Navarre Bible Commentary:Monday, 2nd Week of Easter

Nicodemus by John LaFarge

John 3:1–8

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.”

Cited in the Catechism:  In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism, in fifteen (15) paragraphs.

Commentary

3:1–2. Throughout this intimate dialogue, Nicodemus behaves with great refinement: he addresses Jesus with respect and calls him Rabbi, Master. He had probably been impressed by Christ’s miracles and preaching and wanted to know more. The way he reacts to our Lord’s teaching is not as yet very supernatural, but he is noble and upright. His visiting Jesus by night, for fear of the Jews (cf. Jn 19:39), is very understandable, given his position as a member of the Sanhedrin: but he takes the risk and goes to see Jesus.

When the Pharisees tried to arrest Jesus (Jn 7:32), failing to do so because he had such support among the people, Nicodemus energetically opposed the injustice of condemning a man without giving him a hearing; he also showed no fear, at the most difficult time of all, by honouring the dead body of the Lord (Jn 19:40).

3:3–8. Nicodemus’ first question shows that he still has doubts about Jesus (Is he a prophet? Is he the Messiah?); and our Lord replies to him in a completely unexpected way: Nicodemus presumed he would say something about his mission and, instead, he reveals to him an astonishing truth: one must be born again, in a spiritual birth, by water and the spirit; a whole new world opens up before Nicodemus.

Our Lord’s words also paint a limitless horizon for the spiritual advancement of any Christian who willingly lets himself or herself be led by divine grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are infused at Baptism and enhanced by the sacraments. As well as opening his soul to God, the Christian also needs to keep at bay his selfish appetites and the inclinations of pride, if he is to understand what God is teaching him in his soul: “Therefore must the soul be stripped of all things created, and of its own actions and abilities — namely, of its understanding, perception and feelings—so that, when all that is unlike God and unconformed to him is cast out, the soul may receive the likeness of God; and nothing will then remain in it that is not the will of God and it will thus be transformed in God. Wherefore, although it is true that, as we have said, God is ever in the soul, giving it, and through his presence conserving within it, its natural being, yet he does not always communicate supernatural being to it. For this is communicated only by love and grace, which not all souls possess; and all those that possess it have it not in the same degree; for some have attained more degrees of love and others fewer. Wherefore God communicates himself most to that soul that has progressed farthest in love; namely, that has its will in closest conformity with the will of God. And the soul that has attained complete conformity and likeness of will is totally united and transformed in God supernaturally” (St John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, book 2, chap. 5).

Jesus speaks very forcefully about man’s new condition: it is no longer a question of being born of the flesh, of the line of Abraham (cf. Jn 1:13), but of being reborn through the action of the Holy Spirit, by means of water. This is our Lord’s first reference to Christian Baptism, confirming John the Baptist’s prophecy (cf. Mt 3:11; Jn 1:33) that he had come to institute a baptism with the Holy Spirit.

“Nicodemus had not yet savoured this spirit and this life. […] He knew but one birth, which is from Adam and Eve; that which is from God and the Church, he did not yet know; he knew only the paternity which engenders to death; he did not yet know the paternity which engenders to life. […] Whereas there are two births, he knew only of one. One is of earth, the other of heaven; one of the flesh, the other of the Spirit; one of mortality, the other of eternity; one of male and female, the other of God and the Church. But the two are each unique; neither one nor the other can be repeated” (St Augustine, In Ioann. Evang., 11, 6).

Our Lord speaks of the wonderful effects the Holy Spirit produces in the soul of the baptized. Just as with the wind—when it blows we realize its presence, we hear it whistling, but we do not know where it came from, or where it will end up—so with the Holy Spirit, the divine “breath” (pneuma) given us in Baptism: we do not know how he comes to penetrate our heart but he makes his presence felt by the change in the conduct of whoever receives him.

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome

The Road to Emmaus

Road to Emmaus, Jon McNaughton

A Familiar Reading
Today's Gospel reading from Luke 24:13- 35 portrays the encounter between two disciples and Jesus as they walked on the road to Emmaus. This is one of those Easter time readings that we are all so familiar with that we make take its meaning for granted.

Liturgy of the Word
If we reflect on the passage carefully, we will discover that the story is more than two sad disciples encountering the resurrected Christ. It is also depicts imagery of the Holy Mass. Jesus, still not revealed to them, chastises the disciples for being discouraged: "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" (Luke 24:26, Navarre Bible). He then gives a recollection on salvation history by "beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:27, Navarre Bible).  In other words, he breaks open the Liturgy of the Word, which makes up the first part of the Mass.

Liturgy of the Eucharist
After concluding His homily, Christ then stays with the two disciples, whose hearts are now burning. "When He was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him" (Luke 24: 29-31, Navarre Bible). This is clearly a depiction of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Participation in the Mass
In 2008 while praying the Regina Coeli, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged us to encounter Christ in the Word and in the Eucharist through our participation in Mass:

Today too we can enter into dialogue with Jesus, listening to His Word. Today too He breaks the bread for us and gives Himself as our bread. And thus the encounter with the risen Christ, which is also possible today, gives us a more profound and authentic faith, tempered so to say by the fire of the events of Easter. A robust faith because it is nourished not by human ideas by the Word of God and His real presence in the Eucharist.

Eucharistic-Gospel Lives
St. Josemaria saw in this Gospel reading a demonstration that we are all on the road to Emmaus. When we partake of Our Lord in the Mass, we are sent out to proclaim the Gospel with our lives.

And Jesus stays. Our eyes are opened, as were those of Cleopas and his companion, when Christ breaks the bread; and, though He vanishes once more from sight, we too will find strength to start out once more -- though night is falling -- to tell the others about Him, because so much joy cannot be kept in one heart alone. The road to Emmaus--our God has filled this name with sweetness. Now the entire world has become an Emmaus, for the Lord has opened up all the divine paths of the earth (St. J. Escriva, Friends of God, 313f).

Spiritual Toolbox: What is the Triduum?

Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the shortest season on the Catholic Liturgical Calendar - The Triduum and the end of Lent. The term literally means "three days" and refers to the the three days of Christ's passion and death leading up to his glorious resurrection on Easter. The main lesson we can draw about this season is that we should experience it in its the totality. I recently wrote in a post on holiness, in which I argued that God provides us with all the tools necessary to answer the call to be holy. One of those tools is the liturgy. I cannot think of a richer liturgy than that celebrated on the three days of the Triduum.

Perhaps, like me, you found yourself lacking this Lenten season. Maybe you failed to practice all the good intentions of more prayer, daily Mass, or some other spiritual exercise. While all those practices are all important to our spiritual growth, we can still realign ourselves through the liturgy of the Triduum. It's not too late. Isn't incredible that the Lord is constantly giving us opportunities to reorient ourselves to Him?

Here is a video of Pope Benedict explaining the meaning of Triduum last year:

Here are some additional resources to use in reflection for the next three days:

• Holy Week Retreat, Father Pablo Straub
• The Easter Triduum: Entering into the Paschal Mystery, Carl E. Olson
• 18 Questions on the Paschal Triduum, USCCB

I still think Father Corapi's Triduum talks were some of the best on the subject. While he may no longer be in public ministry, that does not undermine the truth of what he taught. Regardless of what the real circumstances of his case were, he was never accused of teaching falsehood. If you do an Internet search (keywords: Father Corapi + Triduum), the talks can still be located.

Guest Post:Living in Hindsight by Michael Hoffman

Today, we share a post from one of the most dynamic and funny men of Joe Catholic - Michael Hoffman. Michael is a Certified Speaking Professional who specializes in giving workshops to businesses on leadership, sales and customer loyalty. At St. Catherine's parish, Michael is a member of the Youth Formation team and often a guest catechist for RCIA.
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I love the songs of Easter. You know the ones like Keith Green's “Easter Song." The hallelujah He is risen songs that have you seeing the angels shouting from the top of their hearts across the heavens that He is risen! You can see the party. They’re just going nuts. His plan is in motion, He was telling the truth, He is the Lord, He is in charge, He has won and He has done it for us. The curse of sin is dead; He has risen! Hallelujah. I love it because I know in my heart what they’re talking about. I get it so much and it humbles me and breaks me down to my most “face down can’t believe you love me that much” posture. I can’t help but jump with the angels. Praise you Lord my God. You have my heart, you have my life. Help me to trust you Lord.

But I was thinking the other day on a flight to Duluth where I was absorbed in my Easter music cranked to full volume in my headphones and trying to keep my love tears from freaking out the lady next to me, that these songs are from the angel’s point of view, maybe even my point of view. The “after we see the bigger picture” point of view, but that was not the Apostles' point of view. That hit me hard. I always thought of Easter as a rejoicing time for everyone. But it hit me that these people were freaked out. Tragedy after tragedy has snowballed out of control in a matter of hours, days and this must have been the topper. Satan has struck hard and it looks like he’s won. THEY’VE STOLEN HIM! Can you imagine? What do we do? We’re not ready! The panic must have been huge. As they were assembled in the upper room where they waited it must have took tremendous faith to just wait. Wait for Jesus to come.

And He did. He did come and He did show them the bigger picture. He did give them the peace they needed, the strength they needed, the vision of His will that gave the direction they needed to ultimately do what He needed them to do, not what they needed to do.

How many times do you find yourself in a panic over your life or lost in your direction? You know friends and family that have faced the most challenging issues of life and death. You’ve known friends and peers that have thrown everything they held dear away for a drink, a drug, a fling. Satan has struck hard and it looks like he’s won. The panic is sometimes huge. But your Lord knows you and He knows all of us. And He is in charge of it all. He does allow us this life of free will and He does allow us to experience what others or we have put into play. And we do live in a fallen world where sometimes Satan does strike hard. But make no mistake about it. His victory IS our victory. You do not live for this world you live for His. And like the Apostles you’re reminded sometimes to wait. Wait for Him. He’s already in charge of your situation and He has you where you are. He will come and show you the bigger picture, He will give you the peace you need to get through, He will grant you the strength you need and the vision to see His will. He will give you the direction you need to do the actions He needs you to be doing in that time, not just for you but for those around you, that you may be the visible hands and feet of our Lord to those around you.

We have something that the Apostles didn’t have… hindsight. Hallelujah, He is risen. What a position, oh what a time to be. What an awareness to dwell on; we get to have the gift of hindsight.
Hear the bells ringing they’re singing that Jesus Christ is no longer dead.

 I love the songs of Easter.

[Editor's Note: If you were curious about Keith Green's song (as I was), I have added a video of the song.]