Nicodemus went to Jesus under cover of night. In today’s reading, some Greeks (Gentiles) come to Jesus in what we presume is daylight, but they make their way via Philip, who in turn refers the request to Andrew - and the two of them approach Jesus on behalf of the Gentiles. Jesus’ response is to speak about the dark and narrow dying place of a seed, which then becomes the seed’s path toward the yielding of “much fruit.”

We can’t know how intelligible these words were to the Gentiles, at the time Jesus spoke them, but we can easily imagine that these seekers must have found much consolation in Jesus’ assurance that “anyone” seeking to serve Christ would be honored by the Father. (And it’s evident, from OUR point of view, that they’ll no longer have to work their way through human channels!)

As we noted in last week’s reading (part of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus), Jesus recalls Moses’ lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness, saying that the Son of Man must be similarly lifted up (in crucifixion). In the latter lifting up, however, “all men” will be included in the healing (what we call “salvation,” from “salvus,” which means “health”). We imagine, once again, that the Gentiles must have been gratified to receive this “good news” - this broadened definition of “Who can be saved?” and a redrawing of the lines between “us and them” (insiders and outsiders).

We spoke of experiences that have led us to redraw our own distinctions between “us and them.” We spoke of a friend who had made the uncomfortable move from the “us” of his physician colleagues to the “them” of patients dealing with cancer. We spoke of church members (ourselves and others) who have become part of “them,” rather than “us.” We also spoke of happier transitions - becoming a married person, becoming a parent, and even qualifying for senior discounts!

The Talmud (commentary on the Torah) recommends, “Never pray in a room without windows.” The meaning is that our prayer should always reach beyond our own needs. May we strive to include “them” (whoever they might be) in our prayers and in our compassion. It’s what Jesus would do - and did.