The Pharisees presented themselves as men who knew everything there was to know about the Law and Sacred Scriptures. They always thought they were the smartest people in the room. And so their pride, over and over again in the Gospels, keep them from recognizing the truth of Jesus Christ.
At the beginning of their conversation, Nicodemus called Jesus “a man coming from God as a teacher”. And yet, the Lord knew it was flattery and lip-service, for he doesn’t acknowledge the fake complement. Rather, the Lord rebukes Nicodemus: “you claim to be a teacher, yet you do not understand.”
Nicodemus, initially gave no sign that he was even interested in being taught. However, and this is what sets Nicodemus apart from the other Pharisees in the Gospel, as the conversation ensues, notice how Nicodemus' remarks get shorter and shorter, while Jesus' answers get longer and longer. Instead of offering lip-service, he begins to truly listen. In fact, in tomorrow’s Gospel and Thursday, Nicodemus will remain silent as Jesus, the Word-made-flesh teaches about the love of God, the nature of his mission, and the importance of believing in his message.
There are many in our culture who treat Jesus and the Church with similar Pharisaical intellectual snobbery. “What could Jesus or the Church possibly have to teach me?” Even many “adult Catholics” refuse to crack open the Bible or the Catechism believing that they know it all or have nothing to gain from coming to deeper understanding of the faith. Bishops and priests are not immune to pharisaic closemindedness.
The Christian, however, must perpetually adopt the posture of student—of disciple. The Church is “Mater et Magistra”, Mother and Teacher, and we are never too old, or too theologically trained to sit in mother’s lap and learn from her.
The renewal that God may want for us this Easter may be to learn how to learn again: how to be enriched more deeply by the teaching of the Church, how to encounter His timeless wisdom in the Scriptures in a new way, how to listen for his voice in our encounters with his little ones and the poor.
By the end of their conversation Nicodemus seems to learn this very important lesson: he learns how to stop talking and how to listen. Jesus doesn't want flattery, he doesn't want lip service; he wants to teach us.
May the Holy Spirit help each of us to take once again the posture of the student—the disciple—and learn from Jesus the Teacher, who yearns to instruct in the ways of righteousness and self-sacrifice for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.
For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ.
For our parish, and for the newly initiated, that we may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.
For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.
That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.
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