To Jesus, in the silence of the night,
came Nicodemus, ruler of the Jews.
Had he not witnessed mighty healing works,
listened in troubled wonder to the words
of benediction from the Master's lips,
"Come unto me...and I will give you rest"?
Here no fanatic, swayed by ecstasy
and zeal untempered to a burdened world,
but holy love, persuasive and serene,
yet graced with an authority innate
that seemed to touch susceptibility
to heights beyond the worn and arid paths
of creed, observance, rite, or human reason.
So to the Nazarene the teacher came,
seeking a knowledge of the things unseen,
and in the quiet of that heavenly tryst
humility gained access to the Christ.
