6 April 2027 · Latin Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:14–15
St Luke paints a second portrait of the first community in Jerusalem: “the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.” This is not a political programme; it is what the Resurrection does to people. In the middle of the passage Luke places its source: “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” Because Christ is risen, nobody needs to cling to land or money as if this life were everything. The result echoes the promise of Deuteronomy, “there will be no one in need among you”: “There was not a needy person among them.” Luke then introduces a man we will meet again and again, a Levite from Cyprus called Joseph, whom the apostles nicknamed Barnabas, “son of encouragement.” He sells a field and lays the money at the apostles' feet. Before Barnabas ever preaches a sermon, he gives. The Psalm crowns the risen Christ as king: “The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty.”
The Gospel continues the night conversation with Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel who came to Jesus in the dark. Jesus has told him that he must be born from above, of water and the Spirit, and Nicodemus cannot grasp it: “How can these things be?” Jesus answers with an image from the wind, which in Greek is the same word as Spirit: “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The newly baptized of Easter are exactly this: people born again, whose new life comes from a source the world cannot see. Then Jesus points to the cross. In the desert, when serpents were biting the people, Moses lifted a bronze serpent on a pole, and whoever looked at it lived. “So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” In John's Gospel “lifted up” means both the cross and the glory: the Son is raised on the wood and raised to the Father. Nicodemus does not understand tonight; but at the end of the Gospel he will come back in daylight, carrying a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes, to bury the One who was lifted up. The Spirit had been blowing in him all along.
Theme: “So must the Son of Man be lifted up.”
One heart and soul, born of the Spirit, and the cross that heals.
“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1
“Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.” Acts 4:32
Apply: Choose one possession you could share this week, a vehicle, a room, a skill, and offer it to someone in the parish.
“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
Apply: Thank God today for your baptism, and if you know the date, mark it on the calendar to celebrate each year.
“So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.” Numbers 21:9
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32
Apply: At the elevation at your next Mass, look up at the Host and say silently: my Lord and my God, heal me.
The Resurrection makes a community that shares, so that no one is in need.
The Spirit gives new birth, and the Son lifted up on the cross heals all who look to him.
Take-home resolution: Be a Barnabas to one discouraged person each day this week.
Dear friends, St Luke tells us that the first Christians were of one heart and soul, and no one said that anything he owned was his own (Acts 4:32). Why were they like this? Luke gives the reason in the very next sentence: with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. When we really believe that Christ is risen, our grip on things loosens.
Then we meet Barnabas, son of encouragement. He sells a field and lays the money at the apostles' feet. Later he will be the one who welcomes the converted Saul when everyone else is afraid of him. A generous hand and an encouraging heart go together. Every parish needs its Barnabas.
In the Gospel Nicodemus is puzzled about being born again. Jesus says: the wind blows where it chooses; so it is with everyone born of the Spirit (John 3:8). We cannot see the Spirit, but we can see what he does: a selfish man begins to share, a frightened woman begins to speak, a family begins to pray again.
And Jesus points to the cross: as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up (John 3:14). Look at him and live. Let us look at him today, at the altar where his sacrifice is made present, and ask him to make us one heart and soul, and to make each of us a Barnabas for someone this week. Alleluia. Amen.
Children, after Easter the friends of Jesus shared everything they had, so no one was hungry. A kind man called Barnabas gave away his field to help the poor, and everyone called him son of encouragement, because he always made people feel brave and happy. Can you be a Barnabas today? Say something kind to someone who is sad!
Lord God, King robed in majesty, you raised your Son and lifted him up to your right hand. Pour out on us the Spirit who blows where he wills, and make us one heart and one soul, generous with what we have, encouraging to one another, and steady in our witness to the Resurrection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.