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, whom we encountered yesterday.
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.
Nicodemus has seen and heard enough of Jesus that he’s on the verge of faith. But he remains stuck in the realm of questioning. So, he approaches Jesus, initiating a dialogue.
But Jesus speaks elusively, telling him that he must be, “born again,” which makes Nicodemus wonder, “how can a man once grown old be born again?”
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We do not encounter Nicodemus again until the near 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 still wants to believe.
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 all must decide for ourselves who Jesus is. Our answer is often driven by personal experience – or a lack thereof. Thus, in the words of Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?”
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Our answer does not mean that we’ve had every question resolved or that our faith is without difficulty. But a willingness to believe in Jesus raised from the dead opens up the possibility for us to experience life beyond the grave.
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Image credits: (1) The Resurrection of Christ, Giovanni Battista Moroni (2) Nicodemus Before Christ, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1899 (3) Pinterest
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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Niagara Falls is one of the great natural wonders of the world. Part of its beauty comes from the sheer force of water that spills over its edges – on average, more than 75,000 gallons per second, and up to 40 million gallons per minute!
Over the centuries, people have attempted to “conquer” the falls through death-defying stunts like going over the edge locked inside a barrel.
One person even tried – unsuccessfully – to swim across.
Then there was the daredevil known as the “Great Blondin,” who crossed Niagara Falls on a highwire several times. In one attempt, he decided to push a wheelbarrow across while balancing on a wire only a few inches thick.
Before attempting this death-defying stunt, a skeptical onlooker shouted out from the crowd, “You’ll never make it across! Goodbye!”
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But the Great Blondin slowly pushed his wheelbarrow from one side of the falls to the other, then he turned and came all the way back. Shouting to the anonymous skeptic below, he said: “Now do you believe I can do it?”
The onlooker said, “Yes, a hundred times, yes!”
“Well, if you really believe,” the Great Blondin replied, “then get into the wheelbarrow!”
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How many of us would’ve taken the offer? The thought alone makes me shiver.
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This must’ve been how the Apostle Thomas felt about placing his trust in the Apostles’ account of seeing the Risen Lord. He wasn’t budging.
“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,” he says. Because of his skepticism, Thomas is often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.”
But that nickname seems a bit unfair to me. It’s not that Thomas is unwilling to believe; he wants to believe. He simply needs more proof.
Thomas reminds us that the human mind is wired in a certain way. It searches for order; it seeks to organize, manage, and make sense of things. We don’t like unresolved puzzles, unsolved crimes, or mysteries that linger. We want certainty.
This is what makes the resurrection so hard for Thomas to comprehend. He cannot reach it’s logical conclusion. Jesus died in the worst way imaginable – after being scourged, spit upon, insulted, and nailed to a tree.
Then Jesus was placed inside a rock-hewn tomb with a boulder rolled across and soldiers standing guard to squash any possibility of people saying that somehow the Lord escaped.
Trying to convince Thomas that Jesus overcame impossible odds and was somehow alive again sounded like a cruel, delayed April Fool’s joke, which tortured his mind – and worse, his heart.
He wanted proof, literally demanding to slide his finger into the warm, punctured side of Jesus.
But can we blame him? If what the others said was true, then this would forever change his life – and the rest of human history.
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Interestingly, Thomas is also referred to as, “Didymus,” which is Greek for “twin.” Perhaps the name is not only meant to signal to us that Thomas had a physical twin; spiritually, we might also be related.
Like Thomas, we want faith to make sense. But there’s a skeptical, unbelieving voice within us that pokes at the soft spots in our faith.
Our twin, Thomas, shows up when children ask us questions about God and we don’t the answer.
Thomas shows up when we see unnecessary suffering in our world; when someone we love is sick; when an important prayer request goes unanswered; or when we stand at the graveside of a loved one weeping.
Thomas shows up when we cannot get to the other end of “why?”
This must’ve been why John includes the story of Thomas at the conclusion of his Gospel, immediately after the resurrection appearances – to give us all permission to beThomas.
To doubt. To ponder. To question. To search for truth.
What happened to Jesus was real. He died, and three days later was raised from the dead! But it takes time for our mind, and more importantly for our heart, to make that leap of faith from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.
It’s why the Church gives us seven weeks – nearly fifty days – to ponder and celebrate this great mystery.
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“If you really believe me, then get into the wheelbarrow!”
May the Lord grant us the grace to do just that.
To yield in our demand for absolute proof, to embrace mystery, to slide into the wheelbarrow as Jesus leads us safely across the rushing waters of life into his eternal kingdom.
For he is Risen! Alleluia!
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Image credits: (1) The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio (2) Niagarafallslive.com (3) System100
Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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A few weeks ago, I received a letter in the mail from my seven-year-old niece, Amelia. The cover was filled with colorful pictures – her, me, their dog, Max, a tree from their front yard. Inside the letter, there was a very important message.
Dear Uncle Kevin,
I miss you.
Love, Amelia
P.S. I really, really miss you.
Shortly thereafter, I booked a roundtrip flight to Atlanta. Had I ignored that letter, something tells me I’d no longer be on her “good list.”
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A similar dynamic is unfolding in today’s Gospel.
Technically, John concluded his Gospel in the previous chapter. Jesus had been raised from the dead; he appeared to his disciples in Jerusalem; he walked through walls; he broke bread with them; and, finally, he imparted his peace and sent them out.
Period. End of story.
But much like my niece who needed “P.S.” to end her letter, John adds a second ending to his Gospel in order to reiterate a few important themes.
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First, the role of Peter.
Although the “beloved” disciple recognizes Jesus is the one standing along the shoreline, it’s Peter who lunges into the sea and swims to greet Jesus first. It’s Peter who hauls the catch of fish ashore. And it’s Peter whom Jesus speaks with directly, asking him, “Do you love me?”
Then the Lord issues his great command to Peter, “Feed my sheep.”
Second, John uses the image of the net stuffed with fish to symbolize the mission of the Church. We are to fill her to the brim with souls thirsting for Christ without tearing; unity is key.
Notice, the net is filled with “one hundred fifty-three” fish, representing our need to embrace all of humanity; no one is to be excluded.
Finally, John demonstrates the Risen Lord’s knowledge and mobility. Jesus not only remembers his disciples; he can also appear to them anywhere he chooses – in Jerusalem, in Galilee, and in the quiet stillness of our own hearts.
