May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer. In this Season of Lent we are traveling with companions on the way toward the cross.
Last week our companions were Adam and Eve and from them we learned that God loves and cares for us no matter what. Today our companions are Jesus and Nicodemus as we listen in on their late night discussion which is found in the Gospel of John.
Jesus, of course, is a great companion. Nicodemus is a great companion for us because his struggle to understand and to trust in Jesus, is much like our own struggles to live lives of faith. Jesus invites Nicodemus, and all of us, to enter into a new way of living; to let go of cut and dried perceptions of the world and to experience a life lived in companionship with God.
Nicodemus is a great companion for 21st century Christians because he is so much like us! He is smart but he misunderstands what Jesus is trying to say. He is respected by society but feels somehow adrift. He is curious about Jesus but non-committal about embracing the radical life Jesus offers. He wants to know with his rational mind but he is uncomfortable with the idea of experiencing God. His mind races with questions at night, keeping him from sleep. He is searching, but what he is searching for is unclear to him.
Nicodemus is a Judean Pharisee; a respected member of the elite Jewish community of Jerusalem. In the eyes of the world he is a privileged, upstanding member of society. Under the cover of night, he comes to see Jesus, a bumpkin from the sticks of Nazareth way out in Galilee. Either his nighttime questions propel him out of bed or he is afraid or unwilling to be seen speaking to Jesus. Something has drawn him to Jesus, perhaps he was at the wedding at Cana and saw Jesus turn the water into wine, perhaps he saw Jesus overturn the tables of the moneychangers in the temple or the signs Jesus performed in Jerusalem at the beginning of his ministry.
