John: A Gospel for Tumultuous Times 5

Goodness in the Dark  John 3:1-21

I know from some people whose skin is dark that they are uncomfortable with the images of light and dark in the Bible because the dark is usually evil and the light good.  The image reinforces racists attitudes towards dark skinned people.  Yet here, at least at the beginning of this story, dark is not scary but safe.  The night provides an opportunity for conversation and for thought without the distractions of the glaring light and blaring noise of day.  Nicodemus came with questions and a willingness to listen.  Jesus did most of the talking.  The conversation is rather rambling.  It doesn’t easily make sense.  It invites us to ponder.  I wonder what Nicodemus got out of Jesus’ words.  It was enough to make him show up again in the story.  Once in chapter 7 when he defended Jesus against his fellow Pharisees and again in chapter 19 when he provided the myrrh and other spices for Jesus’ burial.

Is there a word or phrase or idea in Jesus’ ramblings that speaks to you?  In these confusing and uncertain times, is there a message given in the darkness that will help you to live ‘in the light’ so that it will be clear that your deeds are done in God?

 I will ponder for a bit the image of the wind of the Spirit.  We know goodness when we see it, but its origins and its destiny sometimes surprise us.  Our prejudices can make it harder to see goodness when it comes from people or situations that we have judged to be not good.  Following the path of goodness can lead us places we do not easily choose to go. 

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