Monday of the Second Week of Easter
In these weeks after Easter, the readings from the Acts of the Apostles seem suitable material for the big screen. It is hard to believe these characters are the same lowly, at times bumbling, disciples who first began following Jesus three years earlier. Knowing this is quite a comfort to most of us as we can so closely identify with the gradual process of coming to know and believe in Jesus with all the fits and starts we personally experience along the rugged road of discipleship. And looking back on where we have come from it becomes clear the, just like the disciples, our journey is one of shedding the darkness in which we live. And Jesus meets us right there—we encounter Jesus in the depths of our darkness.
Today’s Gospel relates Nicodemus’s first encounter with Jesus. Nicodemus goes to see Jesus under cover of darkness, probably to avoid being seen by his fellow Pharisees. But as the encounter progresses, it is clear that, although Nicodemus believes Jesus is ‘from God’, he is unable to understand what Jesus says to him about being ‘born from above’. The spark of faith brings Nicodemus to Jesus but he has not yet the capacity to comprehend in fullness. Later in John’s Gospel, we see Nicodemus come to a much deeper understanding—he has shed much of his personal darkness because of his relationship with Jesus. In fact, Nicodemus was one who assisted Joseph of Arimathea in the burial of the Lord.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles relates a dramatic example of living fully in the light of the Spirit of Jesus. Peter and John, just released from custody of the Pharisees, return to their community even more boldly proclaiming and rejoicing in the Gospel. These are the men who, in their darkness, encountered Jesus, followed him out of the darkness, and eventually came to a give their very lives for Him.
All of us live in varying degrees of darkness. The manner in which we respond when we encounter Jesus—in prayer, Scripture, the Eucharist, or our neighbor—largely determines if that encounter will result in a little more light, a little more intimacy with him. Just as Peter and the other disciples grew out of their own personal darkness and into their faith, we grow in ours; like Nicodemus they encountered Jesus in their darkness and, taking one step at a time, chose to follow the very Source of Light, the source of our rebirth. Today, let us draw close and implore Jesus, the Risen One of God, to lift a bit more of the darkness from our minds and hearts. May Jesus grant us the willingness to let go and trust that it is our encounter with Him that will lead us out of our darkness and in to His Light.
--Gail Lyman