Here is a text that overall, seems to provoke more questions than answers. Certainly Nicodemus, the one to whom Jesus is speaking here, must have thought this as he came quietly by night to meet Jesus. Yet we also sense that Jesus very much wants this highly educated man and religious leader, to experience the mysterious but real and living presence of God's Spirit in his life, and to be "born of water and Spirit".
It seems fascinating to learn that in both Hebrew, (Jesus' language), and in Greek (the language in which the New Testament was written) the same words are used for both 'wind' and 'spirit'. (and the Greek word, 'pneuma', has made it's way into English, as we realize, in 'pneumatic' ('pertaining to air, gases, or wind') By this we are reminded that indeed, God's Spirit daily surrounds us, fills us, energizes us, 'inflates us', and is as close to us as the life-giving air we breathe. What more can we say than 'thanks be to God'!!
Del Anderson
Join us for the Third Sunday in Lent at 8:30 and 11. Full calendar is available at
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