Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 17, 2023
There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
He came to Jesus at 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 are doing
unless God is with him.”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to him,
“How can a man once grown old be born again?
Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”
Jesus answered,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and Spirit
he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
What is born of flesh is flesh
and what is born of spirit is spirit.
Do not be amazed that I told you,
‘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.”
Reflection
My family has been fortunate to live on the St. Joe River for the last few decades. It feels almost miraculous to watch season by season, month by month, and sometimes even day by day as the water and its banks change and transform.
But like Nicodemus, I often only focus on what I can see and forget to stand in awe of the invisible reach of the river. Though the visible river spans 210 miles from end to end, it’s one small part of the St. Joseph River Basin, which lies under a staggering 4,685 square miles of northern Indiana and southern Michigan. This hidden water makes life possible from vast open country to urban areas, sustaining farmland, creating lakes, and giving us water to drink. All without us ever attending to “where it comes from or where it goes.”
Nicodemus initially approached Jesus not with openness and curiosity but to relate the assumptions others had already made. In this passage that is part of a more extended conversation, Jesus keeps expanding Nicodemus’ vision, inviting him to see beyond literal birth and flesh into the living Spirit of God present within each of us.
We live, as flesh, in the glory of our created bodies, but the truth of who we are comes to life more fully as spirit in the mystery of God’s unconditional love for each of us. Our baptism celebrates our birth in both flesh and spirit, as we marked eight days ago at Easter when we renewed our baptismal promises.
Jesus invites us just as intimately as he invited Nicodemus to look beyond the water and the flesh, beyond what we can see. May we open our vision to the depths of mystery where God loves us and waits to welcome us into God’s kingdom both here on earth and in heaven.
Prayer
O God, like Nicodemus, we sometimes get confused about what it is you are trying to tell us. We thank you for your patience as you move us into a deeper understanding of your will in our life. Help us to be patient this day with ourselves and with others. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Innocent was sentenced to become a martyr in the early Church, but he miraculously escaped and became a leader of the Christian community.
He was born in the fourth century to Christian parents living through a persecution in Tortona, which is in the north of Italy. His parents were exempt from the persecution by a special privilege, but that privilege did not extend to their children. When Innocent was a young man, his parents died, and he was brought before the authorities and tried for being Christian.
Innocent refused to sacrifice to the imperial gods, and was tortured and sentenced to die at the stake. The night before he was to be executed, he had a dream in which his father told him to go to Rome at once, where he would be safe.
Innocent woke up from the dream and found his guards asleep. He escaped from the prison and went to Rome. The pope received him and he eventually became a deacon for the community there. After Constantine became emperor and ceased the persecutions, Innocent was sent back to Tortona as bishop. He led the Church there for 28 years, building new churches and spreading the faith.
St. Innocent died around the year 350 and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Innocent, you escaped execution and later become bishop of the city where you were imprisoned—pray for us!