Reflection on the Second Sunday of Easter, April 11, 2021. Year B
Readings
Acts 4:32–35
1 Jn 5:1–6
Jn 20:19–31
Theme: Growth in Faith
The Sunday readings during the Easter cycle take a different tack. They are not woven together in the way to which we are accustomed. All three readings deal with the effects of the resurrection both on the individual believer and on the community as a whole. The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles directs our attention to the growth of the early church under the Spirit’s lead. The gospel, generally taken from John, speaks of the Spirit’s action in guiding the human soul to its destiny. The second reading, generally taken from Peter or John, reinforces this gospel direction. Faith grows as a new community begins to evolve, just as it grows in the soul of an incredulous Thomas.
First Reading — Acts 4:32–35
The effects of the Spirit’s work in unity and concern for others again comes to the fore in this second of the summaries on the early Christian community (2:42–47; 5:12–16). That they were of one heart and one mind (v 32) is reflective of the Hellenistic ideal of friendship, and having no needy person among them (v 34) is a reference to the Deuteronomic ideal in Israel (Deut 15:4). Luke places them both in a Christian context as flowing from the teaching and example of Jesus (Lk 8:3; 12:32f; 16:9, 11, 13).
Holding everything in common is related to Jesus’ teaching on renunciation. It remains a Lucan ideal even though the evidence of retention of private property (5:4), with emphasis falling on the wealthy’s responsibility toward the poor (vv 34f), is present.
The apostles’ witness to the resurrection in power looks principally to the convincing signs and wonders that accompanied their preaching (v 33; 5:12; 3:15f). In attesting to the resurrection of Christ, the apostles witness to God’s power, which is also at work in their Spirit-filled ministry.
Responsorial Psalm — Ps 118
This thanksgiving psalm echoes the sentiments of an individual, perhaps the king, who here represents the experience of the collective Israel. The psalm expresses gratitude to Yahweh for deliverance in liturgical terms connected with temple worship.
The exhortation to collective praise of Yahweh for his covenant fidelity is extended to the nation (v 2), then to the priests (v 3) and Jewish converts (v 4). The right hand is the warrior’s source of strength and protection, here used figuratively for Yahweh’s power to deliver his people (v 16). He has brought Israel (“I”) back from the edge of defeat and destruction to live again in his presence (v 17). This insignificant country, demeaned by the great powers of the time, has become a centerpiece of the international scene solely because of Yahweh’s evident favor (v 22).
This psalm finds its place in the Easter liturgy in being applied to Christ brought back from death to life (v 17) and in his rejection by his own people leading to his becoming the cornerstone of a new people of God (v 22). This latter verse is repeatedly applied to Jesus’ ironic position in the new dispensation (Mt 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:7). The refrain acclaiming the day of the Lord, fitting for Easter, expresses the psalmist’s sense of joy (v 24).
Second Reading — 1 Jn 5:1–6
The first epistle of John is as much a treatise as a letter. It deals with problems within the Johannine community at the end of the first century about which we can only conjecture. There were dissidents in the church whose arguments are being refuted in this positive presentation of doctrine. The strong emphasis on the pre-existence of Jesus and the importance of the life of charity in the letter give some insight into the problematic.
Faith and love are interwoven in this passage and are inseparable in the living of the Christian life. Only the baptized (“the begotten by God”) can profess the messiahship of Jesus (v 1) and his divine sonship (v 5). It is this faith that is capable of overcoming the world and its allurements (v 5), just as Jesus himself did (Jn 16:33). The world is viewed in two ways in John, as the arena of evil (17:14f) and as the object of God’s salvific love (17:18; 3:16f). The evil of the world is vanquished by a living faith.
To believe in God is to love him as well. Moreover, the love of the Father is inextricably connected with the love of other Christians (“the one begotten by him”) (v 1; 3:17; 4:7f). Love of neighbor reflects the extent to which love of God and observance of his commandments play a part in life (vv 2f). By the same token, the love of other Christians is the clearest indicator of an authentic love of God (4:12, 20). The two loves are inseparable, as are faith and love.
Christ communicates the Spirit through the waters of baptism made effective by his sacrificial death. The reference to water and blood points to both baptism and crucifixion (v 6). It is the Spirit that witnesses to the truth of Jesus. At his death, the Johannine Jesus hands over the “spirit” as his pierced side produces water and blood (19:30, 34). It is the Spirit that links the atoning death and baptism and makes possible the Christian profession of faith.
Third Reading — Jn 20:19–31
The Johannine Jesus’ first appearance to his disciples occurs on the evening of the resurrection. He has already gone to the Father (20:17); his now glorified state is indicated by his appearance behind locked doors (vv 19, 26) and his conferral of the Spirit and its accompanying peace (v 19, 21, 22, 26). John, unlike Luke, does not adhere to an extended temporal sequence of post-Easter events: appearances, ascension, and Pentecost. For John these are but different aspects of a single transcendent event, the resurrection-exaltation of Jesus.
The Johannine narrative is in basic accord with earlier tradition on Jesus’ appearance, although the author has shaped the material to fit his own design. The Lucan account of the post-Easter appearance has interesting parallels: peace is extended (Lk 24:36), hands and feet are proffered as signs (v 39), forgiveness of sins is to be preached (v 47) a promise of apostolic commission is given (v 49).
The conferral of the Spirit is central to the first part of the narrative. Clearly a gift of the resurrection, the Spirit conveys peace and the power to forgive sins.
Peace (vv 19, 21): The restoration of harmony between God and creation and within the created order itself is effected by the Spirit life of the resurrection (Col 1:20). It is a fulfillment of Jesus’ promise at the supper (14:27). I send you (v 21): This is the mandate given to the apostles as witnesses to the risen Jesus. It is conferred in all the gospels (Mt 28:19; Lk 24:47; Mk 16:15). Whose sins you forgive (v 23): The power to bind and loose within the church (Mt 16:19; 18:18) is here further elaborated in the power to forgive or retain sins. It connotes an authorized act of judgment, here given to the apostles. As the first gift of the Spirit (v 22), it looks to baptism or first forgiveness but also includes subsequent pardon for sin in the Christian life. The Catholic Council of Trent saw in this text the basis for the church’s authority to forgive post-baptismal sins. The act of breathing the Spirit evokes the image of God’s breathing the spirit of life into Adam (Gen 2:7). Here it is the new life from God that is bestowed (v 22).
The narrative also establishes a continuity between the crucified Jesus and the risen Christ. This is seen in the presentation of hands and side (v 20). The exchange with Thomas serves several purposes. It too reasserts a continuity between the mortal and transformed Christ (vv 25ff). In Thomas’ words, it also gives the fullest faith affirmation of Jesus as both Lord and God, offering an important inclusion with the gospel’s prologue (1:1). Finally the narrative speaks to the early Christians who had never seen or known the risen Christ. Their faith is applauded as not derived from contact but from the action of God’s Spirit (v 29).
The narrative closes with what may well have been the conclusion to an earlier edition of the gospel (vv 30f). It points out that the evangelist was selective in choosing events from Jesus’ life (and thus was in no sense a biographer). Moreover, what was written was fashioned with a determined perspective: to promote faith in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God, a goal imprinted upon the fourth gospel from the start (1:41, 49). You may believe (v 31): Manuscript differences permit either a coming to faith or a continuing in faith. In view of the gospel’s being destined for a faith community, the latter seems preferable, even if not incontestable.
Newness of life — that is the message of Easter, the Church’s principal feast. It comes in the spring of the year when nature begins to burst forth anew. The new clothes and the Easter eggs are symbols that point to new life. It is the resurrection itself that is the major statement about life.
Christ’s emergence from the tomb has importance for three major reasons. First of all, it is God’s endorsement of everything Jesus claimed and taught. His life ends in victory not defeat. He was not destroyed by cynical machinations, political manipulation, or military power. In Jesus’ resurrection, God has the final word. Secondly, this faith event is a cause of our salvation. Paul tells us that if Christ did not rise, then we are still deep in sin. It is the risen Christ that gives the Spirit, our sanctifier. The “firstborn of the dead” gives assurance to all of us that we are called to a similar destiny. Finally, it is the risen Christ that represents the starting point of Christian faith. It is the prism through which everything in his earthly ministry is now viewed. The risen Christ is read into the events that preceded his death. Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish rabbi instructing his disciples, is truly God’s Son and Lord. Easter stands at the heart of faith.
Paul always looks at the practical dimension. We now have a heavenly homeland, a new vision, and eternal truths to shape our thinking. This does not mean that we live only for a world to come. To bring the Easter spirit to life in a suffering world is very much our task in the here and now. There are the disheartened and the discouraged, the terminally ill, youth in need of credible role models, the poor who people the world’s barrios and favellas. The point is, however, that it is our spiritual vision of the new reality which directs all that we do. Easter opens the door to a future heavenly banquet. It is the ultimate Easter dinner to which all are invited by the Lord who rose and was first accepted in faith by one who loved.
