Tuesday April 26, 2022

Tuesday of 2nd Week in Easter

 

One Heart and One Mind      

 

Introduction                                                

            We know from our disappointing experiences how difficult it is to be a real community. We have different personalities with different ideas, attitudes and potentials. The great obstacle is we ourselves: we want people to go our way, and we impose our own views. In our Christian communities, there is one who can unite us in himself. It is Jesus, our model and our Lord. We believe that we come together here in his name and for his sake. He is alive and present among us. He brings us together in one faith and one love. It is a lifelong task. Can we be one heart and one soul in him?

 

Opening Prayer

All praise and thanks be to you,
Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
You have given us your risen Son
to be alive in our communities.
Make us see him with eyes of faith,
that he may unite us, heart and soul.
May his dynamic presence among us
move us to become with him,
each other’s bread of life,
that no one among us may hunger
for food or help when in need.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

 

Reading 1: ACTS 4:32-37

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favour was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.

Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated Ason of encouragement”),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that he owned,
then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles.

 

 

Responsorial Psalm 93:1AB, 1CD-2, 5

(1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendour robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

Alleluia  JN 3:14-15

Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man must be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him
may have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel:  JN 3:7B-15

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“‘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.”
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
‘How can this happen?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

 

Intercessions

–          Risen Lord, be greater and stronger than our divisions. Unite all those who believe in you, we pray:

–          Risen Lord, you have given your people a new heart. In our communities, make us one heart and one soul, we pray:

–          Risen Lord, that the best witnessing we give to you may be that we accept one another and care for one another and serve one another, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Our God and Father,
we ask you for food and drink
and you give us your Son.
May no one in our communities go hungry
or feel abandoned when in distress,
but may we learn from your Son Jesus
to be faithful companions to all who need us.
With our solace and support,
may we also give them ourselves,
as Jesus did and still does for us,
he who is our Lord for ever.

 

Prayer after Communion

God, our Father,
we have encountered your Son Jesus in faith
in this Eucharistic celebration.
With him by our side,
may we be a deeply believing community
in which love and sharing
are no empty words,
a community which keeps dreaming
that we can find one another
and create a new future together
through him, in whom we have been reborn,
Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord for ever.

 

Blessing

One heart and one soul. How dare we say so? We are still far away from this demand of our faith. But we keep hoping. Keep also growing toward it, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Precarious Oneness

Being one in heart and mind, with everyone sharing everything with everyone else is every Christian community’s dream. Even Carl Marx would be envious! However, even as Luke ends the fourth chapter with this dream description, the reality strikes hard immediately—as early as the fifth chapter, wherein Ananias and Sapphira play spoilsport. And, in the sixth, we are told of neglect of widows. Not long after, we encounter tensions regarding Peter’s visit to Cornelius, objections to the uncircumcised, etc. The truth is, it is hard to maintain “oneness in heart and mind” unless we are totally open to the “exceptional grace” amidst us and, as Jesus tells Nicodemus, we are continuously born from above. It may still not ensure unity in thought; but it will definitely guarantee respect for differences, unity in diversity, and love above all.

Reflection is taken from Bible Diary 2022;

written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF