Fire?

What if it IS True? Blog

Discovering, wrestling with, and trying like crazy to live Gospel virtue.

04/28/14

John 3:1-8

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.”

How often do I feel like Nicodemus? “What are you trying to say, Lord?” That's a common response for me in prayer. I want to understand, but I'm left there trying to figure out semantics while Christ is calling me to just trust. There's a beauty to the freedom that could come with this type of abandonment but getting there is tough. Especially when we get stuck on questions like, “wait a minute... I'm a grown man. How am I supposed to be born again?”

I'm humbled by the stories of saints throughout the ages who have boldly stepped out in faith. There are those who I'm sure have even surprised themselves. What is continually amazing is that these individuals often faced enormous obstacles. Nothing seemed to be in their favor at times. But we have lasting legacies of major reform. Sometimes we see the evidence of their trust even today. St. Francis comes immediately to mind.

What if we did let go? What if we rolled with the Holy Spirit? What would that look like to us and to others? I'd like to think that our impact would magnify. I'd like to think that much like the early apostles or our current Holy Fathers we'd have tremendous influence. A Holy Spirit encounter is always transformative. And, the truly beautiful this is that transformation isn't just for us. It's our Holy Spirit fire that can set fire to the earth.

Good luck and God bless,

Leo Brown