Like Nicodemus, March 28

Perhaps Nouwen is right in portraying Nicodemus as being afraid to lose the respect of his colleagues. And yet, I’m not as sure as Nouwen is.

The Gospel of John’s account of Nicodemus is ambiguous. John 3:2 tells us that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. Does that mean that he was afraid of being seen—either by his fellow Pharisees or by the public at large, since he was a prominent man? Or did he choose this time for an uninterrupted interview? During the day, Jesus would have been busy, and there were crowds to deal with. Or does “by night” symbolize the spiritual darkness in which Nicodemus found himself?

In the account Nouwen speaks of in John 7, Nicodemus doesn’t defend Jesus, but he a raises procedural point that would work in the Lord’s favor.

And while the apostles have scattered in John 19, Nicodemus is present to minister to Jesus’ body.

The biblical writers can frustrate us by their lack of detail and interpretation. Perhaps that was intentional. It is easy to label someone as being fearful and even a coward. But we are more complex than simple labels. And when we label others in this way we diminish them and ourselves. Perhaps that is a lesson we can learn during Lent: Accept the complexity of others and ourselves.

Mark Brasler