Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (3: 7-15) in which Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be open to the Spirit so that he can gain a greater understanding of heavenly things.Fr Paul says Nicodemus is a figure who gradually comes out of darkness – the realm of evil, untruth and ignorance. He comes into the light of Jesus, the light of the word. In their conversation in today’s Gospel, Jesus reverses the relationship between teacher and disciple. Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, becomes a disciple who learns from Jesus. Nicodemus is attracted to Jesus because of the signs/miracles that Jesus is doing, which reveal Jesus as an agent of God. Nicodemus is told that if he believes in Jesus, he will know and see more amazing things, things not of this earth but of heaven. Nicodemus will come to realise that the ‘lifting up’ of the serpent in the desert, which is referred to in this Gospel from the Old Testament, points to Jesus being ‘lifted up’ on the cross and ascending to the Father. Jesus had prophesied that when he is raised up, he would draw all people to himself. With the resurrection of Jesus, Nicodemus’ faith will come.  In closing, Fr Paul notes our Gospel challenge – we all have times of darkness in our lives, just like Nicodemus does, how can we be like him and come into the fullness of the light of Jesus Christ?