Visiting Jesus in the Middle of the Night

In last Sunday’s Gospel we heard Jesus’ famous sentence: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)  Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, who comes to talk to Jesus at night.   

Why does Nicodemus seek Jesus out at night?  My hunch is that he doesn’t want to be seen with Jesus in public.  As a member of the Sanhedrin, he’s probably afraid of what his friends might think. He’s not exactly a wholehearted disciple!     

But when Jesus dies, Nicodemus comes into the light to help bury Him.     

Do you ever worry about people who grow up in our faith, but rarely go to church?  Maybe they are like Nicodemus. Maybe they also talk to Jesus ‘in the middle of the night’... when they’re in trouble and don’t know where to turn.  In fact, I bet they do.     

Nicodemos became a Saint.  His feast day is August 31^st.

This week let’s pray for people like Nicodemus who may be hidden friends of Jesus.  And let’s pray for ourselves, that we’ll be less judgmental and as accepting of others as Jesus was.