John 3:1-8 (New Testament for Everyone)
There was a man of the Pharisees called Nicodemus, a ruler of the Judaeans. He came to Jesus by night.
‘Rabbi,’ he said to him. ‘We know that you’re a teacher who’s come from God. Nobody can do these signs that you’re doing, unless God is with him.’
‘Let me tell you the solemn truth,’ replied Jesus. ‘Unless someone has been born from above, they won’t be able to see God’s kingdom.’
‘How can someone possibly be born’, asked Nicodemus, ‘when they’re old? You’re not telling me they can go back a second time into the mother’s womb and be born, are you?’
‘I’m telling you the solemn truth,’ replied Jesus. ‘Unless someone is born from water and spirit, they can’t enter God’s kingdom. Flesh is born from flesh, but spirit is born from spirit. Don’t be surprised that I said to you, You must be born from above. The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound it makes; but you don’t know where it’s coming from or where it’s going to. That’s what it’s like with someone who is born from the spirit.’
The question of being “born again” is a divisive one in Christianity today. People appear to align on one side or the other. You either are, by the act of saying the magic words, or you are not, because you can’t figure out what it means in the first place.
If you are among the second group, it’s clear you’re not alone. That’s where Nicodemus was coming from, as well. Nicodemus is a Pharisee and one of the small group of Sadducees and Pharisees who have been given a limited power to rule in the name of the Romans. He holds a seat on that ruling council, the Sanhedrin, and yet here Nicodemus is among those who seek out Jesus for His teaching. He seems to believe more about Jesus than might be really healthy for him right now, so he comes at night.
And it is Nicodemus who is the first (that we know of) to wrestle with the question of how a grown human goes about being born again.
If you are among the second group, it’s clear you’re not alone. That’s where Nicodemus was coming from, as well. Nicodemus is a Pharisee and one of the small group of Sadducees and Pharisees who have been given a limited power to rule in the name of the Romans. He holds a seat on that ruling council, the Sanhedrin, and yet here Nicodemus is among those who seek out Jesus for His teaching. He seems to believe more about Jesus than might be really healthy for him right now, so he comes at night.
And it is Nicodemus who is the first (that we know of) to wrestle with the question of how a grown human goes about being born again.
‘How can someone possibly be born ..... when they’re old? You’re not telling me they can go back a second time into the mother’s womb and be born, are you?
And Jesus tries to explain, and Nicodemus just gets more confused. And, in all honesty, Jesus’ answer doesn’t help much – in fact, it just confuses him more.
‘I’m telling you the solemn truth,’ replied Jesus. ‘Unless someone is born from water and spirit, they can’t enter God’s kingdom. Flesh is born from flesh, but spirit is born from spirit. Don’t be surprised that I said to you, You must be born from above. The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound it makes; but you don’t know where it’s coming from or where it’s going to. That’s what it’s like with someone who is born from the spirit.’
Jesus is speaking of things as they are in God’s realm. Nicodemus, being only human, tries to shape his words into something concrete – something he can grasp and hold onto. Ignoring the whole question of Jesus being here to show us the reign of God, right now, among us, Nicodemus latches on to the mechanics of human biology. He wants an answer that fits into his idea of how the world works. This world, not God’s heavenly world. This world that we can see and touch and taste – where we know perfectly well that people only get born one time.
Living and operating in this world, Nicodemus wants to be given something he can do, some act he can perform that will take care of this whole thing. “What do I need to DO?” he wants to know. “Just allow God to BE,” Jesus answers. “Like the wind, you don’t know where it comes from – and you don’t need to know – just let it BE.”
The same confusion still reigns today. The earnest people who come up to you today to ask “Are you saved? Have you been born again?” truly believe in their heart of hearts that there is something you must DO, some magic phrase you must recite in order for this to happen – they believe it all rests on us, when in truth it rests – as it always has rested, on God – and we can no more control God than we can control the wind.
“Flesh is born from flesh, but spirit is born from spirit,” Jesus tells us, but still, Nicodemus, and most fundamentalists today, want a physical, fleshly answer to a spiritual question.
So what does “being born again” mean in purely spiritual terms? This question probably has as many answers as there are people to answer it. And it is different for each of us as we surrender to the ability to let God be an active part of us.
For myself, I believe that part of God’s self is part of us from the very beginning. I believe that is what this thing called “life” is. I believe that some “God stuff” is part of every piece of creation. We are not created from nothing – we are created from God’s own self.
The only act, then, for us is to choose whether or not we accept and acknowledge that part of ourselves. Whether we allow that part to teach us and lead us, to guide us. To work in and through us. We can choose – although sometimes we will find that choice heavily influenced by God’s desires for us – but still we get to choose whether to live as we have always appeared to live, or to acknowledge ourselves as citizens of the Reign of God.
Living and operating in this world, Nicodemus wants to be given something he can do, some act he can perform that will take care of this whole thing. “What do I need to DO?” he wants to know. “Just allow God to BE,” Jesus answers. “Like the wind, you don’t know where it comes from – and you don’t need to know – just let it BE.”
The same confusion still reigns today. The earnest people who come up to you today to ask “Are you saved? Have you been born again?” truly believe in their heart of hearts that there is something you must DO, some magic phrase you must recite in order for this to happen – they believe it all rests on us, when in truth it rests – as it always has rested, on God – and we can no more control God than we can control the wind.
“Flesh is born from flesh, but spirit is born from spirit,” Jesus tells us, but still, Nicodemus, and most fundamentalists today, want a physical, fleshly answer to a spiritual question.
So what does “being born again” mean in purely spiritual terms? This question probably has as many answers as there are people to answer it. And it is different for each of us as we surrender to the ability to let God be an active part of us.
For myself, I believe that part of God’s self is part of us from the very beginning. I believe that is what this thing called “life” is. I believe that some “God stuff” is part of every piece of creation. We are not created from nothing – we are created from God’s own self.
The only act, then, for us is to choose whether or not we accept and acknowledge that part of ourselves. Whether we allow that part to teach us and lead us, to guide us. To work in and through us. We can choose – although sometimes we will find that choice heavily influenced by God’s desires for us – but still we get to choose whether to live as we have always appeared to live, or to acknowledge ourselves as citizens of the Reign of God.
P.S.
Here are some of the "Thought-Provokers" we used for our post-sermon discussion today. They are a mixed bag, for sure:
N.T. Wright, 21st century
"The work of salvation, in its full sense, is (1) about whole human beings, not merely souls; (2) about the present, not simply the future; and (3) about what God does through us, not merely what God does in and for us."
Anna White, Mended, 21st century
"I grew up believing Christians didn't just believe in Jesus. To be saved, people had to look and speak a certain way. They followed a long list of nots to ensure their holiness. They fit the mold. They followed the rules."
Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom
“We all have that divine moment, when our lives are transformed by the knowledge of the truth.”
Tony Vincent, 21st century
“I'm a born-again Christian, but that's not the coat that I wear. It's just how my heart's been changed.”
Jerry Falwell, 20th century
“If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being.”
Herb Caen, 20th century
“The trouble with born-again Christians is that they are an even bigger pain the second time around.”
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