20260413 BAPTISM AS THE GATEWAY TO THE NEW LIFE
13 April 2026, Monday, 2nd Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 4:23-31 |
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly
As soon as Peter and John were released they went to the community and told them everything the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard it they lifted up their voice to God all together. ‘Master,’ they prayed ‘it is you who made heaven and earth and sea, and everything in them; you it is who said through the Holy Spirit and speaking through our ancestor David, your servant:
Why this arrogance among the nations,
these futile plots among the peoples?
Kings on earth setting out to war,
princes making an alliance,
against the Lord and against his Anointed.
‘This is what has come true: in this very city Herod and Pontius Pilate made an alliance with the pagan nations and the peoples of Israel, against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, but only to bring about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had predetermined should happen. And now, Lord, take note of their threats and help your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness, by stretching out your hand to heal and to work miracles and marvels through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 2:1-9 |
Blessed are they who put their trust in God.
or
Alleluia!
Why this tumult among nations,
among peoples this useless murmuring?
They arise, the kings of the earth,
princes plot against the Lord and his Anointed.
‘Come, let us break their fetters,
come, let us cast off their yoke.’
Blessed are they who put their trust in God.
or
Alleluia!
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord is laughing them to scorn.
Then he will speak in his anger,
his rage will strike them with terror.
‘It is I who have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.’
Blessed are they who put their trust in God.
or
Alleluia!
I will announce the decree of the Lord:
The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you this day.
Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,
put the ends of the earth in your possession.
With a rod of iron you will break them,
shatter them like a potter’s jar.’
Blessed are they who put their trust in God.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Col3:1 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ,
you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 3:1-8 |
Unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God
There was one of the Pharisees called Nicodemus, a leading Jew, who came to Jesus by night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God; for no one could perform the signs that you do unless God were with him.’ Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born from above,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.’
Nicodemus said, ‘How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?’ Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born through water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God:
what is born of the flesh is flesh;
what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
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.’
BAPTISM AS THE GATEWAY TO THE NEW LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 4:23-31; JOHN 3:1-8 ]
We have just completed celebrating the Octave of Easter. In the first eight days of Easter, the liturgy focused on the new life of Christ. The primary purpose of the Octave of Easter was to establish the reality of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. This was done through the story of the Empty Tomb, the testimonies of the disciples of Jesus who saw Him after His death, the fulfilment of scriptural prophecies, and also the miracles worked by the apostles in the name of Jesus.
However, this new life of Christ is not just for Jesus alone. He died and was resurrected not for His sake but for ours. The Paschal Mystery is ultimately for our sake. If Jesus, the Eternal Son of God, became man at His incarnation, and then died for us in His passion and was raised from the dead, it was done for the sake of our salvation, so that we too may have a share in this new life that He comes to give to all of us.
The question is: how can we have access to this new life of Christ? This was the question raised by Nicodemus, who came by night to see Jesus. We are told that he was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He knew the importance of the Law. The Pharisees believed in the strict observance of the Law as taught in the Torah. All the answers to life are found in the Torah, if not explicitly, at least implicitly. The Mishnah is the commentary of the Jews on the implicit laws and the application of the Torah to daily life situations. These are the scribal laws. Then there is the Talmud, which comments on the commentary — that is, on the Mishnah.
The truth remains that, in spite of the fact that he had tried to observe meticulously all the laws of the Torah, he found something missing. There was an emptiness in his heart. However, he was sincere and open. He had the courage to seek the fullness of the truth. He went to see Jesus to discuss his emptiness, albeit by night, for fear of causing scandal, as he was a member of the Sanhedrin. He went quietly in the dark to see what he could learn from Jesus. He was a man who was willing to confront himself, unlike many of us who know there is something lacking in our lives but are not ready to search for the answer and find the fullness of truth. We continue to live the lie, whether with respect to our religion or the way we live out our lives, marriage, and vocation.
What is the way to the fullness of life? The answer of Jesus is clear: “I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Indeed, so long as we are not born from above, we cannot go beyond this earthly life. Again, Jesus reiterated, “I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God: what is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The flesh has its limitations. This explains why we always fall short of what we wish to do. We might know the laws and yet be unable to fulfil them. By our own strength, we cannot do much. By our human efforts, we can only do so much. We cannot find fulfilment just living on the level of the flesh.
Hence, the next question, as Nicodemus asked: “How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Obviously, we cannot literally be born again in a crude way. This rebirth is of the Spirit, as already prophesied in the Old Testament, especially in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. So, this new life that is being offered to us is given by the Spirit and not by man. It is not within man’s capacity to give himself the Spirit, for only God can give us His Spirit. This Spirit, of course, is given to us by the Father through Christ. This is ritually given to us in the sacrament of Baptism, in which we are born again in Christ.
Baptism, therefore, is the gateway to this new life. Appropriately, at Easter we celebrate the sacrament of Baptism. This is the means by which the Risen Lord invites us to die with Him as we descend into the waters, symbolising our death to sin and to self, and then rise with Him to a new life of the Spirit — a life of love and holiness. Through faith in Christ, Baptism opens to us a new life in Christ in the power of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who makes us children of God, and as His children, we are heirs with Christ — heirs in His suffering and in His glory.
How do we know that the Spirit is real? 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 do not know how the Spirit works, but we know the Spirit of the Risen Lord by its effects. Indeed, in most instances of daily life, we do not know how electricity, a phone, or a car works, but we can see their effects. We do not need to see the Holy Spirit; we can see and feel its effects at work in our lives. When we see lives transformed, people changed radically overnight, or miracles of healing, we know that this is the work of the Risen Lord in the Holy Spirit.
Like Christ, we have received the same Spirit that empowered Him to act and to perform wonders when He was in Jerusalem. Indeed, what Jesus did — acknowledged by Nicodemus when he said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God; for no one could perform the signs that you do unless God were with him” was also continued in the early Church, when the apostles healed and performed miracles in His name, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles: “And now, Lord, take note of their threats and help your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness, by stretching out your hand to heal and to work miracles and marvels through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
With the same Spirit, we too can proclaim, like the apostles, boldly the love of Jesus even before kings. The change that is effected is not so much external but interior. The heart is filled with love. One is filled with conviction and, most of all, with the power that comes from God. For this reason, even as they prayed, the house shook. So intense is the power of the Holy Spirit for those who allow Him to work in their lives. That is why Jesus also told Nicodemus, when he acknowledged Him as one who performed signs, that more importantly, we must allow God to live in us. Anyone who is born of the Spirit is born into the Kingdom of God. From then on, God rules and works in us through the Holy Spirit.
We are assured of victory because the Risen Lord continues to work in our lives. He is in control. As Peter quoted from the psalm: “It is you who made heaven and earth and sea, and everything in them; you it is who said through the Holy Spirit, speaking through our ancestor David, your servant: Why this arrogance among the nations, these futile plots among the peoples? Kings on earth setting out to war, princes making an alliance, against the Lord and against his Anointed.” Indeed, the apostles knew that the Lord is risen and that the Holy Spirit is powerful because they experienced the effects of the Holy Spirit in their lives. We, too, are called to receive the Holy Spirit at our Baptism, since only through water and the Spirit can we be born again.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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