Jesus accuses Nicodemus and his fellow leaders of 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?”
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 the Word of God. His is not just a speaking Word; it 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. To experience all this we need to have faith
in Jesus as truly the Word of God and to live our lives in love.
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. People respond to the
Word in so many ways. Some believe
fully, others go away disappointed in spite of the many signs. One is reminded of the parable of the sower (Mt
13:1-23). To which ground-group do I
belong?
And, up to now, only the Son has been “in heaven”, that is,
with God. (“In the beginning was the
Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…”). It is from there that he has come and
“pitched his tent among us”. He is in a
position, therefore, to speak about the “things of heaven”, that is, to speak
of everything that pertains to and comes from God.
The only solution is to put all our focus on Jesus. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that all who believe may have
eternal life in him.” This is a reminder
of the incident in the book of Numbers where, as a punishment for their sins,
the Israelites were attacked by serpents.
God told Moses to erect a bronze serpent on a pole and all who looked at
the serpent were saved.
Jesus, in a much greater way, will also be “lifted up” both
on the cross and into the glory of his Father through the Resurrection and Ascension. And he will be a source of life to all who
commit themselves totally to him.
To what extent are we “looking at” Jesus? Is he the centre
of our attention in all that we do and say?
Let our constant prayer be: “Lord, grant that all my
thoughts, words and actions be directed solely to your love and service this and
every day.”
Reflection for Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
By Fr Frank Doyle SJ, Living Space: https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/e1023g/
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