Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Easter
Acts 4:32-37; John 3: 7b-15
Christ is risen from the dead. Christ’s resurrection is the true hope of the world that does not disappoint. In His resurrection, the people who once walked in darkness have seen a great light. In the light of the resurrection, the disciples of the Lamb that was slain have learned to love one another. When Christ rose from the dead, the new Adam came forth from the tomb clothed in a garment of light. Remember what Saint Paul wrote the church of Galatia: “In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. All who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ in the same way one puts on new clothes” (Gal. 3: 26-27). Add to this the exhortation taken from the Letter to the Philippians: “Have in your mind, that which was in the mind of Christ, who, existing in the form of God… emptied himself so as to take on the form of a servant” (Phil. 2: 5, 6, 7).
All who have been baptized into Christ have committed themselves to be His disciples. Since we have been baptized into His death and have been raised up with Him, we are called to walk in newness of life. In this way we manifest the grace that has been lavished upon us by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As the apostle to the gentiles wrote: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). The community of believers no longer called anything their won because through Baptism they had stripped themselves of everything so that they could clothe themselves in Christ and cling to Him, the One Who serves.
The community of believers received “every good and every perfect gift as coming to them from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). As members of the household of God, they held all their blessings in common. In obedience to the commandment to love one another, they saw to it that there was no one among them who lacked. Since everything we have, we have received (Cf. 1 Cor.4:7), we are stewards of a sacred trust and not owners of what we possess. It is the duty of those who have an abundance to supply for the need of those in want: “Freely have you received, freely give to others” (Mat. 10:8).
In His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus spoke of the need to be born again and to walk in the Light of the Spirit. This rebirth is a gift from above, as such it is something that is done in us and for us, which we cannot do for ourselves. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. God, the Master of the Universe, sent one to save us who was nearest His heart. To remember what God has done and continues to do for us is to open our hearts to hope for the future. May we who have come to know the Father’s abundant love place all we are at the service of all who have become the children of God in Christ.
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