{"id":2552,"date":"2018-03-26T13:21:19","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T13:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=2552"},"modified":"2018-03-26T13:21:19","modified_gmt":"2018-03-26T13:21:19","slug":"second-sunday-of-easter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2018\/03\/26\/second-sunday-of-easter\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Sunday of Easter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS FOR <\/strong><\/p>\n

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 4:32-35;\u00a0 Psalm 117:2-4,16b-17,22-24;\u00a0 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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I<\/em><\/strong>n the passage from the Acts of the Apostles today, we read one of Luke\u2019s three great summaries of the ideal life lead by the early Church in Jerusalem \u2018who were united heart and soul\u2019 and shared their possessions, so that there should be neither rich nor poor.\u00a0 Such a community life of sharing had deep roots in the Judaism of its time, for example in the Qumran sect, where every member gave his property to the community.\u00a0 Rabbinical writings often speak of brotherly love, as in the following story:\u00a0 \u2018A certain Abbah Judah in Antioch had lost all his property and was in despair because he had nothing left to give to the poor.\u00a0 Then his wife remembered that they still owned a field; joyfully he went, sold half of it and gave it to those in need.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 A midrash (rabbinical story based on a scriptural text) on v.19 (\u2018Open to me the gates of holiness:\u00a0 I will enter and give thanks\u2019) of Psalm 117, some verses of which we read today, says:\u00a0 \u2018In the future world, a person will be asked, \u201cWhat was your occupation?\u201d\u00a0 If he replies, \u201cI fed the hungry\u201d, then they will reply, \u201cThis is the Gate of the Lord;\u00a0 he who feeds the hungry, let him enter.\u201d\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 There is a \u2018new\u2019 element, however, in the words of Jesus about love:\u00a0 \u2018Love one another as I have loved you\u2019 [John 13:34].\u00a0 The passage in Acts describes Jesus\u2019 commandment being put into practice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The verses of the reading today from the First Letter of John link the passage about the commandment to love which precedes them with the passage about faith which follows them.\u00a0 Belief in Jesus as the Christ, like love, is the mark of the one born of God:\u00a0 love of the begetter (God) entails love of the one begotten.<\/p>\n

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While Acts show the consequences of faith, the Gospel speaks of the absolute necessity of faith in the risen Christ.\u00a0 John\u2019s Gospel dates from the end of the first century, by which time Christians already assembled on Sunday, the Lord\u2019s Day.\u00a0 Thomas, in his final confession, uses the terms \u2018my Lord and my God\u2019, which the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) reserves for God alone.\u00a0 Here, then, John\u2019s Gospel points towards an already more developed Christology, with the early Church beginning to understand better the divinity of Christ.\u00a0 The story wants to drive home the point so that later generations who had not met Jesus are not at a disadvantage.\u00a0 In the preaching of his word, in the celebration of the liturgy, Jesus is as truly present among us as he was during his earthly life.\u00a0\u00a0 The giving of the Spirit is closely linked to the Resurrection, even though the Church celebrates both events at different times.\u00a0 In Acts, the Spirit is seen at work in the life of the community;\u00a0 in John\u2019s Letter, the Spirit causes faith;\u00a0 John\u2019s Gospel adds that it is thanks to the loving Spirit of God in Christ, shared by humanity \u2013 \u2018he breathed on them\u2019 \u2013 that sins are forgiven.<\/p>\n

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The response to Psalm 117 should be our ongoing, daily response to all that God has done for us:\u00a0 \u2018Give thanks to the Lord for God is good, for God\u2019s love has no end.\u2019<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sr Margaret Shepherd, NDS, London, UK<\/strong><\/p>\n

margaretashepherd@gmail.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2018]<\/strong><\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE<\/em><\/strong>: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. \u00a0Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1983-2018<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

gill@batkol.info <\/em><\/strong>Website: <\/em><\/strong>www.batkol.info<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B Acts 4:32-35;\u00a0 Psalm 117:2-4,16b-17,22-24;\u00a0 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31 \u00a0 Download \u00a0 In the passage from the Acts of the Apostles today, we read one of Luke\u2019s three great summaries of the ideal life lead by the early Church in Jerusalem \u2018who were…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":2547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}