WORLDLY

“I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?”– John 3:12

          When I was new in the Charismatic Renewal, one of the things I kept on hearing was the word “worldly.” It means you’re attached to material things and lack spirituality. You could be listening to worldly music, wearing worldly clothes, working a worldly job, or focusing on your worldly family instead of your spiritual family.

          At first, I thought that being wary of worldly things served to deepen my spiritual life. But when it condemned almost everything that wasn’t purely spiritual, I sensed something was wrong.

         Because Jesus spoke about and used “worldly” things for us to understand heavenly things. He spoke about the sheep, fish, bread, coin, birds, flowers, and the prodigal son, which were all earthly things. Jesus knew that though we are not of this world, we are in this world. And understanding this world should lead us to understand heaven and our Creator.

            God created the world and said, “It was good!”

            How can the world be all so bad?

            I guess it depends on who’s looking at it. Alvin Barcelona (apb_ayo@ yahoo.com)

Reflect: How do you look at the world? At life? At yourself? How you see it is how you will live your life and how you will see your God.

Dear Lord, grant me the grace to see the world and everything in it the way You see it, that I may live my life accordingly. Amen.

The name Barnabas means “son of encouragement.” What a beautiful name! We can never know how a simple word of a affirmation or encouragement affects a person. A word may just be the pat on the back that someone needs to help him get through a tough moment in his life. Let us pray that we all become Barnabites – men and women who encourage one another in our faith journey and as we serve in our ministries. May we always be a source of hope for others.

Acts 4:32-37

32 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. 33 With great power the Apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. 34 There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, 35 and put them at the feet of the Apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. 36 Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas (which is translated “son of encouragement”), a Levite, a Cypriot by birth, 37 sold a piece of property that he owned, then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles.

PSALM 

Psalm 93:1, 1-2, 5

R: The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

1 The Lord is king, in splendor robed; robed is the Lord and girt about with strength. (R) And he has made the world firm, not to be moved. 2 Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O Lord. (R) 5 Your decrees are worthy of trust; indeed holiness befits your house, O Lord, for length of days. (R) 

GOSPEL

Jesus reminds us that salvation is indeed a gift from God. It is not something we can get on our own. Let us rely on God for everything we need. May we always be grateful to Him for the many gifts He has given and continues to give us.

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

John 3:7-15

7 Jesus said to Nicodemus: “‘You must be born from above.’ 8 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.” 9 Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can this happen?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? 11 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. 12 If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

ACT!

On the week after the Easter Octave, we read from the Acts of the Apostles. This is like Book 2 of the Gospel of Luke, where he paints to us a picture of the life of the  first Christian communities, inspired by the Jesus event and guided in its growth by the Holy Spirit.

       First lesson that we can take home from the reading: The resurrection is not an event; it is a task. The  first Christians did not only talk about an event that happened in the past.  The resurrection transformed them into life-giving men and women.  They prayed, shared their possessions with each other, sold their private lands and offered them on the altar of the common good. A phrase from the reading summed it well: “ There were no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:34, NIV).

       Secondly, when we read the Acts of the Apostles, it is very easy to fall into a third person with an observer’s posture: that was what they did, that was what they were commissioned to do, that was how they grew and expanded as a band of believers.

         This is not the intention of Luke when he wrote the Acts of the Apostles.

        Scholars are quick to note that the Greek title of the book was not really the Acts of the Apostles. Otherwise, we might think that we are only spectators to what the Apostles did. Scholars propose that the title should really be rendered as Acts of an Apostle.

        When we read the book, we should see ourselves in it.  The events that transpired in the book are the same events that should transpire in the life of every follower of Jesus, of anyone who bears the name Christian. Notice at the end of the reading how a certain Joseph, not part of the band of Apostles, sold everything he had and laid it on the Apostles’ feet. He did not want to be just an observer. He, too, wanted to share in the acts of an Apostle. Fr. Joel O. Jason

------- REFLECTION QUESTIONS -------

How is your Christian life? Is it marked by involvement or indifference?

May I be Your hands and Your feet to the world today, O Lord. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _______________________________________