Chapter 3 of St. John’s Gospel includes Jesus’ night-time dialogue with a Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus. While accepting in principle what Jesus tells him about being “born again in the Spirit,” Nicodemus asks how such a thing can be brought about.
Jesus suggest that for Nicodemus and his fellow-leaders among the Jews they suffer from a lack of spiritual insight and a refusal to accept His testimony as coming directly from God. “If you do not believe when I tell you about earthly things, how are you to believe when I tell you about those of heaven?”
A key point in the Gospel of St. John is that Jesus does not speak simply on His own initiative. He speaks of what He shares with the Father. It is the Father’s words and teaching that He passes on to us – He is, after all, the Living Word of God. That Word brings all things from nothing, calls the dead to life, hands on the Spirit – the source of unending life, and makes us all children of God. All of this comprises an astounding gift from God. But the Word is not always easy to understand and it requires, above all, an openness to be received. It is this openness that Jesus is challenging Nicodemus to have.
Isn’t the same true for us? How might these days of “social distancing” be an opportunity to put more and more of our focus on Jesus? To what extent are we “looking at” Him? Is it merely a sideways glance when we think about Him or at certain fixed times (i.e., only on Sundays), or is He the center of our attention in all that we do and say?
A prayer for each of us today: “Lord, grant that all my thoughts, intentions, actions and responses may be directed solely to your love and service this day and every day. Amen.”
