May 2, 2011
Memorial of Saint Athanasius,
bishop and doctor of the Church
“And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness, as you stretch forth (your) hand to heal, and signs and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:29-31
Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘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.” John 3:5-8
Piety
Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord.
Study
The presence of God is shown by the reactions of the natural world. In the First Reading from Acts, the earthquake is the symbol of the presence of God working through the Holy Spirit to instruct the disciples. In the Gospel, the wind is referred to as evidence of the unknown workings of the Holy Spirit.
Humans have been trying to understand and conquer the natural world since the days before written history when we were first able to harness fire and escape from the elements in a cave. Yet, today thousands of years later, we have made progress but are far from a complete understanding of the natural world. Every secret which we uncover is matched with a new mystery to unfold.
So, too, is our attempt to understand the work of God. Jesus tells the learned Nicodemus that he must be born again. Nicodemus tries to understand the teaching literally to no avail. Even though the presence of Jesus is know in the flesh and blood and bones of the Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection, the teaching of Jesus – directly and indirectly – are much harder to comprehend than through literal interpretation.
We always need to examine not just what each teaching literally says but also what it means symbolically. Even that is not enough until we dig deeper into what it means in our own lives and in the world in which we live today.
Action
What teachings of Jesus give you the most trouble to understand and put into practice? Pick one of them this week and research it through the Catechism and other official resources so you can have a better understanding of what it says, what it means and why it matters.
Just like Peter and John started teaching with boldness, it took courage for Nicodemus to come to Jesus to find out more about his teachings in the temple. When next we find Nicodemus, he is defending Jesus as others in the temple start to plot against him. The lessons he learned under cover of darkness begin to see the light. Finally, in his final appearance in John’s Gospel, Nicodemus is helping Joseph of Aramethea take the body of Jesus down from the cross and give it a proper burial. What begins as a personal tutorial in night school becomes a very public devotion in broad daylight after the execution.
The actions of Nicodemus teach us that our faith is always personal but never private. Jesus calls all of us to public boldness and provides the gifts of the Holy Spirit to help us attain it. From understanding, we can advance to action.
