JOHN
3:1-17
1Now
there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus,
a
leader of the Jews.
He came to
Jesus by night and said to him,
“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 the presence of God.”
Jesus answered
him,
“Very
truly, I tell you,
no
one can see the kingdom
of God
without
being born from above.”
Nicodemus said
to him,
“How
can anyone be born after having grown old?
Can
one enter a second time into the mother’s womb
and be born?”
Jesus answered,
“Very
truly, I tell you,
no
one can enter the kingdom
of God
without
being born of water and Spirit.
What
is born of the flesh is flesh,
and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do
not be astonished that I said to you,
‘You
must be born from above.’
The
wind blows where it chooses,
and you hear the sound of it,
but
you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.
So
it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9
Nicodemus said
to him,
“How can these
things be?”1
Jesus answered
him,
“Are you a
teacher of Israel,
and yet you do
not understand these things?
Very truly, I
tell you,
we speak of what we know
and testify to
what we have seen;
yet you do not
receive our testimony.
If I have told
you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how can you
believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
***
Very truly, I tell you. Very
truly, I tell you. Very truly, I tell you. Three times Jesus begins his
explanations to Nicodemus in this way. It is almost like Jesus is saying, “This
is a fact; I promise this is true; I saw with my own eyes.” They are all
phrases, which preface something hard to believe or fully understand. The
phrases themselves attempt to give proof to something improvable. In the
phrase, “Very truly, I tell you,” Jesus is trying to convince Nicodemus of a
wonder of our faith: We are re-born, born again, and born from above. We are
born by the Spirit and by water.
Hearing those phrases today
we can begin to discern their meaning. We know the Jesus story. We know Jesus
was born once of earthly Mary. We believe his baptism was a second birth where
he was adopted and claimed by God. In that same baptism Jesus was born of the
Spirit, which came down as a dove from heaven. We also can see this re-birth
took place in water. Re-born, born again, born from above, born by the Spirit,
born by water. Hearing those phrases today we can begin to discern their
meaning, but for Nicodemus, who had neither a Bible, nor a commentary, he heard
those phrases for the first time.
Yet, years later, with
millions of Bibles and thousands of commentaries, I wonder if we are all that
different than Nicodemus. Nicodemus came to Jesus because he saw the presence
of God in Jesus’ actions. Many of us came to Jesus because we saw signs of the
presence of God. I saw it in a butterfly and a church community. If you have
read David Terry’s faith journey in the newsletter, he saw it in hospitals and
waiting rooms, Nanette heard the presence of God in prayer. Many of us have
come, like Nicodemus, because we have seen signs of the presence of God on
earth. Like Jesus’ baptism, we can imagine these earthly things, we can testify
to what we know, and what we have seen. We can testify to the presence of God
on earth, but can we testify to what we have not seen? Can we testify to
heavenly things? Years and years later, we like Nicodemus, knowing the signs of
the presence of God, yet unable to fully understand God.
The scripture says,
“The wind blows where it chooses, and you
hear the sound of it, but you do not know from where it comes, or where it
goes. So it is with everything that is born of the Spirit.”
I know I have seen things
moved by the wind, but I have not seen the wind. I heard the wind rustle the
trees, and howl over a prairie but I cannot predict when I will hear it
again. If we are born of the Spirit we
can testify to wind, but we cannot grasp it fully. I can tell you in baptism we
are re-born, born again, born from above, born by the Spirit, and born by
water, but there is a part of that which is beyond my testimony. There is part
of baptism, which speaks of heavenly things, and the kingdom of God.
I know the Spirit speaks in ways my words cannot. Likewise, Jesus will be there
saying, “Very truly, I tell you.” What
we see in baptism is a preface to the glory we are unable to see. Today, may
the Spirit blow through us, ripple over the water of the font, and pour forth
in ways too deep for words, and let us be born again.
