A sower went out to sow....

Today I celebrate my 38th birthday. It should be a day that I can enjoy but I cannot really enjoy it. I have got toothache and infection at the upper part of my throat. It is painful when I open my my mouth, eat, and talk normally. At noon, I was invited to concelebrate at the mass for renewal of vows of some hospitaller sisters. After the mass we had a good meal. The food was drool-able in its real sense. I wanted to eat but I could only drool at it. Oh, poor Joni… Maybe, I have to learn to talk less and to eat less.

The reading for today, especially from the Gospel of John gives a good insight on my birthday. It talks also about ‘birth’. In his discussion with Nicodemus, Jesus corrected Nicodemus’ misunderstanding on the remark about birth. Nicodemus understood the remark about birth on the earthly, physical level but Jesus was speaking of greater realities and what He would call true birth and true life – God’s own life given by God. Jesus speaks about a spiritual rebirth, a “birth from above,” birth by “water and the Spirit” – by baptism.

Birth is a beginning. After nine months of growing in the mother’s womb, the child begins now to grow visible to all. Parents and relatives observe this growth with delight. What about my spiritual growth after I have been “born from above” in baptism? Is this spiritual growth visible to others and helps them to grow spiritually too? Let the Holy Spirit, whom we have received when we were “born from above” assist us in our spiritual growth.