WE have to know not only the
expression but also and most
importantly the reality of being born again. We all need it. We all
are actually meant for it. We have to build up, first, a strong,
abiding awareness of it and then our skill for achieving it together
with God’s grace and mercy.
Yes, this time, unlike in our first birth, in this second
birth, we have a part to play. Remember St. Augustine’s : “God created
us without us. But he cannot save us without us.” That’s because our
life is a life with God. It’s not only ours entirely. It’s ours and
God’s.
And like God in his own life, we need to have full
responsibility for our life. It’s a 100%-100% proposition. Everything
depends on God. Everything also depends on us. So we have a big part
to play in it. We cannot play the spoiled brat who simply receives
things from the parents and thinks he can do with them however he
pleases. We always have to refer things to God, no matter how exciting
and absorbing these things can be.
In the Gospel of St. John, Christ talked about being born
again with Nicodemus, one of the leading Jews at Christ’s time.
(3,1-12) “Unless a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
The words are crystal clear. Being born again is what
enables us to enter the kingdom of God. We cannot remain here on
earth, stuck in our natural and material dimensions. We are meant for
the God, to partake in his very life, and not just a political
understanding of God’s kingdom.
Expanding on this point, Christ clarifies: “Flesh begets
flesh. Spirit begets spirit.” What is presumed here is that we are
meant for a spiritual, supernatural life, not just a purely earthly
life.
The Church brings it to our attention right after the
Easter octave as if to tell us that the new life we are supposed to
have with Christ after his resurrection, the new man we are supposed
to be, starts with our being born again.
The meeting and conversation between Christ and Nicodemus
are worth noting because they reflect the very way we discover about
this need, and the reaction we are likely to have.
Like Nicodemus, we can be very knowledgeable not only in
worldly things but also in religion, and yet we can still miss a very
crucial point.
This has led our Lord to tell Nicodemus: “If I have spoken
of earthly things to you, and you do not believe, how will you believe
if I speak to you of heavenly things.” Let’s hope we can avoid hearing
these words from our Lord. But that means we really have to be
consistent with our faith, which is possible only if we are born
again.
Also, like Nicodemus we should do our part by going to our
Lord and somehow confessing our conversion and faith in Christ. We
need to echo the words: “We know that you have come a teacher from
God, for no one can work these signs that you work unless God be with
him.”
For sure, given the temper of the times, we need to some
extra effort to discern the hands of God not only in the natural
wonders we see around, but also and especially in the man-made marvels
that we are producing.
Our problem is that we often fail to realize that our
human genius, however it is shown, actually comes from God. It’s not
just of our own making, filling us with a blinding sense of
self-importance and losing our sense of God.
Again, we have to make adjustments, sometimes big and
major adjustments, in the way we think, judge, reason, desire, feel.
In all of these operations of our mind and heart, God should be at the
middle. In fact, God should be the beginning, end and center, as well.
This is a clear sign we are truly born again.
That’s always possible. God is never a hindrance to our
human activities. On the contrary, God enhances these activities and
makes sure that even our littlest, most insignificant activity,
humanly speaking, acquires an eternal value with cosmic effects.
In the beginning, just like in any human endeavor, we can
be clumsy in doing things with God. But with perseverance, driven by
humility and trust in God’s power, living, thinking, judging, working
and speaking with God can become second nature to us.
Let’s be born again, through the water and the Spirit,
which I’ll explain in another occasion.
importantly the reality of being born again. We all need it. We all
are actually meant for it. We have to build up, first, a strong,
abiding awareness of it and then our skill for achieving it together
with God’s grace and mercy.
Yes, this time, unlike in our first birth, in this second
birth, we have a part to play. Remember St. Augustine’s : “God created
us without us. But he cannot save us without us.” That’s because our
life is a life with God. It’s not only ours entirely. It’s ours and
God’s.
And like God in his own life, we need to have full
responsibility for our life. It’s a 100%-100% proposition. Everything
depends on God. Everything also depends on us. So we have a big part
to play in it. We cannot play the spoiled brat who simply receives
things from the parents and thinks he can do with them however he
pleases. We always have to refer things to God, no matter how exciting
and absorbing these things can be.
In the Gospel of St. John, Christ talked about being born
again with Nicodemus, one of the leading Jews at Christ’s time.
(3,1-12) “Unless a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
The words are crystal clear. Being born again is what
enables us to enter the kingdom of God. We cannot remain here on
earth, stuck in our natural and material dimensions. We are meant for
the God, to partake in his very life, and not just a political
understanding of God’s kingdom.
Expanding on this point, Christ clarifies: “Flesh begets
flesh. Spirit begets spirit.” What is presumed here is that we are
meant for a spiritual, supernatural life, not just a purely earthly
life.
The Church brings it to our attention right after the
Easter octave as if to tell us that the new life we are supposed to
have with Christ after his resurrection, the new man we are supposed
to be, starts with our being born again.
The meeting and conversation between Christ and Nicodemus
are worth noting because they reflect the very way we discover about
this need, and the reaction we are likely to have.
Like Nicodemus, we can be very knowledgeable not only in
worldly things but also in religion, and yet we can still miss a very
crucial point.
This has led our Lord to tell Nicodemus: “If I have spoken
of earthly things to you, and you do not believe, how will you believe
if I speak to you of heavenly things.” Let’s hope we can avoid hearing
these words from our Lord. But that means we really have to be
consistent with our faith, which is possible only if we are born
again.
Also, like Nicodemus we should do our part by going to our
Lord and somehow confessing our conversion and faith in Christ. We
need to echo the words: “We know that you have come a teacher from
God, for no one can work these signs that you work unless God be with
him.”
For sure, given the temper of the times, we need to some
extra effort to discern the hands of God not only in the natural
wonders we see around, but also and especially in the man-made marvels
that we are producing.
Our problem is that we often fail to realize that our
human genius, however it is shown, actually comes from God. It’s not
just of our own making, filling us with a blinding sense of
self-importance and losing our sense of God.
Again, we have to make adjustments, sometimes big and
major adjustments, in the way we think, judge, reason, desire, feel.
In all of these operations of our mind and heart, God should be at the
middle. In fact, God should be the beginning, end and center, as well.
This is a clear sign we are truly born again.
That’s always possible. God is never a hindrance to our
human activities. On the contrary, God enhances these activities and
makes sure that even our littlest, most insignificant activity,
humanly speaking, acquires an eternal value with cosmic effects.
In the beginning, just like in any human endeavor, we can
be clumsy in doing things with God. But with perseverance, driven by
humility and trust in God’s power, living, thinking, judging, working
and speaking with God can become second nature to us.
Let’s be born again, through the water and the Spirit,
which I’ll explain in another occasion.
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