Two meditations May 3 and May 4

Scripture: Lectionary # 268: Acts 4:32-37. Psalm 93:1.1-2.5. John 3:7-15:

Nicodemus asks Jesus:"How can these things happen?" But before hearing that
question, Acts has already alerted to us that the Spirit works wonders that
stupefy us. We look back into the Acts and the Gospels and find that
miracles, wonders, curings, and people working and praying together happen.
The Acts tells us that "They held all things in common." How could that
happen? By the fact they were all of one heart and mind--a sure healthy
way of living and existing as an integrated person. Here we have a whole
community of believers doing this through their oneness of mind and
openness of heart to one another. We yearn for that type of a gathering.
We hope to find it in our families, in our nation, and in our connected
world not with wires and wireless but with the unity amidst diversity
possible through the Spirit of God. Yes, this is an idyllic history of the
emerging Church that Luke is giving us, but ideals are important if we are
to make progress in this living and learning with each other the graces of
respect, equality, and cooperation.

Recently, a doctoral student defended her dissertation entitled: Presenting
the Writings and Works of the Servant of God, Patrick J.Peyton, CSC, as
They Reflect His Marian Spirituality. This simple Irish priest who was not
a great orator got the message and ideal across to millions during the
years of the Rosary Crusade from 1950-1970 with the simple motto:"The
Family that Prays Together, Stays Together." His humility and trust in God
and the Blessed Virgin did more through his Crusade than all of the
treatises put together on family life in the States and throughout the
world. It was a twentieth century gift to the world for family life that
probably has continued to help some families today. In a sense, it created
that idyllic situation of the first community of believers who were of one
heart and soul because they not only put the mysteries of Christ's joy,
sufferings, and glory into a prayer they also experienced it and lived it
out. This one priest was able to get both Hollywood and the Vatican on the
same page in this area of a crusade. San Francisco will celebrate the
historical fact of his gathering more people than ever on one occasion in
the 500 year history of the renowned city. This priest was able to move
with the signs of the times and raise the consciences of many to realize
just how important the family is for unity and peace everywhere.

The unity of mind and heart is expressed by a beautiful word called
KOINONIA. It is much richer than just having one's goods and properties
together. It means the action of having in common, sharing together, and
participating in. Perhaps, the word community comes closest to its
original meaning. It extends to Communion at the altar, as well as with the
body and blood of Christ. Two sets of terms are implied: one participation
in Christ, in the Spirit, in the divine nature, in the one and same life of
faith. The other term means fraternal union, placing of goods in common
use, the collection for Jerusalem, and the fellowship that follows after
the Eucharist. Though Luke uses it in our passage, it is Paul who has the
"corner on the market" in the use of koinonia. Strangely enough, it is not
found in the Gospels! Perhaps, because Jesus is there as the unifying
person.

Our passage from Acts also contains the continuing testimony or giving of
one's life for Christ in this short summary of Acts. We are to be united
through mind and heart and invite others to do the same by our witnessing
to who Jesus is for us. That is what Christian community is all about: Cor
Anima et Anima Una, the favorite motto of John Henry Newman. "And the
grace of God was great among all of them." Alleluiah. Amen.

Scripture: Lectionary # 269: Acts 5:17-26. Psalm 34:2-3.4-5.6-7.8-9. John
3:16-21.

There is no doubt that Jesus is the master of all the situations he finds
himself within the Gospel of John. We recently saw at the beginning of the
Passion Narrative in John that the guards fall back when he tells them "I
am He." He squares off with Pilate in the few words he speaks to him,
reminding the Roman procurator he would have no power or authority were it
not for Jesus' Father. This demonstrates for us the high Christology of
John compared with that of Mark. Only John tells us Jesus is the Word of
God eternal from beyond chronological time. In the scenes we encounter in
chapter three, Jesus now turns from dialoguing with Nicodemus to giving us
a series of monologues. The crypto-believer, Nicodemus, came at night, but
now he is being enlightened and brought into the light of Wisdom and Truth.
Nicodemus will follow up on this and come into daylight even to the point
of helping with the burial of Jesus.

Jesus speaks the truth from above, while we symbolically represented by
Nicodemus, focus our attention on the practical here and now things that
shadow the reality of wisdom and truth as Jesus understands it. Like
Nicodemus we continue to follow Jesus and thus come gradually into the
light of his wisdom and truth.

Jesus calls us to witness to the Father and to himself as the one who is
lifted up to return to the Father. We during these Easter days listen to
the living voice of Jesus in our midst through the liturgical readings and
through the reality of his presence in the Eucharist. We need to get out of
our own mental monologues and enter into the prayer dialogue with Jesus.
We learn step by step how to be wise and truthful in the way we witness to
the Word made flesh by his birth from the Virgin Mary. (John 1:13, 14).
Today we ask ourselves, "How does my understanding of who Jesus is affect
my belief and my witness to him?" Amen. Alleluiah!