Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

No needy person among them: This is the economic fruit of the Resurrection. People who believe in the Risen Christ hold their possessions differently. Challenge the parish: does the community described in Acts look like our parish, and if not, what needs to change?

Barnabas, son of encouragement: His real name was Joseph. The apostles renamed him because encouragement was so central to his character. Preach encouragement as a vocation, not a personality trait - something that can be practiced, cultivated, and given away deliberately.

The Son of Man lifted up: The bronze serpent in the desert healed those who looked at it. The Son of Man on the cross gives eternal life to those who believe. The connection between looking and believing, between the cross and the life, is the theological center of the Nicodemus conversation and the heart of Easter faith.