Meditation Monday, September 6, 2021

By Sharon Ross, Minister of Spiritual Formation and Assistant to the Senior Pastor, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church

I have loved the story of Nicodemus ever since I was a child. There was this cool picture of him on the cement brick wall of our church basement: he had wavy and long brown hair, a head bent over underneath a hood, and a lantern in his hand. He was getting ready to knock on a door. I used to dream about being able to knock on that door and having a face-to-face conversation with Jesus, asking him the many questions I had about familiar bible stories and parts of life I was confused about. I wonder if Nicodemus knew how fortunate he was back in the day!

Today, I still love Nicodemus. Nicodemus gives me permission to boldly come to Jesus and ask my questions. Like Nicodemus, I have been bewildered and unsure about many things. I have accompanied Nicodemus under the cloak of darkness to meet with Jesus to ask the “why” questions, and “what next” questions that plague me at times.

The thing is, I think I know Jesus’ answer before I even ask him anything. I imagine it follows along the same type of answer he gave to Nicodemus. “Sharon, come into my light. You cannot understand all these things, and it is ok. Trust the gifts and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let go of your own way of doing things and your way of understanding the way things should be. I am closer to you than you are to yourself. I don’t condemn you for your questions and your concerns. I am Love. I ask you to surrender your fears and your wanting things to be a certain way. Leave the darkness. Come into the light. Come into my light; for I am the Light of the World.” 

Nicodemus stepped out in the dark to question Jesus. Jesus gradually opened his eyes up to the light and invited him to live there with him. Have you needed to come to Jesus in the night? Have you felt like you’ve wandered in the desert of fear or disbelief? How do you view the time you spent there? If you are wandering around with questions and concerns, I bid you to accept Jesus’ invitation to come into the Light.