My Monday Daily Blessings
Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you, talking to you.................
Monday of the Second Week of Easter (Roman Rite Calendar)
*First Reading: Acts 4:23-31
After their release Peter and John went back to their own people and reported what the chief priests and elders had told them.
And when they heard it, they raised their voices to God with one accord and said, “Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth
and the sea and all that is in them, you said by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David, your servant:
And when they heard it, they raised their voices to God with one accord and said, “Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth
and the sea and all that is in them, you said by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David, your servant:
Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples entertain folly?
The kings of the earth took their stand and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.
The kings of the earth took their stand and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.
Indeed they gathered in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed,
Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do what your hand and your will had long ago planned to take place. 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.
Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do what your hand and your will had long ago planned to take place. 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.
*Responsorial Psalm: Ps 2:1-3, 4-7a, 7b-9
"Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord."
*Gospel: Jn 3:1-8
There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,
for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man once grown old be born again?
Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
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.”
He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,
for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man once grown old be born again?
Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
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.”
**Reflection:
Do you nourish your faith with regular reading and prayerful reflection of the word of God? Nicodemus was hungry for God's word and became a closet disciple of Jesus. He sought Jesus out, though surreptitiously in the dead of the night. Why? Nicodemus was a "leader of the Jews", "a teacher of Israel" (John 3:10), and a member of the religious party most opposed to the teaching of Jesus. In fact, John’s gospel account states that it was Nicodemus' own group, the Pharisees, which intimidated the authorities against confessing Jesus (John 12:42).Instead he engaged him in a seemingly unrelated topic of conversation. Jesus said that rebirth was necessary to enter the kingdom of God. Of course, Nicodemus the Pharisee had already found religion, so he thought that Jesus must have referred to physical rebirth. No, Jesus responded, someone who is reborn spiritually knows the experience as surely as one who has been refreshed by an invisible breeze. How can a respected rabbi among the Jews not know this? And that is precisely the point. Nicodemus is the first of what we might loosely call the official clergy with whom Jesus has personal engagement. The Gospel portrays Nicodemus as a defender of Jesus' right to a fair trial (John 7:-51). Nicodemus also helped to bury Jesus with honor. Nicodemus did not understand the new birthwhich Jesus spoke of until after the resurrection.
What does it mean to be reborn? The new birth Jesus speaks of is a spiritual birth to new life and relationship with God as his sons and daughters. This new birth is made possible when one is baptized into Christ and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. God wants to renew all his people in the gift of new life in his Holy Spirit. This new life brings us into God's kingdom or heavenly rule. What is God's kingdom? God's kingdom is that society in which God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven. To be reborn is to enter that society in which God is honored and obeyed, to live as his son or daughter, and to enter into possession of that life which comes from God himself, a never-ending life of love, peace, joy, and freedom from sin and the fear of death. Do you know the joy and freedom of new life in Jesus Christ?
**Prayer:
"Lord Jesus Christ, you offer us a new birth in the Holy Spirit. Renew in me the gift of faith and new life in your Holy Spirit. Help me to draw near to you and to believe in your life-giving word. May your kingdom come and may your will be done in my life today and always." AMEN.
Sources:
The readings on this page are from the Jerusalem Bible, which is used at Mass in most of the English-speaking world.
*Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
**Don Schwager
Author and Writer for The Word Among Us
Member, Servants of the Word (c) 2006
Word Life Community
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