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.”
Throughout the Easter season our Mass readings are taken from the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of Saint John. Both texts insist upon the freedom of the wind-blown disciple. No one mired in the clay of this world understands the liberty of Christians.
Up and down suggest where Jesus comes from and where he is going. Remember there were no airplanes or hot air balloons in those days. People might climb a tree, a building or a hill for the view, but ascending and descending was, at best, hard labor.
Likewise, social climbing was difficult if not impossible. There was no myth of upward mobility. Where you were was where you stayed. Unless you were wealthy, then you could fall into poverty.
But Jesus speaks often of ascending and descending throughout this gospel, as if he moves freely up and down on eagle’s wings. The Catholic might suppose Jesus speaks of his ascending into heaven forty days after his resurrection, but first he will ascend the cross. There we see his glory revealed.
Likewise, the Christian who is “born from above” will first ascend the cross with Jesus. Or, to say the same thing differently, the Christian must descend into the waters of baptism.
Saint John tells us a soldier pierced his body with a lance and blood and water flowed from his side (John 19:34) To be born from above is to stand so close to the cross, with his mother and the disciple whom Jesus loved, that you are showered with the spray. You are purified in the cleansing bath and washed in the blood of the lamb.
No one comes so close to this terrible spectacle unless they are profoundly moved by love. No one can sail in the freedom of God’s wind unless they have been born from above. The Christian was taken from Jesus’ side as Eve was born of Adam. We descend from the height of the cross.
I don’t pretend to know the future but it seems the Lord is again setting his people apart. As our society coarsens, the violent become more violent and the perverse, more perverse; we should expect to be more and more peculiar to our colleagues, friends and neighbors. They will understand neither our joy nor our generosity. As fear becomes endemic and the cost of security soars, they will resent our freedom of spirit. And we will invite them, “Come to the water.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.