Readings: Acts 4:32–37; Psalm 93:1–2, 5; Gospel John 3:7b–15.
If you don’t trust a witness you’re not going to trust his testimony. Nicodemus seems to be doing a little cross-examination because he doesn’t understand and therefore doesn’t trust. Our Lord in today’s Gospel is inviting Nicodemus to have a greater faith. When Jesus speaks about the difference between earthly things and heavenly things he is also speaking about how a greater faith opens us to a deeper understanding of the mysteries of God, even though in this life we’ll never complete fathom the mystery.
Our Lord has come down from Heaven and, therefore, is an eyewitness to the things of Heaven. He’s inviting Nicodemus to trust in his testimony, and this is a trust that is born of faith. The sign of Moses lifting up the serpent in the desert (Num 21:4-9) is a story of God asking his people to show their faith in him by believing that looking upon a lifeless bronze serpent will result in something that obviously a bronze image cannot do: save them from death. This story from Numbers was only a foreshadowing of looking up at Jesus crucified upon the Cross and believing that instead of a simple execution he is giving witness to the depth of God’s love and mercy as well as the true horror of sin.
Let’s contemplate Our Lord upon the cross today and ask him to help us to trust more in his testimony and the testimony of his disciples so that we can pass from an understanding of earthly things to an understanding of heavenly ones as well.