There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” 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? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 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 Gospel of the Lord.
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Today we encounter a Pharisee named Nicodemus. His role in John’s Gospel is similar to that of Doubting Thomas.
They both remind us that faith is a journey, sometimes riddled with questions, doubt, and the need for personal experience with the Risen Christ.
We first encounter Nicodemus at the beginning of Christ’s public ministry.
He has seen and heard enough of Jesus that he believes Jesus has, “come from God.” But who exactly is he? Still discerning, Nicodemus approaches Jesus and initiates a dialogue.
Somewhat typical, Jesus speaks to him elusively, saying he must be, “born again from above,” making him wonder, “how can a man once grown old be born again?”
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We do not encounter Nicodemus again until the very end of Jesus’ public ministry, when Jesus is put on trial.
Still a Pharisee, Nicodemus intervenes on Jesus’ behalf, imploring his peers to allow Jesus to explain himself – a sign that Nicodemus appreciates the uniqueness of Christ.
We encounter him a third and final time after the crucifixion, when he brings spices to anoint Jesus’ body.
Does Nicodemus’ faith die with Jesus at the tomb? Does he remember him simply as a respected rabbi? Or does Nicodemus become part of the early Christian community?
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We don’t know. John leaves that for us to ponder.
Nicodemus reminds us that, at some point, we must decide for ourselves who Jesus is. Our answer is often driven by personal experience – or lack thereof.
In the words of Christ himself, “Who do you say that I am?” It’s a question that echoes throughout the ages.
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May our response drive all of our words and actions today.
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Image credits: (1) New Hope International Ministries (2) Christus und Nicodemus, Fritz von Uhde (3) Jesus is My Everything, Christ Follower Life
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Twelve years ago, Jorge Mario Bergoglio – the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires – was elected pope. From the moment he walked out onto the balcony overlooking Saint Peter’s Square vested in white, he embodied the name he had chosen: Francis.
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I was living in Rome at the time, studying for the priesthood. I remember it was a grey, rainy evening. As the time for the next round of voting inside the conclave neared, I rushed from class and headed straight to Saint Peter’s.
The square looked like a tent city with a canopy of umbrellas keeping us dry. Closing my umbrella, rolling it tight, I wiggled my way to the very front row.
Suddenly, a plume of white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Habemus papam! We have a pope!
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When Francis emerged, two things happened: mysteriously, the rain stopped on a dime, as nearly everyone wondered, who is this?
Fortunately, a group of pilgrims from Argentina stood close behind me. They declared to the incredulous crowd, “That’s our bishop!”
Now, he was pope.
As Francis was handed a microphone to make his first public statement, he began with two simple words, “Buona sera.” [Good evening].
What followed was a gesture of great humility, which was admired around the world.
Francis bowed and asked for our blessing.
It struck me to the heart. Humbled, I raised my hand towards the balcony above me, and prayed for our shepherd.
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Twelve years later, the Church came full circle.
A frail Francis, just hours from his death, was wheeled out onto the same balcony where he first appeared as pope. There, he spoke his final five words in public.
“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter.”
Raising his feeble hand, he made the sign of the cross, blessing his flock.
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Francis can be understood through simple gestures like that – blessing a crowd hours before his death, kissing a grossly disfigured man’s face covered in sores, washing the feet of prisoners, traveling to the poorest places on earth.
Even forsaking the Apostolic Palace, where popes have traditionally lived, residing in the Vatican guest house, instead. There, the head of the Church ate lunch in the same cafeteria with the rest of his staff, from Cardinals to janitors.
He was a pope of the people who communicated through gestures of humility, love, forgiveness, and inclusivity.
Gestures which anyone can emulate.
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Perhaps one of the most beautiful, and ironic, aspects of his papacy is how it ended.
His death has not only garnered international attention and positive press, but also – and more importantly – Francis has drawn the world into the mystery of Christianity, and the beauty of the Catholic Church.
Over the last few days, hundreds of thousands of people have passed through the Jubilee Doors of Saint Peter’s Basilica, one of the most remarkable houses of worship ever built.
Some, perhaps, never having entered a church before.
Upon entering, they pass by Michelangelo’s Pietà, a marble baptismal font, tombs of popes, altars for Mass, the Blessed Sacrament chapel, masterful mosaics proclaiming the life of Christ, light emanating through high windows, seemingly from heaven.
At the very center of Saint Peter’s Basilica is one of the largest domes ever built. High up, inside the inner rim, the words of Jesus are proclaimed in letters seven-feet tall:
“You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”
Directly below stands the main altar where Francis celebrated Mass, where his body was lying in state this past week. Far beneath him rest the bones of Saint Peter, the first pope, the rock of the Church, whose authority flowed directly from Christ down to Francis.
As the world watched on Saturday, our shepherd was commended to our heavenly Father. It looked like a paradox – the death of our pope in the Easter season. But that very event speaks to the heart of what we believe. Christ has been raised from the dead!
In the words of Saint Paul, “O death, where is your victory? Where is your sting?”
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Francis was a pope of the periphery. He pushed boundaries only to make more room for souls desperate for God’s love. He cast the net of the Church far and wide, crying out, Todos, todos, todos.
Everyone, everyone, everyone.
May we continue to stretch our own hearts and minds, opening doors, making room for all seeking God’s love. For God so loved the world that all who believe in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
Eternal rest grant unto Francis, O LORD, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
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Image credits: (1) IMDb (2) USA Today (3) Vatican News
The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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There are seven recorded resurrection appearances in the Gospels, one being the Road to Emmaus, which we heard in yesterday’s Gospel.
Today the two disciples whom Christ appeared to on that road have returned to the rest of the community mixed with mourners and budding believers, who are hiding somewhere in Jerusalem.
As they share their mysterious encounter with the Risen Christ, how they could see him, but not really see him, he appears in their midst, saying, “Peace be with you.”
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Everyone is baffled. Could this be a ghost? A dream? A hallucination?
The Jesus of the resurrection is not the same Jesus of Good Friday.
On Good Friday, he was beaten badly, scourged, spit upon, mocked, then nailed to a tree with a nameplate tacked embarrassingly above his head. There could be no case of mistaken identity there.
Jesus of Nazareth died.
His resurrection, however, is largely based upon rumored sitings. Think about all of the others – those whom Jesus healed, touched, and forgave – who are not in this room where the Lord suddenly appears. Are they to resurrect their crucified hope?
Even those standing right in front of him struggle to believe.
Yet the Lord speaks to them. He breathes upon them. He offers them his peace. Then he does the one marquee thing that assures them, in the words of John, “It is the Lord.”
He shares a meal.
He did it after blessing five loaves and two fish, feeding thousands. He did it on the night of his betrayal, hours before his death. He did it on the road to Emmaus. He did it on the shores of Galilee over a charcoal fire, reconciling Peter with himself.
And he does it again in today’s Gospel: Jesus breaks bread.
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This is the same way the Risen Lord appears to us today, “in the breaking of the bread.”
May the Lord give us all the eyes of Easter, allowing us to see him in the Eucharist, bread broken for the life of the world.
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Image credits: (1) Icons and Imagery (2) Testing Table (3) The Catholic Thing
