Monday of the Second Week of Easter

In the early days of the Church, before the catechumens were baptized they were told little of what to expect. They heard nothing about transubstantiation or original sin. These doctrines were too abstruse for the more immediate business of conversion. They learned about Jesus, his saving ministry and his compassion. They saw the Church at prayer and they knew they wanted to enter this sacred congregation. They prayed, fasted, and begged God for entry into salvation. 

During the Easter Vigil at least some were astonished to find themselves dunked in water as sacred names were announced in their ears -- the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then they changed their sodden clothes into white garments; they were anointed with sweet smelling oil, given candles, and received blessings on their ears and lips. Finally, they were given mysterious bread to eat and wine to drink. And they were welcomed as new members of the saved community.

Afterwards, still wondering what the rituals had meant, they received instruction about Baptism and Eucharist.

During this second week of Easter, we hear from the third chapter of Saint John’s gospel, and the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. They speak of Baptism and Jesus’ explanation is just as cryptic as our rituals:

Jesus answered and said to him,

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to him,

“How can a man once grown old be born again?

The newly-baptized must reflect on this question: how have I been changed by what the rituals of Saturday night?

• Where did I come from? No doubt, some came from wretched lives of stupid behavior. Some had been thieves, alcoholics, sexual abusers and predators. Some had been soldiers in the hire of the Roman empire, sent to fight whatever powers threatened the security of the empire. All had faced those possible life styles and been tempted. 
• Where am I going, now that I believe in Jesus and worship with his Church? They still had much to learn about our way of life. They must hear more about our saints, adapt our dietary restrictions, learn our songs, and study our scriptures. Some might have to sever family and social ties that threatened their new way of life.

In today’s gospel Saint John reminds the Christian,

…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.

The world will always tell Christians what they should think, say and do – especially when they hear that we practice charity. Believing they know what is good, they expect us to do it that way. But they will never understand where we are coming from. They will understand neither why we give nor why we sometimes refuse to give. They will not understand our humor or our sadness. Just as Pilate asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?” they will ask us, “Where are you going with these ideas of mercy, justice and compassion?”