Acts 4:32-37 / John 3:7-15
There is a book in the Old Testament called Qoheleth (or Ecclesiastes) that begins with this phrase: Vanity of vanities. All is vanity.
It gives a graphic description of vanity as like that of chasing the wind.
Vanity can also come in many forms like looks, intelligence, talents, but whatever it is, one can never get enough of it.
For eg. when it comes to looks and appearances, we can never get tired of looking at ourselves in the mirror.
In the gospel, Nicodemus took pride in himself as a Pharisee and as a teacher of religion and a man of knowledge.
But it is also this pride, or vanity, in his knowledge that led him to ask the question: How can this be possible?
He had some fixed ideas about God but when the ways of the Spirit goes beyond his knowledge, he was like trying to catch the wind with a net.
Even when we look at the 1st reading, and we hear that the whole group of believers were united in heart and soul, sharing everything in common and no one was in need, we may wonder if this can ever happen in our present times, and if this can ever be possible.
Yet the ways of the Spirit and the mystery of God can address all possibilities.
When we are moved by the Spirit, all possibilities can turn to realities.
When we are moved by the Spirit, we won't be chasing the wind; we will move with the wind.