LENT II - A - 17 JOHN 3: 1-17
“Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader
of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night…” The dialogue between Nicodemus and
Jesus is a familiar story to most of us. It stands as the first of several
in-depth discussions Jesus has in John’s gospel, but the only one that occurs
under the cover of darkness.
Nicodemus sits on the Supreme Council of the
Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing body made up of Pharisees and Sadducees. He
risks his standing by coming to Jesus, even under the cover of darkness. There
is something about Jesus that draws him. Perhaps, as a teacher of the law, he
is open to new teaching and interpretations that Jesus seems to be offering.
He begins the dialogue by complimenting Jesus. “Rabbi,
we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these
signs that you do apart from God.” The response he receives from Jesus is not
what he expected. Jesus dismisses the compliment and turns the conversation
into an in-depth spiritual teaching that leaves Nicodemus as much in the dark
as when he arrived.
Jesus speaks of a new birth. Nicodemus is baffled by
the idea of being “born again,” and misses the point of Jesus’ teaching
altogether. Yet Jesus is explicit in his teaching that if one is not born
again, that is, by water and the Spirit, one cannot see the kingdom much less
enter it. The idea of being born of the Spirit, that is, from above, leaves the
Pharisee wondering “how can these things be?”
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of
grace and truth…” St. John tells us in the prologue to his gospel but sometimes
we admire the flesh (Jesus) so much we forget about the Word.
It would seem that Nicodemus the teacher is
unwilling to learn. He is seeking answers but allows his rational thinking to
get in the way of what Jesus is trying to teach him. Nicodemus is humbled by
Jesus’ instruction. He is a leader of the Pharisees and a teacher of the law
and should be knowledgeable of God and the ways of God. But Jesus is telling
him that he is not. “If I have told you about earthly things and you do not
believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?”
Jesus is offering a new knowledge that comes from
God. Jesus is the link between heaven and earth. If we are to know God and what
it is God expects from us, we must, as God said on the Holy Mountain, ‘listen
to him.’
Nicodemus has had his chance to “listen to him,” to
see, feel, and understand what Jesus is talking about, but he couldn’t grasp
it. It was the truth of Jesus’ words that troubled him. Jesus leaves him
behind, as it were, with his concluding remarks about his being lifted up; a
sign of God’s love, that will bring eternal life to all who believe in Him; a
pointer to the final sign - Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Poor Nicodemus. I can just see him walking away in
the darkness, both literally and spiritually. Yet we know that he was still
drawn to Jesus. His encounter with Jesus stirred something deep within him. He
missed the opportunity to grasp it then, but Jesus’ words never left him. He
spoke up for Christ at his trial before the Sanhedrin, and together with Joseph
of Arimathea, prepared the Lord’s body and helped place it in the tomb.
What about us? How well do we listen to Jesus? As we
make this Lenten journey with Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross we will have
more than one opportunity to feel, see, and understand his teaching as we
listen to his words in the gospel. Jesus’ teaching about new birth baffled
Nicodemus. Do we understand it?
Jesus speaks of a double-sided baptism that is required
for us to see the kingdom, that is realize it, and to be able to enter it. This
“new birth” brings with it a new knowledge of God that opens our hearts and
minds to who God really is and what our relationship to God through His Son,
Jesus Christ is supposed to be.
As I said before, the easiest part of being a
Christian is to be baptized. The water symbolically washes away our sin and the
sealing of the Holy Spirit marks us as belonging to Christ forever. To walk
away from the font is to walk away a new creation; a babe in Christ, if you
will, with a trust and faith like that displayed by Abram in today’s first
lesson.
“Abram went, as the Lord told him.” Not knowing
where he was to go. He believed the promises of God. From that moment on Abram
grew in his knowledge and understanding of God. Because he believed in the
truth of God’s word, God revealed more and more of Himself to Abram as well as
His plan for him. And so it is with us.
We make the journey with God, as Abram did. We don’t
always know where it is and what it is that God is calling us to go and do. We
walk by faith and not by sight. As we do, God reveals more of Himself to us.
The Lenten journey is our journey through life. The spiritual agenda the Church
invited us to engage in on Ash Wednesday is the very agenda we should be
engaged in at all times and in all places, in season and out.
But, as we professed at our baptisms, we can not do
it by ourselves, but only with God’s help. The Holy Spirit has been given to
the church and to each of us through Baptism to enable us as church to carry
out the mission God has given us to do; to shed the light of the gospel into
the dark corners of the world so that others may come to know Him and the Love
He has for us and the world He has made.
To grow in the knowledge of God requires our being
baptized by water and the Spirit. This new birth is from above; a gift of God.
It is a double-sided baptism; water for the forgiveness of sin, and the Spirit
for the illumination of heart, and mind. Only by being born again, Jesus says,
can we see the kingdom and be able to enter it.
To be born again opens the eyes of our hearts to see
God’s hand at work in the world around us and enables us, through the gifts of
the Holy Spirit, to join in that work; to live by faith, like that of Abram,
and to walk in the light avoiding the darkness, by holding fast to the
unchangeable truth of God’s Word made flesh; Jesus Christ, Savior of the world.
AMEN+
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