Nicodemus

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born anew.' The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can this be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." (Jn. 3:1-15)

Jesus tells us that we must be born again, and that we must be born of the Spirit. We hear that we must be reborn in the Holy Spirit, but this is not a condition we set. It is by God's Grace that He makes His Spirit available to us, and that He gives us the invitation to be born again of His spirit, His Grace, His love and His goodness! You see, my sisters and brothers, all we get from God, and that's everything that is good, is a Gift of God, given to us freely without conditions and restrictions. Jesus did not condemn the law of the Israelis, but enlightened his followers, in the Holy Spirit (e.g. Pentecost) to accept His guidance and love given in the Name of His Father.

Nicodemus plays a very important part in this public life of Jesus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, but nevertheless he believed in Jesus as many did as they followed Him. Jesus tells him of the Son of man and that those who believe in Him may have eternal life. That's a very strong promise, one that gives us much courage. For if a Pharisee has the same opportunity, while believing in God to gain eternal life, the rest of us, if we believe and follow Jesus as He tells us to do, may also receive life with Him in eternity.

There is a relationship between Nicodemus and St. Francis of Assisi. No, the two never met. The Pharisee wanted to meet Jesus, the celebrated healer, but he did not want his associates to know of his curiosity. So Nicodemus visited Jesus in secret in the night. The following verse (Jn. 3-16) reads "God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, so that all who believe in Him would not perish but be saved... To put it another way - God so loved the world that he gave us Christmas

And that's where St. Francis of Assisi comes in. St. Francis brought us Christmas, the celebration of the Feast of Christmas with a creche in Greccio! So, God so loved the world that He gave us this poor Holy Servant, our Seraphic Father, to pave the way for us to find the joy of the Birth of Christ in our living rooms and Churches every year!

Praise God!

Fred Schaeffer, SFO
August 3, 2008

From a Homily "Transformation" by Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York

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