John 3:7b-15

Acts 4:32-37

Psalm 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5

John 3:7b-15

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

“You must be born from above.

The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,

but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;

so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus answered and said to him,

“How can this happen?”

Jesus answered and said to him,

“You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?

Amen, amen, I say to you,

we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,

but you people do not accept our testimony.

If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,

how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

No one has gone up to heaven

except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.

And 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I have been spiritually reborn through the waters of Baptism as your adopted child. I have been regenerated and recreated in the image of your Son, Jesus Christ. I desire to be a faithful child who seeks to please you in all that I do.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Riddle of Wind and Spirit: Throughout the Gospel of John, we encounter Jesus’ riddles and irony. His seemingly simple words have multiple levels of meaning and deep references to the Scriptures. In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus speaks about spiritual rebirth through water. Nicodemus mistakenly thought he was speaking about a physical rebirth and didn’t grasp the depth of Jesus’ teaching. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus introduces a new riddle about the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word for spirit, “ruah,” also meant “wind” and “breath.” Jesus points Nicodemus to the opening lines of the Bible, which speak about the “ruah” of God hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2). Just as the wind is seemingly arbitrary and blows sometimes from the west, sometimes from the south, and sometimes from the north, so also the Holy Spirit directs those in whom he dwells. What Jesus taught Nicodemus was the need for a person reborn in the Spirit to be docile to the motions of that same Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit will move a person this way and sometimes that way. 

2. The Riddle of the Descent of the Son of Man: Jesus used riddles and parables to speak not only about the Holy Spirit, but also about his own identity. Jesus’ parables (meshalim) were not exclusively narrative stories. “Jesus was known for utilizing meshalim that took the form of riddles, puzzling sayings, and/or questions that were deliberately intended to be both ambiguous and thought-provoking” (Pitre, Jesus and Divine Christology, 111). Jesus used riddle-like parables to both reveal and conceal the mystery of the kingdom of God and the mystery of his divinity (see Pitre, Jesus and Divine Christology, 112). Instead of openly referring to himself as God, Jesus preferred to refer to himself as “the Son of Man.” In this way, he pointed the people to passages from the Hebrew Scriptures. On the one hand, the title meant that Jesus is a human being. He is a descendant of Adam. And, on the other hand, the title refers to a prophecy and vision of the prophet Daniel about a person with both divine and human qualities. The “Son of Man,” in Daniel’s prophecy, received divine authority and an everlasting kingdom from God, the Ancient of Days. Here, in a cryptic way, Jesus alludes to his Incarnation, his descent from heaven, and also his future Ascension, his going up to heaven.

3. The Riddle of Being Lifting Up: Jesus speaks to Nicodemus not only about the Sacrament of Baptism in the New Covenant, and not only about his identity as the Son of Man, but also about his destiny. He, the Son of Man, will be lifted up. And he will be lifted up in three ways. First, Jesus will be lifted up on the Cross. Second, Jesus will be lifted up from the grave. Third, Jesus will be lifted up at the Ascension. Jesus is our King and now sits at the right hand of his Father. He is our eternal and royal High Priest and intercedes for us at the Father’s right hand. And Jesus has sent us the Spirit to sanctify believers and guide the Church to all truth.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I contemplate today the revelation of your passion and resurrection to Nicodemus and the revelation of the mystery of Baptism. You have revealed heavenly things, and I welcome them in faith. I believe you are the Son of Man, lifted up, so that I may enjoy eternal life with you.

Living the Word of God: When was the last time I appreciated the great sacrament of Baptism? Do I celebrate the day of my spiritual rebirth? Do I celebrate the day my children and spouse were reborn? How should I celebrate? How can I thank God today for this marvelous gift of divine life?