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Aug 21

Nicodemus and Jesus – Why I have a spiritual director

Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 in Journey of Discipleship

“Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.  He came to Jesus by night…” (John 3: 1-2)

I’ve been seeing all of the facebook posts of our youth who are going off to college, or heading off to the military, or starting new jobs this fall.  The young women and men are both excited and nervous.  Parents are dealing with the ups and downs as well, varying from, “Yey, there’re gone,” to, “Oh my gosh, they’re gone.” 

These young people may have graduated from high school, but they know that their learning and growing isn’t over.  They’ve still got a lot to learn and understand in order to be good at whatever they are going to do, whether that is in bi0-chemistry, the marines, medicine , or accounting.  In fact they will never be done learning and growing.  If you think you know it all, learned it all, then I am sorry to say, you are in big trouble before you even get started. 

Nicodemus was a highly educated Pharisee, a teacher, and leader of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council.  Nicodemus had reached the pinnacle of power and influence in his religion and culture, he knew it all!  Or did he?  For all of his knowledge, all of his vast experience, when he heard about the signs that Jesus was doing and what Jesus was teaching about God, he knew he needed to learn more.  When the Gospel of John tells us Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, it is also a play on words, meaning that Nicodemus was in the dark (*see John 3: 19-21 on darkness and light).  Nicodemus, knew that he didn’t know, or understand, and so he humbled himself to go to Jesus to ask questions and to continue to learn, so that he could draw closer to God.

That is why I go to visit with my spiritual director and spiritual direction group every month (I miss a few).  So that I can draw closer to God.  Our spiritual group spends time listening to what God is doing, and perhaps what God is trying to say to us, as we share what is going on in our own lives and our own faith walk with Jesus.  We ask questions.  We listen to each other, and we learn to spend time in silence listening to God. 

Someone once said that we can only lead people as far as we ourselves have gone, which is especially true in the life of faith.  If I am not continually learning and growing, not only will I not be very helpful to others in their faith journey, I am not being a very good model of faithful discipleship for others.  To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is by definition to be a person who learns and grows every day in their knowledge, their understanding, and living out in daily life their relationship with God.

What are you going to do this coming year to continue to learn and grow as a follower of Jesus, and draw closer to God?

Bring on the comments

  1. Bruce Schafer says:

    Leading people only as far as we have gone. Truer words have never beeen spoken. Unless we have experienced the same situations of T
    those we try to console, we don’t come off as genuine. I remember a episode of M.A.S.H where Father Mulcady wAS trying to console a young man who was wounded. He felt compassion, but was unable to relate to the young mans experiences. We all have experiences in which we relate to the problems unbelievers have. The key is to open our hearts and let the Holy Spirit work thru us.