Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Bishop, Doctor
Biographical Information about St. Anselm of Canterbury
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:
Nicodemus represents us well. Here is one who seeks the truth and encounters Jesus. He feels the power and truth of our savior but has difficulty understanding what God wants from him. How often do we find ourselves in the same situation?
Jesus tells him “You must be born from above”. Based upon our previous experience with the Lord through the Gospel, we understand that he is telling Nicodemus that he must be reborn in the spirit. His desires, his life’s focus must not be toward the “things” of this world but the spiritual health needed to enter the Kingdom of God. Above all, he must accept that God has fulfilled all the promises and all of the predictions and all of the covenants outlined in the Torah and Talmud in the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ – the one who, in the scene painted by St. John, sits before him.
Spirit and flesh constantly contend for our attention. The flesh must be fed so we provide it food. The flesh demands more than it should have and if we do not over rule it, we become fat. The flesh looks for pleasure to excite its senses. Appeasing this appetite can also have deadly affects. These demands of the flesh cannot be ignored. Our continued existence in this life demands that those needs be met. But, we, as Children of God, must recognize that as we strive to appease the appetites of the flesh, the Evil One, totally obsessed with the selfishness of hedonism, whispers in our ear “Hear your flesh calling? If it feels good, do it. If you are hungry eat it. There is nothing wrong with having more than anyone else, you deserve it. It’s only natural!”
The great challenge for the one who seeks to be “born from above” is applying the ethic of Christ’s love to all that we do in the world to find balance between what we need and what we want. If we truly love ourselves as Christ does, we will avoid the excesses that we know will physically harm the body he created for us. If we truly love others as Christ does, we will avoid seeking our own pleasure or fulfillment at their expense, even if there is mutual consent. If we truly love our God and our neighbor, we recognize that things have a place and are not meant to be objects of worship or symbols of superiority.
Yes, Nicodemus represents us well. The message he hears from Christ is a difficult one and while he, as a religious person, a member of the Hebrew leadership, understands the words he hears, he (like us) has difficulty integrating them into his actions. Living the Word is, after all, harder than hearing it.
Biographical Information about St. Anselm of Canterbury
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:
Nicodemus represents us well. Here is one who seeks the truth and encounters Jesus. He feels the power and truth of our savior but has difficulty understanding what God wants from him. How often do we find ourselves in the same situation?
Jesus tells him “You must be born from above”. Based upon our previous experience with the Lord through the Gospel, we understand that he is telling Nicodemus that he must be reborn in the spirit. His desires, his life’s focus must not be toward the “things” of this world but the spiritual health needed to enter the Kingdom of God. Above all, he must accept that God has fulfilled all the promises and all of the predictions and all of the covenants outlined in the Torah and Talmud in the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ – the one who, in the scene painted by St. John, sits before him.
Spirit and flesh constantly contend for our attention. The flesh must be fed so we provide it food. The flesh demands more than it should have and if we do not over rule it, we become fat. The flesh looks for pleasure to excite its senses. Appeasing this appetite can also have deadly affects. These demands of the flesh cannot be ignored. Our continued existence in this life demands that those needs be met. But, we, as Children of God, must recognize that as we strive to appease the appetites of the flesh, the Evil One, totally obsessed with the selfishness of hedonism, whispers in our ear “Hear your flesh calling? If it feels good, do it. If you are hungry eat it. There is nothing wrong with having more than anyone else, you deserve it. It’s only natural!”
The great challenge for the one who seeks to be “born from above” is applying the ethic of Christ’s love to all that we do in the world to find balance between what we need and what we want. If we truly love ourselves as Christ does, we will avoid the excesses that we know will physically harm the body he created for us. If we truly love others as Christ does, we will avoid seeking our own pleasure or fulfillment at their expense, even if there is mutual consent. If we truly love our God and our neighbor, we recognize that things have a place and are not meant to be objects of worship or symbols of superiority.
Yes, Nicodemus represents us well. The message he hears from Christ is a difficult one and while he, as a religious person, a member of the Hebrew leadership, understands the words he hears, he (like us) has difficulty integrating them into his actions. Living the Word is, after all, harder than hearing it.
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
[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