Wherever the Wind May Blow
4/26/2022 Gospel Reflection John 3:7b-15
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to him, ‘How can this happen?” Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heave, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
In order that man have eternal life, Jesus had to conquer death and be lifted up into heaven. Without this act, He would have been only a man. By conquering death, Jesus showed us not only that He was the Son of God, but also invited us along with Him. He gave us the gift of grace and the Holy Spirit to lift us up. Once we are born from above in the Holy Spirit, we are taken up on Its wind, allowing It to blow us where It wills. We can hear the Holy Spirit if we listen closely, just as we can hear the wind, but we do not know where It comes from or where It goes. We must have faith that It will blow us in the proper direction. We must completely free ourselves of earthly things and flow unhindered on the wind of the Holy Spirit, wherever that may take us.
We often worry when our plans do not come to fruition, or we are thrown off by unexpected events in our lives. How much more at peace would we be if we recognized that we are like leaves on the wind, and the Holy Spirit takes us where He wills? Perhaps we could reduce our stress if we viewed life as a journey with a series of blessings instead of seeing it as a destination with goalposts along the way. Perhaps we should wake up thinking, “I wonder what will happen today. I am prepared to see all events as a blessing and work through things as they come.” Relax and allow the Holy Spirit to take you on a journey through life. Sometimes it will be rough and scary, but more often than not it is truly beautiful if you learn to let go and simply listen to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit.
Copyright 2022 Jessica Tucker