The Octave of Easter, our eight-day celebration of the Paschal mystery, just wrapped up on Divine Mercy Sunday. Yet now the daily Gospels have returned to a period long before the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Church, in its great wisdom, seems to be telling us today, “We have celebrated well what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Now it’s time to get to it.”
The Gospel story we have today isn’t just a narrative of where Jesus went, what he did, who he healed. The third chapter of John shares with us the meat of our faith — the tenets of what we are to believe as followers of Christ. In the previous chapter, Jesus performed his miracle at Cana and then cleansed the temple in Jerusalem of the money-changers, two very public and provocative acts. Chapter 3, in contrast, is a quiet conversation between our Lord and Nicodemus, the Pharisee who comes to Jesus at night, perhaps to avoid public scrutiny, but definitely because he wants to learn more.
Our Lord doesn’t hold back: “You must be born from above,” that is, of water and the Spirit, or as it’s often phrased, “born again.” We know now that when we are baptized in water and the Spirit, we take on a new life in Christ. But Nicodemus at the time didn’t get it.
Then Jesus does a little play on words. It might not come through in English, but spirit and wind are translated from the same word in both Greek and Hebrew. He says, “The wind blows where it will, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes …”
God sends the wind, and the Spirit, to you, to all of us. “So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” It is up to us to believe. And what does believing get us? Jesus is matter-of-fact: “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.”
The Spirit, when we believe and accept such a great gift into our lives, changes us. Look at those early disciples in Acts. They sold their possessions, they held everything in common, they listened to the Apostles bear witness to the resurrection, and “great favor was accorded them all.” Great favor is accorded to us, too, when we believe in the resurrection, the great favor of eternal life. God has given us his Son; he gives us his Spirit. Catch it, believe, and look forward to life with our loving God.
La Octava de Pascua, nuestra celebración de ocho días del misterio Pascual, acaba de concluir el Domingo de la Divina Misericordia. Sin embargo, ahora los Evangelios diarios han vuelto a un período mucho antes de la muerte y resurrección de Jesús. La Iglesia, en su gran sabiduría, parece decirnos hoy: “Hemos celebrado bien lo que Dios ha hecho por nosotros por medio de Jesucristo. Ahora nos toca empezar a trabajar”.
La historia del Evangelio que tenemos hoy no es solo una narración de los viajes de Jesús, qué hizo, a quién sanó. El tercer capítulo de Juan comparte con nosotros el elemento céntrico de nuestra fe: los principios de lo que debemos creer como seguidores de Cristo. En el capítulo anterior, Jesús realizó su primer milagro en Caná y luego limpió el templo de Jerusalén de los cambistas, dos actos muy públicos y provocadores. El capítulo 3, por el contrario, es una conversación tranquila entre nuestro Señor y Nicodemo, el fariseo que se acerca a Jesús por la noche, quizás para evitar el escrutinio público, pero definitivamente porque quiere aprender más.
Nuestro Señor no se detiene: “Tienen que renacer de lo alto”, es decir, del agua y del Espíritu, o como suele decirse, “nacer de nuevo”. Sabemos ahora que cuando somos bautizados en agua y el Espíritu, tomamos una nueva vida en Cristo. Pero Nicodemo en ese momento no lo entendió.
Entonces Jesús hace un pequeño juego de palabras. Puede que no aparezca en inglés, pero espíritu y viento se traducen de la misma palabra tanto en griego como en hebreo. Dice: “El viento sopla donde quiere y oyes su ruido, pero no sabes de dónde viene ni a dónde va.”
Dios te envía el viento y el Espíritu a ti, y a todos nosotros. “Así pasa con quien ha nacido del Espíritu.” Depende de nosotros creer. ¿Y qué nos conviene creer? Jesús es práctico: “Así como Moisés levantó la serpiente en el desierto, así tiene que ser levantado el Hijo del hombre, para que todo el que crea en él tenga vida eterna”.
El Espíritu, cuando creemos y aceptamos un regalo tan grande en nuestras vidas, nos cambia. Mire a esos primeros discípulos en Hechos. Vendieron sus posesiones, tuvieron todo en común, escucharon a los Apóstoles dar testimonio de la resurrección, y “ todos gozaban de gran estimación entre el pueblo”. También a nosotros se nos concede un gran favor cuando creemos en la resurrección, el gran favor de la vida eterna. Dios nos ha dado a su Hijo; nos da su Espíritu. Recíbelo, cree y anhela la vida con nuestro amoroso Dios.
Mike Karpus is a regular guy. He grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, graduated from Michigan State University and works as an editor. He is married to a Catholic school principal, raised two daughters who became Catholic school teachers at points in their careers, and now relishes his two grandchildren, including the older one who is fascinated with learning about his faith. He also has served on a Catholic school board, a pastoral council and a parish stewardship committee. He currently is a lector at Mass, a Knight of Columbus, Adult Faith Formation Committee member and a board member of the local Habitat for Humanity organization. But mostly he’s a regular guy.
Feature Image Credit: Julia Volk, www.pexels.com/photo/ornamental-dome-of-grand-catholic-cathedral-5273638/
Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at 
Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and seven grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is 
J.M. Pallas has had a lifelong love of Scriptures. When she is not busy with her vocation as a wife and mother to her “1 Samuel 1” son, or her vocation as a public health educator, you may find her at her parish women’s bible study, affectionately known as “The Bible Chicks.”
Emily Jaminet is a Catholic author, speaker, radio personality, wife, and mother of seven children. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mental health and human services from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is the co-founder of 
Dakota lives in Denver, CO with her husband, Ralph, and their two sons, Alfie & Theophilus. She is the Dean of Enrollment Management for Bishop Machebeuf High School where her husband also teaches. You can find Dakota at the zoo or a brewery with her family or with her nose in a book at home. For more of Dakota’s writing check out 
Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 19 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Thirteen of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the executive editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program—an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students. You can reach her at 
Dr. Alexis Dallara-Marsh is a board-certified neurologist who practices in Bergen County, NJ. She is a wife to her best friend, Akeem, and a mother of two little ones on Earth and two others in heaven above.
Elizabeth Tomlin is the author of Joyful Momentum: Building and Sustaining Vibrant Women’s Groups and contributing author to the Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers. She is General Counsel for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Elizabeth is an Army wife and mother of three and currently lives in the DC area. She blogs at 
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