Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

“Christ and Nicodemus”
by Crijn Hendricksz Volmarijn, c. 1601-1645

Readings for Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary:[3]
 
Reading 1: Acts 5:17-26
 
The high priest rose up and all his companions,
that is, the party of the Sadducees,
and, filled with jealousy,
laid hands upon the Apostles and put them in the public jail.
But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,
led them out, and said,
"Go and take your place in the temple area,
and tell the people everything about this life."
When they heard this,
they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.
When the high priest and his companions arrived,
they convened the Sanhedrin,
the full senate of the children of Israel,
and sent to the jail to have them brought in.
But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison,
so they came back and reported,
"We found the jail securely locked
and the guards stationed outside the doors,
but when we opened them, we found no one inside."
When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report,
they were at a loss about them,
as to what this would come to.
Then someone came in and reported to them,
"The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area
and are teaching the people."
Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them,
but without force,
because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
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Commentary on Acts 5:17-26
 
This is the second time the Apostles are attacked 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 and they are jailed. Jailing the apostles in Acts doesn’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.
 
CCC: Acts 5:18-20 334; Acts 5:20 584; Acts 5:21 584
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
 
R.(7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
 
Psalm 34 is a song of thanksgiving and a favorite for celebrating the heroic virtue of the saints. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Psalm 34:5, 7), can teach the "poor," those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone. This psalm, in the words of one being unjustly persecuted, echoes hope for deliverance and freedom. The Lord in his faithful love always hears those who call to him for help and salvation.
 
CCC: Ps 34:3 716; Ps 34:8 336
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Gospel: John 3:16-21
 
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
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Commentary on 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 concludes with the analogy of 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.
 
CCC: Jn 3:16 219, 444, 454, 458, 706; Jn 3:17 2447; Jn 3:19-24 2845; Jn 3:19-20 208, 1781; Jn 3:21 2778
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Reflection:
 
We come to a very sticky point with regard to our faith and its relation to the rest of the world in the Lord’s address to Nicodemus.  If, as the Gospel says: “whoever does not believe has already been condemned,” then all those who have either never heard of Jesus, those whose faith does not include Jesus, and those who have heard of Jesus but have not come to faith, are condemned to eternal death.   This one failing has the consequence of denying a person the eternal life of heaven.
 
However, still basking in last Sunday’s reminder of the depth of God’s Divine Mercy, Holy Mother Church addresses those who have, through no fault of their own have not encountered the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  CCC 847 says explicitly: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience — those too may achieve eternal salvation. [4]
 
As Christians we are taught to follow the Lord, and that means we are constantly asking ourselves, “How would Jesus love?” in the various situations we encounter daily.  When we meet a person who rejects Christianity, or even rejects the divinity of Christ, we feel sorrow for that person who, in rejecting Christ, has invited hell.  You may be surprised at the strength of that word used to describe relatively innocent individuals.  After all, a person could be a moral person, a good person, but one who does not believe in Christ.  So why would we say that person invites hell?
 
Hell, we are taught from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, has the following attribute:
 
“Hell's principal punishment consists of eternal separation from God in whom alone man can have the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.” (CCC 1057)
 
By rejecting Christ, who alone can offer entrance to the heavenly kingdom, that person rejects God.  How should we feel about a person who, out of ignorance, rejects a life with God?  We should feel sorrow for that person and do all we can to invite them to a deeper belief, if we follow God’s law of love.
 
What we should not do is be condescending toward such a person.  It has happened many times in the history of Christianity, usually with disastrous results.  There are times, even in recent memory, when it appears that we, as Church, behaved in a superior way.  Because we have the truth, we sound to others to be condescending when we tell them that: “Oh, by the way, because you have rejected the truth we offer, you are going to hell.”  If we ever take that tone, we’ve just bought ourselves some serious time in purgatory.  That is not the attitude of Christ.
 
Today we will pray for those who, as the petitions on Good Friday recounted, do not believe in Christ or do not believe in God.  May they be given one last opportunity to embrace the Risen Son of God when they come before the judgment seat of Christ, and by their profession gain entry into the heavenly kingdom.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture used is “Christ and Nicodemus” by Crijn Hendricksz Volmarijn, c. 1601-1645.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Lumen Gentium 16; cf. Denzinger-Schonmetzer, Enchiridion symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum, 1965, 3866-3872.