If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
The one who alone knows about heavenly things, who alone has gone up to heaven, the Son of Man, is the only one who can make those things intelligible to us. He does this by the medium of earthly things such as water, yet now made to convey the power of the Spirit. In this sense, there can be no bypassing the earthly as if we were angels. We must learn of the creator from the things he has made. For example, we understand what it means to be born and so have some sense for what being born again might mean. We are plunged into physical, earthly waters, but reborn to a heavenly life. We might prefer to just perceive essences directly as do angels, bypassing all of the knitty-gritty of the created order, bypassing our creaturely limits. But this is not the way for material beings such as ourselves. Jesus used things like spit and mud to heal. He used parables about creation to convey his teachings. He himself took on the form of man to reveal the Father to us. We must be humble enough to believe Jesus about earthly things if he is to raise our minds to heaven.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
By lifting up the Son of Man, the perfect embodiment of divine truth and fidelity in human form, our minds are set free from the darkness of sin. The serpents are the result of our own disobedience, our willingness to make truth whatever we wish it to be, rather than conforming ourselves to the truth from God. In Jesus lifted up we see in earthly, visible form the both the reason why we need salvation and, at the same time, that very salvation given to us. The invitation in the Gospel today is the willingness to have a humble mind, a mind willing to come to the truth gradually, by degrees. It is also a reassurance for those of us who don't have the capacity of an Aquinas or John Paul the Great that this is not a prerequisite for learning all that God desires to teach us.
The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
The community of believers is the school wherein earthly lessons reveal divine truths. This is especially the case when we love one another.
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (see First John 4:20).
Learning the human lessons that are taught in the school of divine service is meant to make us effective when we ourselves are called, as we all will be called, to speak of heavenly things.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
The earthly things are meant to raise our minds to the heavenly. We can't separate these, becoming a mere social justice club. We see exactly what happens to the power of our witness when that happens. We become unable to speak persuasively. We become doubtful even of the earthly things we attempt when they lose the finality of purpose they only find when directed toward God himself.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
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