Jn 3:1–8
Among the Pharisees there was a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus. He came to Jesus by night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God to teach us, for no one can perform miraculous signs like yours unless God is with him.”
Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again from above.”
Nicodemus said, “How can there be rebirth for a grown man? Who could go back to his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you: No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Because of this, don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again from above.’
“The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
REFLECTION
In the early history of the Church, the converts were adults whose decision to become Christians was born out of sincere conviction. Baptism then was truly an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Thus they had no need for further “charismatic renewal.” “Today it is substituted instead by parents or godparents. In this situation, rarely, or never, does the baptized person ever reach the stage of proclaiming in the Holy Spirit ‘Jesus is Lord.’ And until one reaches this point, everything else in the Christian life remains out of focus and immature.” (Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM)
There are three theories vis-à-vis the word sincere: 1) sin+crescere: without growth: 2) Marble workers covered imperfections in the stone with wax; 3) Latin “sincerus” came from the Greek “akeratos” (without taint). The Greek word for wax is “law” stating that all marble purchased by the government must be “sine cera” (without wax). From this law and root comes the word sincere, which means “without deceit.” Peter’s prayer and Nicodemus’ search for truth were sincere, unfeigned. They were rewarded because their faith had “no wax.”
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