• About The Sophia Center

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

~ Spanning the denominations in NY's Southern Tier

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Tag Archives: Nicodemus

The Weight of Evidence

12 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

condemn, discernment, guilt, innocence, Jesus, John, judge, judgment, justice, law, Nicodemus, Pharisees, psalm 7, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

ajudgeBoth the psalm and the gospel in this morning’s lectionary remind me of a basic principle of law in the United States of America, i.e. “innocent until proven guilty.” We are still in chapter 7 of John’s gospel where people are divided about Jesus. As yesterday, they are convinced he cannot be the messiah because he comes from Galilee but the guards say to the authorities, “No one has ever spoken like this man!” The Pharisees are still resistant asking, “Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?” (as if position alone yields probity.) It is Nicodemus that enters then and asks my question: “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” Would that this question always be raised at moments of personal and/or public judging in our lives!

The psalmist turns the job of judging over to God, as in psalm 7 he cries out: Judge us, judge me, judge everything and all that’s in your care. Weigh me on the scale of innocence, according to your law, and as you establish justice, bring evil to an end. For this I know, you are the source of justice done, the fairest judge of all. You know what’s in the human heart to the very secrets of the soul. You are also the great protecting one, you shield the good, defending all that’s true. (vs. 8-11)

The faculty of judgment in the manner of discernment is essential to our lives in assessing what is beneficial and what is not – from what we ought to eat, to wear, to spend our money on, etc. When judging moves into the public arena, however, where we begin to assess the intelligence, worthiness of respect, good character – or any other quality – of another person or the rightness in a situation, we ought to be sure we have spent the time and energy it takes to really make an informed judgment. And, in truth, we would be better off leaving that kind of judgment to God, letting love be the measure of our lives. I will try today to notice how quickly I move to judgment in my thoughts throughout the day and I will try to keep those thoughts to myself for the benefit of all!

Agency

02 Saturday May 2015

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

agent of revelation, believe, Father, Jesus, Nicodemus, our role, Philip, put on the mind of Christ, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, unity

free thinkerIn this morning’s gospel Jesus is having one of those frustrating conversations with his disciple, Philip. He is talking about things that seem beyond rational comprehension however. “If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” I can see why that would be a hard concept to grasp but when Philip says to Jesus, “Show us the Father,” Jesus gets frustrated: “Have I been with you for so long a time and still you do not know me?…Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?…The Father who dwells in me is doing his works…” Poor Philip.

If even we, with 2,000 years of living in the light of Christ, still have trouble understanding the depth of the words and teachings of Jesus, how can we blame Philip for his confusion? The difficulty, of course, is like that of Nicodemus when he was trying to understand the concept of being born again on a literal, physical level. This morning Jesus is speaking about unity, about his role as an agent of revelation for the God in whom he “lived and moved and had his being” – so at one with God that God shone through his every word and deed. But the most amazing thing about this morning’s passage is that Jesus is trying to get Philip to understand that our role in life is also one of agency for God in the same way! “Whoever believes in me,” Jesus says later in the passage,” will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these…” And how will we do this? It seems to me that it will only be possible if we follow the dictum of Paul to put on the mind of Christ, in love, compassion and surrender to the best of who we are becoming. Now there’s a mighty challenge to try on for size!

Donate to The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Donate

Our other websites

  • Main website
  • Facebook page

Visitors

  • 103,374 hits

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,045 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • The “O Antiphon” Meditations
  • Memorial to be held this Sunday
  • Mark your calendars
  • A note to readers
  • “Hope Springs Eternal…”

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Archives

  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Join 559 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...