Today’s dramatic healing in the first reading takes place just outside the Temple at what was called the Beautiful Gate. We’re told it was named this because it was grand in size and ornate in design… something to behold, something fitting.
But what took place just outside of it that we’ve just heard… brought a different kind of beauty…one that was wrought from the power of Jesus’ Name…one that was shared by Peter and John with that man begging for alms.
The meaning of the Beautiful Gate changed…when a man born with a physical disability encountered Peter and John, who had faith in Jesus.
If you think about it, the man whose life was changed forever, up until that day, had the same routine, which included being carried to the Temple gate to beg for alms to survive each day.
And it must have worked; he must have received enough money or food from others to make it through the day, and then been carried home.
That is, until he met two men who had something else to offer.
Did you notice how Peter and John responded to his begging? It said, Peter replied, “Look at us,” as he and John looked at the man intently.
If you’ve ever been in a place where people are begging, they're often looking down or around, not really making eye contact. Peter and John wanted the man’s attention… just as, at times, Jesus, in different ways, says to us: “Look at me.”
“Look at me, the one who suffered, died, and rose again to save you, those you love, and all people.”
And, did you notice where the man went after Peter says, “In the Name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk,” and then took him by the right hand?
The man didn’t go looking for the people who carried him or hurry home… instead, he went into the Temple: walking, jumping, and praising God.
His transformation through the power of Jesus’ Name overflowed to all people in the Temple, who were amazed and astonished.
Only a few days ago, beginning on Good Friday and culminating on Easter Sunday, many prayed for an Air Force Colonel who had to eject from his fighter jet behind enemy lines. When word of his incredible rescue spread, people were amazed and astonished.
We would also learn that the airman’s first message after surviving the landing, yet seriously injured and in grave danger, was: “God is good.”
That my brothers and sisters, can only be said by faith in God. Only be said by someone who has experienced the healing power of God, combined with the infused grace of God acting upon our souls.
As we continue this Mass, we, too, like the men on the road to Emmaus, will come into the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
But, at times, like the man in the first reading, we too sit outside the Beautiful gate…begging, dreaming and lamenting day after day, but through the grace of God and our accepting His invitation to be here today, we have opened ourselves to the same healing grace that caused that that man to walk, jump, and praise God…not just affecting our lives but those of our families, friends, and all those we meet…being able to say, God is good through our words and actions, no matter the circumstances…God is good.