THE SPIRIT GIVEN TO US IS SEEN IN THE EFFECTS OF OUR BAPTISM

20160405 THE SPIRIT GIVEN TO US IS SEEN IN THE EFFECTS OF OUR BAPTISM

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 4:32-37 ©

The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common.

  The apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and they were all given great respect.

  None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any members who might be in need.

  There was a Levite of Cypriot origin called Joseph whom the apostles surnamed Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). He owned a piece of land and he sold it and brought the money, and presented it to the apostles.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 92:1-2,5 ©

The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

or

Alleluia!

The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed;

  the Lord has robed himself with might,

  he has girded himself with power.

The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

or

Alleluia!

The world you made firm, not to be moved;

  your throne has stood firm from of old.

  From all eternity, O Lord, you are.

The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

or

Alleluia!

Truly your decrees are to be trusted.

  Holiness is fitting to your house,

  O Lord, until the end of time.

The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Rv1:5

Alleluia, alleluia!

You, O Christ, are the faithful witness,

the First-born from the dead,

you have loved us and have washed away our sins with your blood.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn3:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Son of Man must be lifted up

so that everyone who believes in him

may have eternal life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 3:7-15 ©

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

‘Do not be surprised when I say:

You must be born from above.

The wind blows wherever it pleases;

you hear its sound,

but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.

That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.’

‘How can that be possible?’ asked Nicodemus. ‘You, a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things!’ replied Jesus.

‘I tell you most solemnly,

we speak only about what we know

and witness only to what we have seen

and yet you people reject our evidence.

If you do not believe me when I speak about things in this world,

how are you going to believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things?

No one has gone up to heaven

except the one who came down from heaven,

the Son of Man who is in heaven;

and the Son of Man must be lifted up

as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’

THE SPIRIT GIVEN TO US IS SEEN IN THE EFFECTS OF OUR BAPTISM

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 4:32-37; JOHN 3:7-15  ]

On the Low Octave of Easter, the concluding prayer of the mass sets the direction of the liturgy in the next six weeks of Easter, which is to deepen our understanding of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist. It reads, “God of eternal compassion, each Easter you rekindle the faith of your consecrated people. Give them still greater grace, so that all may truly understand the waters in which they were cleansed, the Spirit by which they were reborn, the blood by which they were redeemed.”   The concluding prayer mentions all the three sacraments of Initiation by which we enter into the paschal mystery and share in the resurrected life of Christ.

So on the second week of Easter, the liturgy focuses on the first of the three sacraments, namely, the sacrament of baptism because this is the gateway to grace and to all the other sacraments.  In Jn 3:4 Nicodemus asked Jesus the question, “How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”  How can we be born from above in order to enter into the Kingdom of God?  In other words, how can we share in the life of God?

We need to be born again from above.  Jesus answered: “I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”   What does it mean to be born from above if not to share the fullness of the life of God?  This is given to us precisely through the sacrament of baptism, when we make a decision to die to our sins with Christ and be buried with Him so that we can rise to a new life in the power of the Spirit.  So it is at baptism, that we put on a new man as we put the Old Adam to death.  By so doing, we receive willingly the Holy Spirit that Jesus wants to give to us.

What is this Holy Spirit that Jesus gives us to us at baptism?  It is the same Spirit that empowered Him in His ministry.  In receiving this Spirit, we too live the life of God in us through our humble service, compassion and forgiveness.  This was the life of Jesus, when He showed us the compassion and mercy of His Father, through the works of healing, preaching, forgiving and reconciling sinners with God, especially by His death and resurrection.  Only Jesus who comes from God can show us the face of God and what eternal life is all about.  This is what St John wrote, “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven.”  Only Jesus who is from heaven can tell us how to live the life of the Kingdom.  So Jesus who knows what the life of the kingdom is all about comes to show us the way through His paschal mystery.

But the question that is being asked in today’s gospel is, how are we so sure that through the waters of baptism, we have received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, since we cannot see Him? Jesus said, “The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.”   We cannot see the Spirit but we can know from its effects.

What then are the fruits of those who have received the Holy Spirit?  The first grace of baptism is that we are more and more incorporated into the life of Christ.  Baptism is first and foremost incorporation into the body of Christ.  Consequently, to be baptized and to live the life of Jesus in us, involves dying with Jesus each day in love and service.  We are to carry in us, “the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.  For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.  So death is at work in us, but life in you.”  (2 Cor 4:10-12)   This was the way Jesus surrendered His life to the Father in the Holy Spirit for our salvation when He said, “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.” (Lk 23:46)

The second fruit of baptism and the presence of the Holy Spirit is our incorporation with the members of the Body of Christ.  In the Acts of the Apostles, we read how the early Christians were so united with each other, “heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common.”  They were in communion with each other, thinking of the other before their own needs; and seeing each other as truly their own brothers and sisters because they shared in the same sonship of Christ.  As a consequence, “None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any member who might be in need.”  Barnabas even went to the extent of selling his own property and gave the money to the apostles for the sake of the mission.  They were ready to give their own possessions away for the greater needs of the community.

All these were done freely without any obligation or coercion.  The apostles left them free and those who gave did so freely, spontaneously and generously.  This was simply because they no longer saw each other as strangers and competitors or enemies but as children of our Heavenly Father and brothers and sisters of our Lord.  Indeed, we can see that the Christians lived their lives as if they were the family of God.   So filled with the Spirit of the Risen Lord, their overflowing joy gave way to service and love.

The basis of their unity was not a sociological or ideological unity but a spiritual unity that brought all of them together.  This explains why we begin the mass, saying, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  The truth is that it is because of Christ and the love of Father revealed to us and the presence of the Holy Spirit in us and the community that we are brought together.  This is the basis of Christian unity.  Of course, we can be sure that although united in mind and heart, they would have had their disagreements in terms of how to do things or fulfill the mission of Christ and the way the gospel should be proclaimed.  But one thing is clear amidst the different charisms and gifts of the community, all were united in their love for the Lord and in the work of spreading the Good News.  When it concerned the essentials, they were in total agreement.  But when it came to non-essentials, diversity was permitted.

For this reason, we are called to contemplate on the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord.  Jesus said, “The Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”  Constant contemplation of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ is the way to find life.  This is what baptism entails, a greater incorporation into Christ, the Head, and His Body, the Church by a gradual dying to self for others.

So if someone were to ask, what is the value of baptism?  Is it merely an empty ritual?  The answer is obvious.   If you look at the lives of those baptized in Christ, we can see the change in their direction.  As Jesus said, if you do not believe me, at least believe on account of the facts.  He said, “I tell you most solemnly, we speak only about what we know and witness only to what we have seen and yet you people reject our evidence.  If you do not believe me when I speak about things in this world, how are you going to believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things?”  Let the fruits of baptism, as exemplified by the life that we live in imitation of our Lord’s death and resurrection, be the testimony that we have indeed received the Spirit of Christ.  There is nothing greater than the testimony of a resurrected life.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved