Gospel (Jn 3,7-15) - At that time, Jesus said to Nicodèmo: «Do not be surprised if I said to you: you must be born from above. The wind blows where it wants and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes: so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodèmo replied to him: «How can this happen?». Jesus answered him: «Are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak what we know and testify to what we have seen; but you do not accept our testimony. If I have told you things of the earth and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you things of heaven? No one has ever ascended to heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus continues his dialogue with Nicodemus. The need to be reborn from above through the work of the Spirit of God is clear for the disciple, whose action is strong and also mysterious, just as the action of the wind is strong and mysterious: one knows neither where it comes from nor where it goes. . The Greek word "pneuma" indicates both the wind and the Spirit of God who inspires the word in the prophets. This double meaning allows the evangelist to underline that the action of the Spirit is "voice", i.e. word, announcement, and at the same time "wind", i.e. force, movement. In this horizon we touch the heart of the Gospel according to John, that is, the mysterious action of the Spirit that leads to belief in Jesus and therefore to salvation. It is a decisive distinction for each of us who instinctively is led to believe only in ourselves, to trust only in our own convictions, to follow only what satisfies us. Nicodemus is attentive to the words of that young master. And, amazed, he shows him all his skepticism, or rather his disbelief: "How can all this happen?". Jesus initially responds with irony: "You are a teacher in Israel and you don't know these things?". It is not the irony of those who place themselves higher and look with contempt at those who are lower. It is a pedagogical way of Jesus to help him get rid of that resigned pride that clouds Nicodemus's eyes as an adult and as a wise man and does not allow him to clearly see the newness of God. We too know well how our presumed wisdom is often marked by resignation: we are unable to believe the Gospel which asks us to look beyond our usual horizons, considered unchangeable, despite the disappointments or failures that pepper our lives. For Jesus this is not the case. His wisdom is much broader than ours because it is that of God who knows how to look at all humanity with limitless love. For this reason we must frequent the evangelical pages to have the very eyes of God. The Gospel will open our eyes to ourselves, to others and to the world, because it reports the gaze and words of Jesus. He says to Nicodemus: "No one has ever climbed to heaven, except he who came down from heaven, the Son of man." He thus reveals to him who the one in front of him is and why he speaks to him in that way: he is the only one who has seen the Father. Adherence to him is adhesion to the Father who is in heaven. And at this point Jesus answers Nicodemus' question about how rebirth to a new life can happen. Rebirth in the Spirit occurs through the cross, through that boundless love that leads Jesus to offer his own life to save others and the Father to resurrect him from death. And he says to Nicodemus: "The Son of Man must be raised up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." The cross, with its load of love lived with a tenacity stronger than death, is the concrete foundation on which Jesus proposes us to be reborn. As we approach him under the cross we will understand the greatness of that love that made him embrace death to save us from evil and give us a life that never ends.