Are You Born-Again?

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Friends, peace be with you. Our gospel reading from John is one of the most known and yet, surprisingly most misunderstood passages in the gospel, maybe in all of Sacred Scripture. The message of Lent is very simply: live out your baptism and in Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus at night, the message is, man without the grace of God is a walking corpse. Without God, we’re dead. Now, don’t press that out too flatly. What I mean is we’re spiritual corpses apart from God doing something to us make us alive again.

 Jesus knew what Nicodemus needed because He knows what was in man—a heart in need of God’s divine power to make it spiritually beat again. That’s what Nicodemus needed. That’s what you and I need—God’s love, his fire, to enliven our hearts through faith and baptism. Baptism is the sacrament of new life. That new life happens when we are baptized into Christ. It is the means by which we are united to his death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead when we are baptized into the one body.  

 Are you born again? Have you ever been asked that question? How do you respond to it? The Bible gives us many examples of adult conversion experiences, from the sinful woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears (Luke 7:37-50) to Saul of Tarsus, who met Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-30) and became the great missionary and evangelist, St. Paul.

 Sacred Scripture also provides examples of faithfulness to God from childhood as in the story of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:20-28) who was dedicated to the Lord’s service from infancy and entered the temple for service as soon as he was weaned. The ministry of John the Baptist was announced by the Angel Gabriel to his father, Zechariah even before John’s conception. John would be “filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15b).

Are you born again? If you are baptized, you are born again of water and the Spirit. St. Athanasius (296-373 AD) said: “As we are all from earth and die in Adam, so being regenerated from above of water and Spirit, in the Christ we are all quickened.” Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit.

 Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission. Christian Baptism is celebrated by washing with water, either by immersion or by pouring water over the person’s head, while proclaiming the Trinitarian formula “N.____, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

 Perhaps you were baptized as an infant and have little remembrance of it. Some suggest that the baptism of infants is unacceptable and only adults should seek a believer’s baptism. But, what was the practice of the early church? The baptizing of infants dates to apostolic times when entire households were baptized (Acts 11:14). The scriptural origin may be inferred in Christ’s command: “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).

 Because children are born into this world tainted by original sin, incurred through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, they need this sacrament and Christian parents should be encouraged to see that their infants are baptized as soon as possible. For an infant to be baptized lawfully it is required: 1. that the parents, or at least one of them, give their consent; 2. that there be a realistic hope that the child will be brought up in the Christian faith.

 For the grace of baptism to unfold, it is presupposed that the child will be raised in a Christian family within a believing and prayerful community. The importance of praying godparents and the example of faith-filled, godly parents cannot be overstated. The seed of faith present in baptism must be nurtured in order to grow. For this reason, every Easter the Church renews baptismal promises, asking every believer to once again renounce Satan and all his works and empty promises and to profess belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Are you born again? Have you renounced Satan and all of his works and empty promises? Have you acknowledged your personal wrongdoing and repented of your sins, asking God for His forgiveness and mercy? If you have been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and you have made your allegiance to Christ and to Christ alone, then you are in Christ and you are born again. You are a new creation. If you don’t feel like you’ve had a born-again experience, examine your conscience. Is some unconfessed sin or lack of forgiveness on your part blocking you from experiencing all the love and grace that God has for you?

 Friends, if you are in Christ, know that God always has more for you. Ask God to reveal Himself to you in a more personal way. Ask the Holy Spirit to refresh you and give you a greater outpouring of His gifts and grace. Pray this prayer with me:

Come Holy Spirit, Fill the hearts of your faithful;

Enkindle in us the fire of Your Love.

Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created

and You shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit

did instruct the hearts of the faithful,

Grant us by that same Holy Spirit

to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation

through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Pax Christi,

Pat+