Conversations with Jesus

 

Have you ever sat in the dark and had a conversation with someone? When you have a conversation in the dark, it’s different because you hear the voice of the other person. You can’t see his or her face because it’s dark, but you listen better to the voice. You hear better the tone, the inflection, the sighs in between the words, and even the emotions.

In our Gospel today (John 3:1-17), a man named Nicodemus went to talk to Jesus at night. We heard that he was an important man during the time of Jesus, and had a lot of questions.

When we hear a conversation between two people, even if it’s during a movie or a play, each of us hears the conversation differently. Lots of people remember one sentence Jesus spoke, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

I hear the same repeated phrase spoken three times by Jesus, “Truly, truly, I say to you …” I know that when Jesus speaks this phrase, what follows is most important. He said, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” “We speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.” We all hear something different, but here is what is most important. It comes near the end of John’s Gospel: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.