Intellect and Faith

Partners in a New Creation The Agent of Creation The Word Saves Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)  John 3:9-17 The Voice Nicodemus: 9 I still do not understand how this can be. Jesus: 10 Your responsibility is to instruct Israel in matters of faith, but you do not comprehend the necessity of life in the Spirit? 11 I tell you the truth: we speak about the things we know, and we give evidence about the things we have seen, and you choose to reject the truth of our witness. 12 If you do not believe when I talk to you about ordinary, earthly realities, then heavenly realities will certainly elude you. 13 No one has ever journeyed to heaven above except the One who has come down from heaven—the Son of Man, who is of heaven. 14 Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. In the same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up; 15 then all those who believe in Him will experience everlasting life. 16 For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. 17 Here’s the point. God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge it; instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction. For Reflection Nicodemus was a student of God and God's Law. Yet he had little understanding of the magnitude of God's will. Moreover, Nicodemus did not understand who Jesus was. As Gail O’Day says, “We cannot determine who Jesus is, but who we are must be determined by who Jesus is” (The Word Disclosed, [St. Louis, Missouri: CBP Press, 1987], p. 27). "Jesus invites all of us to receive life as God’s gift. The crucified Son of God shows us God’s love, scorned and rejected but triumphant. Those who trust Jesus, staking their lives on divine love, will be reborn from above through the Spirit. By God’s mercy, they will be not merely forgiven, but made whole, remade in God’s image as participants in God’s new creation." (https://www.workingpreacher.org/authors/judith-jones) The Rev. Dr. Judith Jones is Vicar at St. Stephen Episcopal Church in Newport, Oregon and St. Luke by the Sea Episcopal Church in Waldport, Ore.  After teaching biblical studies for 17 years at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, she retired with the status of Professor Emerita of Religion and now works full time as a priest. Pray Pray and know that you, by your faith, have been made whole, remade in God's image, and participant in the New Creation. Forward to a friend Sign up for our mailing list!