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Curious Like Nicodemus

29 Tuesday Apr 2025

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Jesus and Nicodemus, Crijn Hendricksz Volmarijn, c. early 1600s

The Gospels for yesterday and today (Jn 3:1-15), put us in the scene with Jesus and the renowned Pharisee, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus under the cover of darkness to ask questions about his ministry.  We are led to believe that Nicodemus must have seen or heard of Jesus’ healing miracles and wanted to learn more about him.  We know that Nicodemus eventually converted to be a secret follower of Jesus, so we can surmise that his curiosity was genuine and not a ploy to trap Jesus.

The fact that he came to meet Jesus at night may also give us a clue about his intentions.  A nighttime rendezvous would be less conspicuous.  If he was genuinely interested about Jesus, he may have feared being observed by other Pharisees that could result in his condemnation and rejection.  In his position, he would have accumulated wealth that supported a luxurious lifestyle, which would have been jeopardized if his clandestine meeting had been discovered.

When I placed myself in this scene, I pondered Nicodemus’ motive and his dilemma.  He had to satisfy his curiosity for truth, but the answer could result in his ruin.  His fear of the environment and exterior influences would ultimately cause him to lead a secret and unfulfilled life.

There are millions of Nicodemuses in our world today – men, women, and teens, who are searching for truth, who are curious about Christianity, and who would like to know more but, because of negative social influences, balk at publicly asking questions for fear of what others will think or what they might lose.  They are hiding out there in our workplaces, our schools, and our neighborhoods.  We should be looking and waiting for them with intentionality, ready to answer their questions and allay their fears.

When a modern day Nicodemus does muster the courage to step out and seek answers, he may simply want to learn more about Jesus, or he’s aware that there’s possibly a different set of beliefs and a better way to live than he’s ever experienced.  His curiosity may manifest itself by privately asking questions to a Christian friend or acquaintance.  When he does, he is giving us an opportunity to evangelize, and we need to respond utilizing good listening skills.  His questions may be phrased in ways that hide their real intent, and we may have to look behind the words.  We should not make stuff up, nor answer questions with excess theology.  He needs simple answers, and if we don’t know an answer, we should say so and endeavor to find the answer for him.  We should try to avoid vocabulary that is foreign to non-Catholics.

Like Nicodemus, his questions may appear antagonistic but probably aren’t meant to be so.  Instead, they are likely due to his personal cynicism and relativism that has developed over years.  He’s not ready to reveal that he’s on any kind of spiritual quest.  He is curious but cautious, and still needs to feel safe and unthreatened when asking questions.  We should respond in a friendly manner to increase the trust that has allowed him to ask questions in the first place.

Our gentle evangelizing should have an eye towards bringing this person from a a place of curiosity to being open to exploring the idea that God is a personal God rather than a concept, and that we can have a relationship with Him.  We can introduce him to Jesus and the story of His passion, death, and resurrection in atonement for our sins.  And we should be patient and pray for him, being grateful that, while he may not yet be making a commitment to spiritual or personal change, he no longer rejects the idea. 

“Heavenly Father, I thank You for the virtue of fortitude given to me with my Confirmation that has prepared me to proclaim the saving message of salvation of Your Son, Jesus.  May I ever be vigilant and prepared to welcome anyone who is curious about our Christian faith.  I pray that Your Spirit affords me the grace to respond to them lovingly with humility and gentleness.  Amen.”

(Curious Like Nicodemuswas first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2025 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Are You In or Out?

16 Thursday May 2024

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It’s Wednesday, May 15th, but I know this won’t get posted until tomorrow. I’m writing this right after my morning meditation on today’s Gospel, John 17:11-19.  After Jesus informed his disciples that he is going away (Jn 16) and they will have to take over from Him, He warns them of the trouble they will encounter from the world, but to have courage because He has conquered the world.  Now (Jn 17), He prays to God before them to consecrate them to the truth, sends them forth into the world to continue His mission, and prays, “for those who will believe in me through their word”.

As I put myself in that scene as one of the disciples, I feel anxious.  I am alarmed and sad that my Messiah, the One I love, is leaving me, and I am fearful because I now have a tremendous responsibility to carry on His mission even though I am hopelessly inadequate.  At the same time, I think about all the good He has brought to the world – the miracles, the lessons about right living, the healing, the interior peace – lessons that simply cannot be set aside and forgotten.  I have a decision to make:  do I just remember Jesus as a friend, teacher, and miracle worker, or do I continue His work, sharing this beautiful life, and help others come to know Him?

I realize that it’s really a no-brainer.  Up until now, I’ve just been tagging along on His robe-tail, letting Him do all the work.  Now He’s asking me, and trusting in me, to step up and take command.  He’s even asked God directly to help me…and I have no reason to believe His prayer won’t be answered no matter how afraid I am.  I have never felt more loved than when I’ve been with Him.  He has asked me to love others as He has loved me.  How can I do otherwise?

My decision:  I’m in.  I know it won’t be easy but I trust that He will be with me.  I’ll make mistakes.  I’ll fall occasionally.  He told me the world will work against me.  I’ll accept that, but I’ll find ways to deal with it and evangelize nevertheless.

What’s your decision?  Are you in or out?

“Lord Jesus, thank You for inviting me to a deep relationship with You, and Your trust in me to lead others to You. Thank You for the gifts You give when I receive You in Communion, the gifts of love for others, and of courage and strength to overcome my fear of evangelizing as I bring that love to them. Amen.

(Are You In or Out? was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2024 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Relationship vs. Religion

09 Saturday Mar 2024

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In many previous posts I’ve mentioned the need to develop a close personal relationship with Jesus through prayer, especially mental prayer or mediation, in order to make our evangelizing authentic.  In prayer, we spend time with Jesus, we converse, and we build a friendship with Him that becomes so exciting that we want to introduce Him and share Him with others!  

As Catholics, we are fortunate to be able to claim two thousand years of tradition in our lineage.  We are the original Church, instituted by Christ Himself, and built on the rock of Peter.  We have thousands of saints to whom we can look as role models: men and women who performed incredible acts of charity, who evangelized savage cultures at the risk of losing their lives, and who staunchly defended their faith and were martyred. Our faith is deep, and we have a plethora of books, magazines, podcasts, television, videos, and speakers to help us learn and go deeper into the finer details of Catholicism.  It’s all good and exciting stuff and we can easily get lost in it.  So lost, in fact, that we can begin to think that our religion, our Catholicity, is first and foremost.  And, when we do, Jesus gets relegated to the back seat.  Our excitement about Catholicism becomes a hinderance to actually promoting Jesus. 

If we read the Gospels closely, we see the popularity of Jesus.  People heard of his miracles, and they flocked to Him.  They were cured of sickness and demons, and, as they told more people about Him, more and more people followed Him everywhere He went.  During Jesus’ public ministry, His disciples didn’t tell people to come join them in a new religion.  The term Christianity was not coined until a few decades later.  Rather, they simply invited them to encounter Jesus.  People got excited about Jesus and not some new religion.

If we’re not careful, we can fall into the trap of thinking we are evangelizing when, instead, we are selling Catholicism rather than sharing our love for Jesus, and hoping that an interest in Him will ensue.  We have it backwards.  We ought to follow the example of the Apostles and invite people to meet Jesus.  Once they find and get excited about Him, then we can introduce them to the beauty and truth of our Catholic faith.

How do I know this?  Because it worked on me.

“Dear Jesus, thank You for Your love, for drawing me closer to You each day.  I love You, and in our friendship, Your love overflows so that I may offer it to others who may not know You…yet. Amen.”

(Relationship vs. Religion was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2024 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Why You Should Evangelize

24 Saturday Feb 2024

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Jesus Preaching on the Mount, Gustave Dore, 1866

I’ve been in my position as Director of Evangelization for our parish family for about a year now.  The role has turned out to be more than I originally imagined it would be.  I wear several hats during the course of a day, and I often hear, “I saw your truck at the parish office late last night.”  To them I respond, “Yep, I’m loving it!  For the first time in twenty years I get up in the morning and look forward to going to work!”

Ministry work is as distinct as night and day to the corporate life I endured for thirty-six years before I retired.  While I may have grown weary of the grind, I enjoyed the hundreds of people with whom I worked and led, especially helping them learn how to perform their jobs well and understand why it was necessary.  Understanding the “why” behind a directive can inspire someone to move from poor or mediocre performance to high performance.  I think this principle applies to evangelization, as well.

The directive to evangelize came from Jesus, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19-20). Jesus didn’t explicitly answer the “why” question in this order, but He did give us inferences in the Gospels and inspired letters of the New Testament as to why he commanded this of us:

“because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me…for this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life…” (Jn 6:38-40)

“This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tm 2:3-4)

Jesus laid out the conditions of discipleship when he said we must deny ourselves and follow Him, that is, to do as He does and as He commands. (Mt 16:24-26)

Just like an employee who wonders “why?” might ask the question, “What’s in it for me?”, before he does something, it’s easy for us Christians to ask the same, especially when it comes to the often difficult task of evangelizing. The real question should not be, “What’s in it for me?”, but “What’s in it for someone else?”.  Jesus made this inference when he explained the second Great Commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself!” (Mt 22:39) 

So, the answer to, “What’s in it for someone else?”, is that they will find a relationship with Jesus, the One Who redeems us and leads us to “God [who}, infinitely perfect and blessed in Himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in His own blessed life.” (CCC1).

And the answer to, “What’s in it for me?”, is the grace in knowing that correctly answering, “What’s in it for someone else?”, might simply be your salvation!

“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and presence in my life, for the desire to place myself in Your presence, and to bring others into Your presence, as well.  Amen.”

(Why You Should Evangelize was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2024 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

From the Archives: What Shall I Do, Lord?

25 Thursday Jan 2024

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(A reflection on Acts 22:10)

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. As I meditated on today’s Scripture, I had a deja vu feeling I had been there before. Looking back, I discovered I’d offered a reflection four years ago today, and decided it was worth sharing again. 

We are all called to proclaim the Gospel. How we do that begins with each of us asking the question:

What Shall I Do, Lord?

On this Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul we hear St. Paul ask, “What shall I do, Lord?”, after he is blinded on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians. His question is proof of his instant conversion to follow Christ.

It’s a good question for each of us to ask every day, as well, if we desire to follow Christ and grow in holiness. There’s no better way to begin one’s day than through meditation asking the Lord to reveal His will for us. It’s our job, then, to listen and make a resolution to go do it.

“Heavenly Father, through St. Paul and the other Apostles, the faith was spread throughout the world. As I celebrate his conversion today, I pray that I may follow his witness in at least my little part of the world. Amen.”

(From the Archives: What Shall I Do, Lord?, was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2024 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.