thursday night and the birth from above

we had a wonderful conversation about being newly born last night. clinton and lisa encouraged us to bring photos of ourselves when we were babies/young children as a way of looking on the freshness, vitality, and hope that accompanies early life.

pat and brooke prepared a delicious curry for our dinner. brad lead us in a continuation of our feasting with a reflection on grace while we shared eucharist bread and grapes - the grapes were a wonderfully innovative way to remember the life-blood of Jesus.

we talked about the passage in John 3:1-17 and how Jesus suggests "born from above-ness" is directly related to Spirit, and Spirit is chaotic (or at least unpredictable). nicodemus is looking for answers less complex...and so are we.

people shared some recent experiences of being "new-born." lots of beautiful stories and reflections as well as laughter.

we wondered about the aparent spirit/flesh dichotomy in the passage. we were freshly aware that "god so loved the world" and Jesus was sent "NOT to condemn."

it seems to me the incarnation is critical to our coming to understand the reationship between "spirit" and "flesh." and it's a good time to explore this stuff while we walk the lenten path.