WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN? Introduction to Practical Spirituality. (Homily for April 5, 2016. Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Easter)


Bible Study: Acts 4, 32 to 37 and John 3, 7 to 15.


Quite often, we Christians love to pride ourselves as being born again. Once upon a time, I was visited by a company of preachers on a Sunday afternoon and when they met me by my gate at home, the first question they asked was: “Sir, are you born again?” Initially, I didn’t know what to say so as a typical Nigerian, I responded with a question: “what does it mean to be born again?” Their response was quite surprising. For them, to be born again is to change one’s church and start attending their own church. As funny as this may sound, this is exactly what they believed. You may change your church as many times as possible and still not be born again.

In our Gospel passage this morning, Jesus is in a conversation with Nicodemus and we can see that even Nicodemus was struggling to understand what it means to be born again. For him, to be born again meant having to pass through his mother’s womb the second time. Jesus said to him: “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!” John 3, 15.

To be born again, my dear friends is to have eternal life and this eternal life comes by letting go of our physical life. To be born again is to die to the self and be alive to love. While Self-interest says everyman for himself, being born again proclaims the very opposite. In our first reading this morning, we get to see how people who are born again live. We see a community where no one was in need because no one claimed ownership of whatever he or she possessed. A community of one heart and mind, a community where everyone cared for each other.

Being born again is not something that happens in your head. It is practical! When you are actually born again, you would no longer be stingy. In fact, you become like the Good Samaritan. You go about your life helping people and never counting as loss whatever you give away. You no longer believe that your survival depends on what you possess and your security is no longer based on material realities. You become generous conscious of the fact that this world is not yours and you shall eventually leave without taking anything with you.

Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, teach me to live as your child free from the prison of self-interest. Amen.


God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. 

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