The Breath of Life

Year B: Second Sunday of Easter

The two great gifts of Jesus to his disciples on the day of his resurrection, the first day of the New Creation, were the forgiveness of sin and the restoration of divine union. But a still greater gift is implied: he gave them the Holy Spirit, the Source of the forgiveness of sin and of divine union.¹ —Thomas Keating

Year B, Second Sunday of Easter, April 8, 2024

First Reading: Acts 4:32-35

Psalm: Psalm 133

Second Reading: 1 John 1:1-2:2

Gospel: John 20:19-31

Sermon - The Breath of Life

All through the Gospel According to John, the author wants you to know that he is retelling the creation story, or, perhaps, he is writing a creation story of his own. In John 1:1-5 there is a clear reference to Genesis 1. The Word was in the beginning, the Word was an integral part of the creation process, and the Word is compared to the Divine light in Genesis 1.

With this setup from John, we should be on the lookout for other themes throughout the gospel.

For example, there are several sets of seven in John. Different people offer different examples, but here are just a few: (1) seven women disciples, (2) seven miracles, (3) seven “I am the…” statements, (4) seven I AM statements, and (5) seven questions asked by Pilate. (There are lists online that mention seven sets of seven, but these offer different examples, so there might be more than seven)

Regardless of the number, these sevens serve to remind us of the creation account again, which had seven days.

Throughout the gospel of John, there are several references to Genesis themes such as the original lie and murder in John 8. It is this murder and lie that Jesus seeks to redeem through embodying Truth and bringing the dead to life.

But there is another theme in John that brings us back to the beginning of the Story. In John 1, John the Baptist identified Jesus as the lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Afterwards, Jesus goes to Jerusalem on the Passover and cleanses the temple. Towards the end of the book, Jesus is crucified on Passover, and on the feast of firstfruit, he is resurrected.

These themes hearken back to Israel’s beginning in the Exodus. Of course, anyone familiar with the story knows what happens after Israel leaves Egypt. Like any group of humans, they begin to question Moses’s leadership, wonder if their previous condition was better than their fate in the wilderness, and then construct and worship a golden calf.

In identifying this story as a central theme, John seeks to redeem this story too.

And so we come to the transition between John 19 and John 20. John says multiple times that Jesus is buried in a garden. To emphasize the point, he makes Mary Magdalene confuse Jesus for the gardener.

Why?

I think this is John’s way of saying that the redemption had been complete. Jesus was successful in retelling the universal story of Adam and the local story of Israel. All now are able to enter into the Presence of God through the Way that is Jesus. Where a flaming sword once stood now stands a Savior who has been lifted up to draw all people to himself.

So Mary goes and announces this good news to the disciples who, unlike the women, have returned to their homes. While they were gathered, Jesus appeared to them, bless them, and then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:19-23).

Again, John is having a bit of fun here. In Genesis 2, after Adam was formed, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Jesus reenacts this high point in the creation story by breathing on his disciples, reminding them of the image of God that each of them, and each of us, bear.

And now, in this new human family, you and I enjoy the Presence of God. Like Thomas, who shows up in the next section, we may have our doubts, but may we, like him, have the boldness to ask after our Lord. And May we proclaim, “My Lord and my God” to any that will hear.

Because the story has been retold. And the stories we have told ourselves about ourselves have been retold. The Word took on flesh, walked where we walked, tasted death for us, and rose again on the third day. May we join him in resurrection and spread life through our world.

First Reading: One Heart and Soul

What do you do when you encounter the Risen Christ? What do you do when you receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

Paul went to Arabia to visit Mount Sinai to prepare for a lifetime of sacrificial ministry to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:17). The apostles had the privilege of sitting at Jesus’s feet several times during the forty days before his ascension (Acts 1). But the first community of believers had a different reaction.

After they encountered the Crucified and Risen Savior in Peter’s sermon, experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and committed to attending to the disciples’ every word, they created a community of common love and support.

“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).

They didn’t sacrifice their possessions because it was commanded, what they owned belonged to them, but they forfeited what was theirs by natural right because of the supernatural duty they felt towards each other. Being of one heart and one soul is intimate language we might use to describe a marriage (“bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”), but it ought to describe the Christian community as well.

Because if Jesus is Risen, what else could matter more than to love those that he loved, to sacrifice as he sacrificed, and to fulfill his greatest wish: “that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).

As you read this, try to think of someone who is in need. What can you do to help? What luxuries could you sacrifice to share God’s love with that person? Are the comforts you enjoy, that you have a natural right to, worth more than their present needs? Could you say that you are one heart and one soul with your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Thanks so much for keeping up with this blog. If you have any suggestions, recommendations, or critiques, you can always comment here or reach out through my website: https://danielr.net.

1. Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.