The Greek word for wind, "pneuma," is also used for the word Spirit. So, in this Gospel from John, Jesus links His teaching between the natural and supernatural worlds through His word choice connecting to both realities.
But, just like yesterday's eclipse of the sun, at times, we only have a partial understanding of our natural world. This is the point that Jesus is making with Nicodemus when He says, "The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes…"
Despite our incredible scientific and technological advances, we still struggle to understand or, at times, accept the realities of our natural world that God has created.
Jesus says, "… so it is with everyone who is born of the spirit." Then, in showing his trust in Jesus and sincere desire to learn, Nicodemus asks, "How can this happen?" What Jesus says next might seem to be a put-down: "You are the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand this." Jesus' response to Nicodemus is not a rebuke but a challenge. It's an invitation to transcend the limitations of a purely natural view of the world and to embrace a deeper understanding of supernatural matters. (The Gospel of John by Francis Martin and William M. Wright, IV)
It is also a challenge to any of us—a prompting to open our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit's teachings about life here on earth and the life we hope for in Heaven.
Anyone who follows the news, entertainment, sports, etc., can be knowledgeable in those areas, even an expert in a particular field of study. But Jesus is calling us to seek guidance and understanding about the natural and supernatural world, first through the Holy Spirit.
Every one of us has come into this world through a natural birth, life, which is a gift from God. But God calls us to more than just an earthly life by saying, "You must be born from above." The means through which we receive this second birth are faith in Jesus and the action of the Holy Spirit. Jesus takes the first step in our salvation by dying for and redeeming us on the Cross.
It is up to us to respond and cooperate in faith with the promptings of the Holy Spirit each day, sometimes when we least expect it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (153) speaks to this, as it reminds us that we need the Holy Spirit to "moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth" about the natural and supernatural world in which God invites us into each day.
Were you born from above? If you are baptized, the answer is a resounding yes! The rest is up to our heeding the Holy Spirit.
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