Daily Thought For March 20, 2021

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 Nicodemus 

The readings today depict Jeremiah and Jesus as rejected prophets. Controversy swirls around Jeremiah, who is shocked and shaken to discover that his opponents have been “hatching plots” against him while he has been totally unsuspecting, “like a trusting lamb led to slaughter” (11:19). In the Gospel of John, controversy swirls around Jesus, too. The crowd is divided over the question of his origins. The Temple police are taken in by his teaching. Dissent even comes from within the Pharisees’ ranks, as Nicodemus objects, “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” (Jn 7:51).

The reappearance of Nicodemus, that “closet Christian” who came to Jesus under cover of night (see Jn 3:2), is an interesting development. His defense of Jesus is weak and ineffective. The sarcasm of his fellows easily dismisses him. He is not a hero, and sometimes defending one’s faith in Jesus requires nothing less than heroism. But Nicodemus’s heart is in the right place as time will tell (see Jn 19:39). Surely the “searcher of heart and soul” (Ps 7:10) will not find him wanting.

Sirois, C. (2008). Word of Life: Daily Scripture Companion (p. 126). Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.

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