Light changed the world and brought a new light to it when he came into it. That light we have newly created in the Easter Candle, the new fire, representing this very passage. Just as, during the Easter Vigil, as the Easter Candle was brought into the Church and those present lit their candles from that new fire filling the place with light, so are we called by this scripture to be light for a world that prefers darkness.

The Lord uses the metaphor to illustrate the great love God has for us. In the same breath he calls us to be children of the light. As such we will be identified by the light we bring to others. Light that, as our definitions imply and as the Exultet intoned – “...dispels all evil, washes sin away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy. It casts our hatred, brings us peace and humbles earthly pride.” We are called to become that “pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God”.

Pax

[1] After Expiration
[2] The image today is “The Lightning” by Alexandre Ahtigna, 1848