Dialogo e Solstizio

Apr 6, 2026 Written by don Giuseppe Nespeca

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Wind of the Spirit, new Birth

Get stuck on the instruction booklet, or evolve

(Jn 3:7-15)

Life in the Spirit proceeds by new births, not according to a progress marked by mechanisms, skills, or instruction booklets.

Light interrogates, for a different dimension - where (giving way to a reversal of ideas, faces and perspectives) our ‘whys’ cease to making us pile up frustrations.

Nicodemus controlled any stagnation or progress by comparing them to the wisdom of the things of God on the basis of ancient [or of circle] expectations.

But not infrequently our growth proceeds in visions, in leaps and bounds - not even according to natural intelligence. Let alone the spiritual life.

It is not enough to practise and go along with transmitted or fashionable ideas, nor to agree with normal, external intentions.

Assimilating other people's knowledge and acquiring already expected expertise is not infrequently junk that blocks real developments - those that belong to us.

Unfortunately, in religious life one often proceeds automatically, and there seems to be no need to allow oneself to be saved or surprised by events.

In the adventure of Faith - which disorients - the Father's Plan and the Son's Work do not unfold in a reasonable manner, but in the motif of the disproportion of Love.

The Spirit's unit of measure is different from that of the agreed customs, or the latest fashion.

Its impetus is elusive Wind, 'visible' only in its effects.

The Secret is «from Above» (v.7): out of scale. It lurks in the unpredictability of crossroads, surpluses, new creations.

Life does not proceed by arguments to boredom: it protrudes or pales.

Thus, access to the Kingdom is not given by being tailored to Adam: «being flesh» and «things of the earth» (vv.6.12).

The threshold comes from what the Encounter with Christ works in those who follow Him - and are introduced into community or prophetic life as «regenerated sons».

The late editing of Jn reflects symbols and realities of Christian Baptism, wich was already widely experienced at that time.

E.g. in the Letter to Titus the ‘sacrament’ itself is referred to as «rebirth».

Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about the essential elements of the gesture: water and the Spirit - which is the Newness.

In the Spirit, water no longer has the only negative function of purifying or removing a burden [eliminating sin in the sign of a washing].

The ablutions’ water that slips away becomes precious and effective: it must be «assimilated» for growth, to create life - which now not only cleans or suffocates.

Birth in Water and Spirit speaks of new existence after producing a Void that takes us elsewhere...

Not so much in the refreshment and quiet peace, but into the unpredictable that often messes up everything - even in a decisive way.

The new Genesis is not bound to any law: as an intimate Creation.

Mysterious, inexplicable reality, but infallibly leading to completeness - although it can be very fast, instantaneous; completely indeterminable, especially in comparison to normal devout adhesion.

It is Action beyond any purpose and process: a bit like reality and the very work of the Wind.

Not simply "eternal life", but «Life of the Eternal» [v.15 Greek text].

Personal life - which in all spheres disseminates unknown energies, clears the gaps, the hollows of routine, captures new synchronies.

Here the Crucified One who takes communion is the elevated light point that attracts and shifts our gazes, going beyond foggy thoughts and usages; around whom we gather as new sons and brethren.

[Tuesday 2nd week in Easter, April 14, 2026]

77 Last modified on Monday, 06 April 2026 06:59

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don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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Thus, paradoxically, from a sign of condemnation, death and failure, the Cross becomes a sign of redemption, life and victory, through faith, the fruits of salvation can be gathered (Pope Benedict)

Così la Croce, paradossalmente, da segno di condanna, di morte, di fallimento, diventa segno di redenzione, di vita, di vittoria, in cui, con sguardo di fede, si possono scorgere i frutti della salvezza (Papa Benedetto)

[Nicodemus] felt the fascination of this Rabbi, so different from the others, but could not manage to rid himself of the conditioning of his environment that was hostile to Jesus, and stood irresolute on the threshold of faith (Pope Benedict)

[Nicodemo] avverte il fascino di questo Rabbì così diverso dagli altri, ma non riesce a sottrarsi ai condizionamenti dell’ambiente contrario a Gesù e resta titubante sulla soglia della fede (Papa Benedetto)

Those wounds that, in the beginning were an obstacle for Thomas’s faith, being a sign of Jesus’ apparent failure, those same wounds have become in his encounter with the Risen One, signs of a victorious love. These wounds that Christ has received for love of us help us to understand who God is and to repeat: “My Lord and my God!” Only a God who loves us to the extent of taking upon himself our wounds and our pain, especially innocent suffering, is worthy of faith (Pope Benedict)

Quelle piaghe, che per Tommaso erano dapprima un ostacolo alla fede, perché segni dell’apparente fallimento di Gesù; quelle stesse piaghe sono diventate, nell’incontro con il Risorto, prove di un amore vittorioso. Queste piaghe che Cristo ha contratto per amore nostro ci aiutano a capire chi è Dio e a ripetere anche noi: “Mio Signore e mio Dio”. Solo un Dio che ci ama fino a prendere su di sé le nostre ferite e il nostro dolore, soprattutto quello innocente, è degno di fede (Papa Benedetto)

We see that the disciples are still closed in their thinking […] How does Jesus answer? He answers by broadening their horizons […] and he confers upon them the task of bearing witness to him all over the world, transcending the cultural and religious confines within which they were accustomed to think and live (Pope Benedict)

Vediamo che i discepoli sono ancora chiusi nella loro visione […] E come risponde Gesù? Risponde aprendo i loro orizzonti […] e conferisce loro l’incarico di testimoniarlo in tutto il mondo oltrepassando i confini culturali e religiosi entro cui erano abituati a pensare e a vivere (Papa Benedetto)

The Fathers made a very significant commentary on this singular task. This is what they say: for a fish, created for water, it is fatal to be taken out of the sea, to be removed from its vital element to serve as human food. But in the mission of a fisher of men, the reverse is true. We are living in alienation, in the salt waters of suffering and death; in a sea of darkness without light. The net of the Gospel pulls us out of the waters of death and brings us into the splendour of God’s light, into true life (Pope Benedict)

I Padri […] dicono così: per il pesce, creato per l’acqua, è mortale essere tirato fuori dal mare. Esso viene sottratto al suo elemento vitale per servire di nutrimento all’uomo. Ma nella missione del pescatore di uomini avviene il contrario. Noi uomini viviamo alienati, nelle acque salate della sofferenza e della morte; in un mare di oscurità senza luce. La rete del Vangelo ci tira fuori dalle acque della morte e ci porta nello splendore della luce di Dio, nella vera vita (Papa Benedetto)

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