There has been a lot of discussion recently on the New York Times op/ed pages about what it means to say you are a Christian. Nick Kristoff and Ross Douthat have weighed in on issues like whether you have to believe in the physical resurrection of Christ, and in the Virgin Birth, to call yourself a follower of Christ. Certainly the Catholic Church would say that believing in those two dogmas is a requirement for being Catholic, but there are some-- like the president of Union Theological Seminary, Rev. Serene Jones-- who would say that both dogmas are contrary to reason (in the case of the resurrection) or bizarre (in the case of virgin birth) but still call themselves Christian. This argument over whether following Christ means believing things that don't seem possible would have been familiar to Nicodemus, the Jewish Pharisee who we read about in today's Gospel (Jn 3: 1-8). Nicodemus has a very logical reason to believe that Jesus is from God. He says: "No one can do the signs you are doing unless God is with him." So, Nicodemus reasons, since it is beyond dispute that Jesus has been working wonderful "signs"-- miracles-- He must be from God. He doesn't seem to get hung up on whether or not the miracles happened, as some folks do now, because the contemporaneous evidence is overwhelming. People he knows and trusts have seen the miracles. He may have seen some himself. So, he takes the fact of them as a given, and concludes that Jesus must be acting with the power of God. Ok-- so far, so good. But then Jesus introduces another dimension entirely. He talks about being "born from above" as a requirement to experience the Kingdom of God. He talks of the need for rebirth-- to be born again of water and Spirit. And, He says, if you are born of the Spirit, you will be operating under the influence of a force we do not understand, like the wind-- something we "do not know where it comes from or where it goes." So much for everything being a matter of logic. Nicodemus properly asks how someone can actually be born again as an adult, pointing out that such a thing is impossible. Jesus isn't concerned about that response at all, because He is talking about spiritual rebirth, about becoming a new person in a way that is so dramatic that it is like being reborn. He is talking about receiving the Holy Spirit, and letting the Spirit take hold of your life and move you in ways that are beyond understanding. Like the folks who deny the Resurrection and Virgin Birth, Nicodemus doesn't buy this approach. In the verse right after what we read today, he says: "How can this happen?" He doesn't seem to agree with what Jesus is saying it, but he does seem to hang in there with Christ. He's the one what seems to take Jesus' side when the chief priests want Him arrested, arguing that Jesus should not be condemned when He hasn't even been able to speak in His own defense. And Nicodemus brings a massive quantity of spices to annoint jesus' body after He is crucified, something Nicodemus had not wanted to be done to Christ. So, while Nicodemus might be an example to cite in the case of people who want to follow Christ, but can't get past the difficulties of believing things that don't seem possible. Stay with it; keep listening to Christ; keep an open mind. Look for opportunities to serve the Lord, even if you find some aspects of dogmatic faith difficult. In the Lord's good time you'll come to get past your doubts. At the right moment, perhaps something to suggest.