Last Sunday, I preached on the encounter between Jesus and the Jewish leader Nicodemus. Nicodemus comes to Jesus under cover of darkness to ask some questions. From these questions, we have Jesus answer, depending on your version of scripture, that one must be “born again, or born from above.” One of my doctoral advisors, Steve Thomason offered that both could be correct, but maybe in today’s common language, it might also be translated, “take it from the top.” I have lots of musician and theater people in my congregation and this version resonated with me. What if, as Christians, we took it from the top, and let Jesus direct in a new way? One of my landing places was that if Jesus was directing us, we would certainly not dehumanize each other. The most pressing example for members of our congregation on this day was a current comment that “transgender people ought to be eradicated.” To eradicate is what we wish to do to diseases, rodents, or bugs. It is not a word to be used regarding other humans made in the image of God. Here’s a link