In our first reading from Acts we once again see how heroic these first Christians were in trying to share everything they had with one another. We’re told of Barnabas who sells a piece of property he owned and brought the money to the apostles for distribution. This raises the issue of whether a collective pool of resources, or a fair distribution of everyone’s goods, should be a major concern of the Church. If only for a while, we observe these early Christians at Jerusalem pooling all their resources, and seemingly, there was no one in financial distress.
In just a short span of time, however, they were struggling to the degree that Paul had to search for funding during his travels in Greece to support the local church in Jerusalem. The gathering of funds which accumulated through individuals selling their goods and property was a beautiful ideal for Christians but was never prescribed as a firm rule to be observed universally by all believers.We do know however, that the Lord has asked us to be heroic with our virtue. That is, if someone asks you for one cloak, give them two. If they ask you to walk one mile with them, walk two. Love everyone, including your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you. Do good to those who hate you. And if you wish to be perfect, sell everything you have, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and then “come and follow me.” Hence, the ideal exists for anyone who desires to embrace it, even if it is not prescribed to all believers. And yet, that burning desire to give the Lord everything we can, is itself his grace.
Saint Francis was such an individual who received this grace. Having been groomed in the world of luxury it was obviously difficult for him to penetrate the greater things in the eyes of God. It was difficult for him to place his attention on purity, and patience, and humility, and temperance, and prudence, when his mind and heart were occupied with keeping the family fortune afloat and the lavish parties in Assisi going, not to mention his militaristic aspirations of chivalry in keeping the town safe and the women and children protected. So what did it? What broke him, or rather, how did God’s grace break into his heart and mind? It was during a battle with the people of Perugia, that Francis and his army were taken as prisoners of war with a hefty ransom over their heads. And he was basically thrown into a hole for a year, which stripped him of all his dignity and honours, and it separated him from the security of his parents and his friends, and this experience radically transformed him. When he was set free, he tried to go home, but he’d be torn between going home and working and retreating into the hills and caves to pray and lead a penitential life. This was God’s grace working in his heart.
The “franciscanpreacher” sharing these words with you also needed to be changed through God’s intervention. For him it took a near fatal truck accident, also in his early twenties, which should have left him for dead. Providentially, having escaped the wreckage unscathed he was scheduled to fly out to a two-month vacation in Europe, and while he was there, God’s grace was working. He came home a different man. His interests were different, for they were centered on God. Much like what happened to St Francis, this man began to see the beauty in everything. The closer he got to God, the more brilliantly everything began to shine and speak of the glory of God inside his heart and mind.
In today’s gospel, however, Jesus reminds us that this radical transformation may happen for a lot of us much earlier than its visible expressions. Jesus tells us he is, “the Son of Man, who descended from heaven.” It is he alone who can transform a life so that it begins to see in a heavenly way. And this is what he speaks about when he paints the picture for Nichodemus of a man being born again, born anew. Now, the seed of this grace is given to us at Baptism, since Jesus mentions two things that are necessary for this rebirth to take place: water and the Holy Spirit.
A lot of us were baptized as infants, so that the seed of the Holy Spirit which we received was gradually covered up by the thick, hard mud of “the world.” At times, it is this thick layer of worldliness, that impedes the power and seed of baptism from sprouting up into the beautiful tree it was meant to be. The grace of baptism can lay dormant in a soul for many years, unless, it is irrigated properly through careful attention and holy living. At times, the irrigation has to come from God himself who intervenes directly and at times the regeneration which Baptism accomplishes can happen in adulthood. Whether as an infant, or as an adult, the point is this: Baptism regenerates a soul and is necessary for entrance into God’s kingdom. So important a truth was this that Jesus was revealing that, after our Lord’s teaching that it is necessary for salvation to be born from above by water and the Spirit (John 3:1–21), “Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and..” guess what he did? He, “baptized” (John 3:22).
Then we have the witness of the early Church that John 3:5 refers to baptismal regeneration. This was universally recognized by the early Christians. The Church Fathers were unanimous in teaching this:
In A.D. 151, Justin Martyr wrote, “As many as are persuaded and believe that what we [Christians] teach and say is true . . . are brought by us where there is water and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated.” (First Apology 61).
Well and good, but now, if we do not put into action this marvellous gift of regeneration, what good will it serve. So get out there, and love like there’s no tomorrow. Love the broken-hearted! Heal the wounded! Forgive the person who has wronged you! Do good to those who hate you! This is the spirit of the Lord that dwells in you, that was given to you at baptism, so let it shine for the whole world to see, and do not be afraid, because as the risen Lord promised the apostles, he promised also each and every one of us, “Do not be afraid. I will be with you, every day, even till the end of time.”
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