The 2nd Week of Lent, Year A
Scriptures: Psalm 121; John 3:1-17
Key Verse: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
In John 3:1-17, Jesus told Nicodemus that one had to be born of water and Spirit in order to see and enter the kingdom of God. As we know, Nicodemus had a hard time understanding the concept of being born from above. He also couldn’t believe in the earthly things or heavenly things that Jesus talked about. Jesus was right! If people don’t believe in earthly things, then believing in heavenly things is unlikely to happen.
For example, “Where is our faith in our life?” is a heavenly question, and “Where is immunity in our body?” is an earthly question. Do you still remember that many didn’t believe the severity of being infected by the Covid-19 in the beginning? Having faith in our life is a heavenly matter, and having immunity in our body is an earthly matter. But believing in what God has done for our life through Jesus and believing in what immunity can do for our bodies are equally important.
So, where is immunity in our body? Based on what I found online, it is made up of the skin, the cornea of the eye, and the mucous membrane that lines the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary tracts. These all create physical barriers to help protect our body against harmful germs, parasites (such as worms), or cells (such as cancer).
Then, where is our faith in our life? That was the exact question that Jesus asked his disciples in Luke 8: 22-25. Do you remember how panicked Jesus’ disciples were in the midst of a windstorm on a boat while telling Jesus that they were perishing?” After silencing the storm, Jesus asked them why they couldn’t believe in him. And in John 3:16, Jesus said to his disciples that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.
We can say whatever we want about having faith in our life. But if our faith has never been tested, we wouldn’t know how our faith is just as we wouldn’t know how our immunity is if wasn't tested. Having immunity doesn’t guarantee we will never get sick just as having faith doesn’t prevent us from suffering. If we take either faith or immunity for granted and stop nurturing and strengthening them, they will be out of shape one day. Being out of shape is like opening the door wide open for viruses to attach to our body and evil threatening our life. When that happens, we panic.
Panicking leads us to find help just as the disciples did in the midst of a windstorm on the boat. They woke up Jesus who was asleep. Jesus had been with them just as Jesus has been with us all the time. Waking up Jesus is actually waking up our faith in Jesus. Whenever our faith is being tested, it could be a call to wake up our faith in Jesus. And every awakening moment in our life is an experience of being born again to see the kingdom of God and remember we are on our way entering it. So, what would your answer be if you were asked, “What does it take to have the kind of faith that God expects from us?” My answer is, “Come to journey with me and see what my faith being tested is like. Then you will understand.”
Comments