Yesterday's Gospel reading was that of the meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus, in which Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. It is an example of Jesus meeting people where they are. Jesus patiently answer's Nicodemus' questions. The reading is from John 3:1-21, which includes the beloved John 3:16 verse, "..For God so loved the world..."
Nicodemus has always interested me. He is only mentioned in the Gospel of John, but appears three times. The first is this reading. The second time is when he reminds his colleagues in the Sanhedrin that the law requires that a person be heard before being judged (John 7:50-51). The third appearance of Nicodemus is when he assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the body of Jesus for burial.
The image above is a detail of Caravaggio's famous work, "The Entombment of Christ". Nicodemus is the figure in the foreground supporting Jesus' body after he is taken down from the cross.
Our homilist yesterday seemed a bit dismissive of Nicodemus, saying that he was timid, or pusillanimous. But I think he is illustrative that for most people, conversion is a process, rather than a "road to Damascus" moment, such as St. Paul experienced. By the time of the entombment, neither Nicodemus nor Joseph of Arimathea were secret disciples any more. That was a public act, especially after having petitioned Pilate for the body.
Both Joseph and Nicodemus are considered saints of the church, their feast day is August 31. They are the patron saints of morticians. My husband has a devotion to Joseph of Arimathea, since he has gotten to know the local funeral home people in the process of assisting at many funerals, and leading wake services.
And I have been one to "speak to Jesus at night", usually when I can't sleep.
I think you're right on about Nicodemus and journeys of faith which progress by fits and stages (and occasional regressions). To serve as a member of the Sanhedrin presumably would have meant that Nicodemus was a man of abilities who was respected by the community. The cost to follow Jesus would have been high indeed for someone of that position, and the "pull" of Jesus may have worked only gradually on someone who had so much to relinquish. It's not difficult to imagine that Nicodemus's role is highlighted in John's Gospel because he was known to John's community, and presumably would have been honored, not only for whatever personal qualities he brought to the community, but because of all he walked away from - even if it may have taken some time to do so.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you are right that he was known to John's community. The Gospel account doesn't mention anyone other than Jesus and Nicodemus present at their night meeting. Which means that Nicodemus was probably the one who told them about it.
DeleteIt is interesting that most of yesterday's passage consists of commentary by the author of the Gospel, rather than simply recounting the words or deeds of Jesus. I can think of only one or two other examples in the Book of the Gospels (indeed in the Gospel texts themselves).
ReplyDeleteI had read somewhere that ancient texts were not punctuated (or perhaps were not always clearly punctuated). Some commentators see the entire passage in yesterday's Gospel as being a discourse by Jesus, rather than a short comment to Nicodemus followed by commentary by the author. I am not sure if it makes much difference to how we understand the passage.
I think it could be both a comment to Nicodemus and a discourse by Jesus. Nicodemus was an educated man, though he came across as a bit literal minded. Jesus seems to have been trying to get him to stretch his spiritual and intellectual muscles.
DeleteApropos of nothing, I remember reading a children's book in which a family took in a stray cat. They named him "Nicodemus" because he came to them at night.
ReplyDelete