John 3:1-17
The passage from the lectionary comes from John’s recorded conversation between Nicodemus, “a leader of the Jews,” and Jesus under cover of night. Nicodemus plays it straight, so Jesus can dish on “being born again. “
In the progression of this Lenten season, we begin with our finitude, then we examine our desires and this week, Jesus asks us to consider the possibility of another birth, but with this birth, there is not an end; only eternal life.
If the idea piques our interest, he provides a path to that birth and eternal life. Most importantly, though it arrives at the end of the passage, he says that God sent God’s son into the world of finitude with all its hungers and desires and endings– not to condemn the world – but to save it, i.e., to provide another birth for those who believe in God’s son – a birth that leads to eternal life.
In this passage, nothing hints at Nicodemus’s response to this news. The last recorded words from him are “How can these things be?” I take this as another example of God’s openness to our questions. While the overwhelming answer to this question in John is “believe in Jesus,” John also shows us how Jesus approaches our questions with kindness and will also “show” us that he is God’s Son, sent to birth the world anew (John 20:24-29).
May the practice of questioning find you in Jesus’s presence and may the kindness of God surround you.
May the practice of believing lead you to new birth and eternal life.