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John 3:1–15
Christ is Risen!
The disciples come to the Lord Jesus both day and night. During the day, there are those who found the determination to abandon everything and follow Him. At night, it’s those who, although they’re drawn to the truth, aren’t yet able to give up their worldly attachments, to rise above worldly fears. But the Lord receives everyone. He gives every man what he can accommodate, moving everyone to do more and do better.
One night, Nicodemus, one of the Jewish leaders, came to see Him. He came and started speaking of one thing, but the Lord immediately started speaking of another, of the most important thing, of the need to be born again if you want to be with God. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus asked in surprise: How can a man be born when he is old? What kind of birth is possible when death is already nigh? To which the Lord replied: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (Jn. 3:3–5).
The Lord is speaking here of holy Baptism. As with birth according to the flesh, the baby is in his mother’s womb in complete darkness then suddenly comes out into a blinding light. He’s immediately surrounded by so many things, changes in the air start to affect him, he hears the voices of his parents. Everything’s new for him, but the baby doesn’t immediately understand what’s happening. The ability to sense and remember develops gradually. He gradually settles into God’s world, but then he can’t imagine how it could be otherwise—how he could have not existed.
And so it is with holy Baptism. Man is born of water and the Spirit unto life eternal. A son of fleshly parents is adopted to the Heavenly Father, Who is Spirit. And just as the light of God’s world can’t be compared to the darkness of the womb, so the light of the Heavenly Kingdom can’t be compared to this world. Those who have seen this light can’t even imagine how they could live without it.
And even when a baptized man doesn’t immediately experience the fullness of feelings, it doesn’t matter: The event has occurred, and now he’ll grow spiritually and hear the voice of the Heavenly Father more and more clearly, as the Lord said to Nicodemus: The wind [Spirit] bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth (Jn. 3:8).
We don’t know from where, we don’t know to where, but we know that this voice of the Spirit sounds everywhere for us, in Church services, in Sacred Scripture, in the ascetic labors of true Christians, and in the wise dispensation of the world. And the Paschal joy we feel during these days is also the voice of the Spirit. But where does it come from? We see that people die; we know that the gates of death and corruption await us. So where do our joy and hope come from? We don’t know where this voice comes from or where it goes, but we know that it exists—and to such a degree that, as the Apostle Paul writes, neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor sword could ever drown it out.
We were all born of this Spirit; and even though we’re still infants spiritually, in this period, we rejoice in our Lord and Savior together with those who have been perfected, bringing one another the great news:
Christ is Risen!
