Thoughts for the Day

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.... no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Nicodemus comes to see Jesus by night. As a pharisee and a member of the ruling Sanhedrin who oversaw all things religious under the Romans, perhaps he did not want to be seen going to consult such a revolutionary Rabbi. He has a Greek name, which probably indicates his educated background, and is unlikely to mean he is a gentile. Nicodemus expresses belief that Jesus comes from God, but then as a descendant of Abraham he would have expected an automatic entrance to God's Kingdom. Many Jews even thought that Abraham would stand at the gate of Gehenna (the place of the damned, or as we might say 'hell') to ensure that none of his people got lost and went the wrong way.

However, Jesus is to shatter Nicodemus' illusions by saying that it is not a person's birth that ensures him eternal life. He needs to be born again. The word 'again' can be translated as 'from above', and Jesus goes on to talk about being born of 'water and the Spirit'. He uses the image of wind, since the Greek word for 'wind' and 'spirit' is the same (pneuma), and just as we cannot see the wind, only its effect, so it is the same for the Spirit.

When we accept God into our life, the power of the Holy Spirit washes clean our past sin and strengthens us to continue growing into the new person that God wants us to be. May we all pray for the Spirit's power this Lent to transform us - to be born afresh!

Holy Spirit, power of God,
come down upon us this day
and infuse us with Your power,
so that we may be transformed
from the selfish,
self-centred person
that we can be,
into the child of God
that we would be.
Amen.