No One can Enter the Kingdom of God
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Jn 3:1-8 “Nicodemus“
April 29, 2019 | Monday
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.”
Today’s Reflection
No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. Nicodemus was a pharisee who didn’t want to publicly admit his belief in Jesus that he went to him at night. It was through Nicodemus that Jesus taught us the sublime truth about baptism: it is being born of water and the Spirit. The whole Lenten season and the Easter season as well are times for the Church to remind us of this wonderful sacrament. The readings for the Sundays of Lent all pointed to baptism while the first readings for Easter season are narratives of how the Church grew in numbers because of baptisms. Yesterday, we ended the Easter octave, a week rich in baptismal undertones and themes. As we move forward with the rest of the Easter season, let us not forget our baptism, by which we were all born of water and the Spirit!
