Tag: Nicodemus

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

From the Gospel acclamation: “The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 3:7b-15)

Jesus answered [Nicodemus] and said to him, “If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. 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.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains to Nicodemus the purpose of being “born from above” in order to enter the kingdom of God. He emphasizes that spiritual rebirth is not something that should be surprising to Nicodemus. And he goes on, saying, “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.” Just as the Israelites looked at the bronze serpent, so people look to Jesus lifted up on the cross to receive eternal life.

God, help me understand what Jesus conveys to Nicodemus in teaching him about spiritual rebirth. In the risen Christ, the lifted cross becomes the means not of death but of the way made ready for us to eternal life. Give me the grace to trust in your mercy, that what Jesus says to Nicodemus about heavenly things I can trust with complete assurance. Help me live out today as Jesus instructed Nicodemus: “You must be born from above.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

Today’s Gospel picks up from yesterday’s passage, where Jesus teaches Nicodemus. So that everyone might have eternal life, God gave his only-begotten Son. In the words of John: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” The saving light of Christ did not stop people from preferring darkness to light, just as the Sanhedrin in the first reading from Acts had the Apostles put into prison. But God would not have it that darkness would overcome light. During the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, and by morning the court officers found the prison locked but empty. There are times, Lord, when I prefer darkness so that my sins might not be exposed. What can I do but turn to you for help?

God, I want to live in the light of your truth so that I know your will and do your works. Today there will be moments when darkness seems desirable, where choosing to do wrong and the captivity of sin seems preferable to believing in your Son. I ask you to come into those moments today and bring them into your light. Save me from the darkness of sin that has power over me only in so far as I keep it hidden from you. With the psalmist, I pray: “Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.”

Lord, be my companion today. Disperse the darkness with the breath of your Spirit, and save me from the darkness that I tend toward if left alone. Give me the grace today to take refuge in you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues to teach Nicodemus about the kingdom of God. He says to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” Nicodemus struggles with faith in the work of the Holy Spirit, action that comes from beyond what is earthly. “No one has gone up to heaven,” Jesus tells him, “except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.” By saying this, Jesus reveals his divinity as the Son who, by being lifted on the cross, brings salvation to the whole world. Jesus says to Nicodemus: “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.” With these words, Jesus speaks not only to Nicodemus but to everyone who would hear and believe him.

God, help me understand the heavenly things Jesus teaches Nicodemus. It is clear that your Son goes ahead of anyone who believes in him, dying and rising, and now at your right hand in majesty. In imperative form, Jesus says, “You must be born from above.” There is no questions about the necessity of being born of the Spirit. Yet, human shortcomings often tend to derail me from that goal, and it is only with your grace that I allow my will to be your will. “The wind blows where it wills,” Jesus says, “and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” Lord, grant me the grace to listen for your will and to abandon myself to it in this life so that I may one day be born to eternal life in your kingdom.

The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Monday of the Second Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

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.”

In today’s Gospel, Nicodemus acknowledges that Jesus is a teacher who has come from God, and he asks him how a person can be born again. Jesus explains that no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, he tells him, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. Nicodemus is confused and asks how this can be, but Jesus compares it to the wind, which blows where it pleases and is not seen. Not through our own power do we enter the kingdom of God but by being born again of the Holy Spirit, which transforms us from the inside out, making us new creatures in Christ. Nicodemus’s response to Jesus is almost comical—that it isn’t possible for a man once grown old to be born again. Yet, Nicodemus merely reflects on the natural order, following common sense. But the divine order—the Holy Spirit—is outside of the natural order and blows where it wills.

God, help me break free from the confines of the natural order. Most of the time things happen according to it, but if I come to believe that is always true, I miss taking part in the boldness that faith in your Son allows. As Peter and John prayed in the first reading, let me be confident in the wonders you can work that defy logic: “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness, as you stretch forth your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord. Lord, give me the grace to turn to you to take refuge.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY