Commentaries

Commentary – 2nd Sunday of Easter Year B

April 12, 2015
First Reading – Acts 4.32-35
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.
Commentary
A NEW WAY OF LIFE
There are a number of passages in the Acts of the Apostles similar to this one that summarize the life of the early Christian community. The Holy Spirit has descended on the apostles at Pentecost and consequently a new life is taking shape in the very first Christian community – which Saint Luke describes. Its most obvious characteristic is unity: “The community of believers was of one heart and mind.” Luke observes that faith was so central to the believers’ existence that they inevitably were of one heart and mind. As Jesus had foretold: “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13.35).

Luke then stresses that this unity has real consequences: it translates into the sharing of assets. That these two (being of one heart and mind and sharing of assets) are inseparable is made clear from the start: “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… 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.” Obviously one cannot proclaim to be of one heart and mind and at the same time allow others to live in misery and close one’s eyes to their needs.

Saint Luke is not proposing an economic model or prescribing the ideal social system. That is hardly his intent. What he is saying is much more profound; and it is revealed in the passage’s central phrase. The composition of the passage is itself very telling; it serves as a tool for communicating the message: there are two similar sentences framing a central one that is the key to understanding the other two. The first sentence reads:  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.” The third sentence reads: “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.” These two sentences speak of the sharing of material assets.  The central phrase seems to speak of something else: “With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all.” However, this literary construction reveals that for Luke the sharing of all material goods is precisely one of the ways of witnessing to Christ’s resurrection: the central facet of the Christian faith. With Christ’s resurrection a new humanity is born, one capable of living daily the way of love and sharing (as long as it allows the Holy Spirit to guide it).

For the apostles, Christ’s resurrection is the event that has changed everything; Christ has risen and his Spirit, that is, his power to love inhabits them: “great favor was accorded them all.” This favor is God’s grace, God’s presence and love within. The apostles and all the baptized are inhabited by love, a love so powerful that it completely transforms them, to the point that they see material reality in a wholly new way. We know that a marking event, happy or unhappy, can completely change our priorities so that what had seemed unimportant becomes very valuable while things we had cherished now appear insignificant. For example, a young couple gladly sacrifices their freedom when their first child is born; and we often hear those who have survived a serious accident or illness say that they have an entirely different view of life.

THE SHARING OF GOODS
 Luke tells us that for the first Christians, material possessions are no longer of great importance: “no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own.” Although they had possessions they did not consider these as their own, but rather placed them at the disposal of all so that everyone’s needs are met and so that no one suffers from want. In other words, they acted as stewards and not as owners. We have here a very different mentality, one that requires the transformative power of grace.

This is totally in line with what we find in the Old Testament; all prophetic preaching aimed at raising a two-fold awareness: first, all that we have is a gift from God and secondly, we are all bothers and sisters. First, all that we have is a gift from God: the Old Testament offering of first fruits from the harvest was a gesture of appreciation, recognition that everything was gift and called forth thanksgiving. “Take care that you do not forget” is the leitmotif that runs through the Book of Deuteronomy, implying: “do not forget that all is gift from God.” And secondly, the prophets brought awareness that every man or woman is a brother or sister. We find this superb statement in the Book of Job: “Did not he who made me in the belly make him? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?” And when Isaiah calls for “sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own flesh?” (Is 58.7) is he not referring to all human beings?
Saint Luke concludes that when the Scriptures are accomplished, when we finally live under the New Covenant for which the Old Testament has prepared us, we the faithful will truly be brothers and sisters; from this follows that we will live as family: brothers and sisters sharing all possessions for a common good.

Responsorial Psalm – 118.2-4, 13-14, 22-24
R/Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R/Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R/Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R/Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.

Second Reading – 1 John 5.1-6
Beloved:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and blood.
The Spirit is the one that testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.

Gospel – John 20. 19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
Commentary
GOD’S PLAN IS FULFILLED
We read this Gospel each year for the second Sunday of Easter, which indicates that it must be a fundamental text for the Christian faith. This year I would like to highlight the word that underscores all the verses: the word ‘accomplishment’. I think it is a key word in this text; put another way, John could well have started this passage with Christ’s last words on the cross, “It is finished.” For John, who notes these words in his Gospel, it is obvious that with Christ’s Resurrection God's plan for humanity is accomplished.

First of all, it is in Jerusalem that this scene takes place: the city made for peace, as its name suggests (Yeru-shalayim); and here Jesus announces and gives his peace; he says “Shalom” (“Peace be with you”) and because he is God, and finally acknowledged as such, his Word is effective and creative: his peace is indeed achieved.

John no doubt has in mind all the prophets’ promises: Isaiah for example: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us…Prince of Peace” (Is 9.5); and Jeremiah: “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you… plans for your welfare (shalom) and not for woe”(Jer 29.11). And the disciples rejoice: John recalls Christ’s words the night before his death: “So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (Jn 16.22). You may say that we are a long way from having achieved peace; yes, of course; Jesus has sown peace but it is up to us to make it grow!

Secondly, the passage begins with: “On the evening of that first day of the week.” In the Jewish reading of the story of creation in the Book of Genesis, this first day was called “Day One”, in the sense of the first day, but also in the sense of the ONE day, the unique day, the one that encompassed all the others - just as the first sheaf of the harvest announced the entire harvest ... And even today, the Jewish people await the New Day that will be the day of the Lord, when God will renew the first creation. For Christians, this New Day arose on Easter morning; each Sunday we announce that the Lord's Day, the Day of the New Creation has finally come, that God’s benevolent plan is accomplished.

RENEWAL OF CREATION
It is precisely on that day, the first day of the week that Christ gives the Holy Spirit to his disciples - just as the prophet Ezekiel had said: “I will put my spirit within you.” Jesus “breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.””  John has intentionally taken the word ‘breathed’ from the book of Genesis (Gen 2.7): just as God “breathed the breath of life” into the man, so Jesus inaugurates the new creation by breathing his spirit into human beings. We affirm this in our fourth Eucharistic prayer, which gives thanks for the gift of the Spirit, “he sent the Holy Spirit from you, Father, as the first fruits for those who believe.”

Therefore Jerusalem, the city of prophetic promises is also the city of the gift of the Spirit; it is in this city that the promise of the prophet Joel is accomplished: “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh ... Then everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD will escape harm” (Joel 3.1, 5). And the mission that Jesus immediately entrusts to his apostles is one of peace and reconciliation. Here again, it is up to us to assure that Jerusalem will indeed be the city of peace.

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Three days earlier, Jesus had said to Pilate, “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (Jn 18. 37). Pilate asked, “What is truth?” Jesus now entrusts to his disciples the mission to proclaim to the world the truth, the only truth that humanity needs in order to live: that God is Father, that God is love, forgiveness and mercy. “I send you,” says Jesus: remember that “the doors were locked, where the disciples were,” but Jesus does not want them to remain behind closed doors! The mission is urgent: the world is perishing from not knowing the truth - this truth to which the Spirit is gradually and patiently leading humanity: “when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth” (Jn 16.13).
Translated with permission by Simone Baryliuk, from: Commentaires de Marie Noëlle Thabut, 12 avril, 2015
http://www.eglise.catholique.fr/foi-et-vie-chretienne/commentaires-de-marie-noelle-thabut.html