John 3:1-17 – Born Again, into a New Life
/Lectionary Readings for July 18, 2021 The 8th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B
2 Samuel 7:1-14a The Lord’s Covenant Promise to David
Psalm 89:20-37 v20 I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with my holy oil.
Ephesians 2:11-22 v14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
But this week we continue our series exploring the book of John, now with Chapter 3.
Peace through Leadership
Throughout this past week we were able to share some peace with our county’s evacuation center. Through our HOPE Food Pantry, we were able to keep them supplied with water, flavored beverages, snacks, soups, fresh fruit, breakfast items and more.
That gave the staff and volunteers peace knowing the food issue was handled and it gave the evacuees peace because they had one less thing to worry about.
Our faith is made real and meaningful to people when we combine our prayers with tangible action. This is one way we can create peace in our communities.
Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me. God loves me. God has plans for me.
Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading
Last week we talked about Jesus transforming water into wine. This week, we move into Chapter 3 where Jesus talks about a transformation of the human spirit, a mystical experience that Jesus Himself says we cannot explain how it happens (v.8).
In his conversation with Nicodemus (who was a priest in charge of sacred Jewish rituals), Jesus used a play on words; He used a word that can mean “born again” or “born from above.” Nicodemus naturally assumed Jesus was talking about a physical birth. I think we’d all make the same assumption.
Like Nicodemus, we often go for the easiest, concrete explanations of what we hear and see. But faith is different. From John’s perspective, faith is more of a mystical experience requiring abstract thinking.
All of us remember our physical birthdays, the concrete moment we dramatically transitioned from one environment into another. On the spiritual side, some of us remember a specific date when we went from not believing in God or following Jesus’ teaching to doing just that. Many of us who grew up in the church can’t cite such a date; we’ve always known about God.
And that is what Jesus talks about today – the difference between knowing about God (which Nicodemus certainly did) and having a profound relationship with God. In our natural lives, it’s one thing to know about someone (ex: a historical figure); it’s very different having a personal relationship with someone (ex: your spouse).
Today’s text challenges us to open ourselves to the possibility that God would like us to see, hear, or experience something new and spiritually deeper in today’s story. Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we read today’s Scripture.
Read John 3:1-17. (And all of Chapter 3 when you can!)
I love this image. I’m not sure if the baby is praising God for a successful delivery OR crying out, “What just happened?!? I was so comfortable!” I think many of us feel the same way when we go through a time of dramatic spiritual growth, “But Lord, I was happy where I was. Why did You have to change things?!?”
Being born again... or born from above. Either way, our first question is probably the same as Nicodemus’, how does that work? Jesus quickly dismisses the question when He says, “you cannot explain how people are born of the Spirit” (v8).
Nevertheless, Jesus says we must be “born of water and Spirit” (v5). Some scholars and theologians understand this as referring to two separate birth events – one concrete, the other abstract. The first, being born of water, refers to our natural, human birth – even today we describe part of the birthing process as a woman’s water breaking. The second, being born of Spirit, refers to our birth of faith in God’s existence and presence in our lives.
Jesus frequently used the human experience to help people understand the spiritual experience. Recall how often He used agricultural elements to describe the Kingdom of God. Human birth starts with a miraculous moment of creation – conception – and requires a time of steady growth before the moment of dramatic change: your birthday. Psalm 139:13-14 speaks of God’s involvement in the process: “For You Lord shaped me, inside and out. You knit me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath.”
Likewise, our spiritual birth begins... well... there’s a lot of debate exactly when it begins. But at some point, God fills our fleshy existence with a soul which creates space for our faith to grow over time. When Jesus talks about being “born again,” one way of understanding this are those moments in life when we feel like our faith – our relationship with God – takes on dramatically new meanings, new depth.
Sometimes spiritual re-birth happens in an instant; someone has a mystical experience that changes their understanding of or relationship with God. For others, that rebirthing can happen over several weeks, months, or even years. Unlike a human birth that you can only experience once, from my own experience, I believe that you can have numerous spiritual births throughout your life. Each birth and rebirth launches you into a closer relationship with God.
Spiritual rebirth falls into the category of mystical experience. For those of you who, like me, have a love of science and math, mystical experiences are... uncomfortable, abstract territory filled with uncertainty. Where’s my solid foundation?!? To what am I anchored?!?
To open ourselves to the possibility of rebirth requires us to have faith in what we cannot see, hold, or control. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews offers us some insight on the matter: “Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen” (Hebrews 11:1 The Voice).
Being born again... or born from above is definitely an unseen reality.
Believing in God and so much of what Christians profess, truly requires the proverbial leap of faith into the unknown and unprovable. I firmly believe that God speaks to me directly as well as through people and events. I can’t prove any of that, yet I consider my faith to be the foundation of every part of my life, so much so that prayer plays a leading role in all of my life’s major decisions.
If I demand proof, my attitude becomes an anchor preventing me from making that leap of faith. If I demand control, that too becomes an anchor. If I demand complete understanding before taking the next step of faith, that too becomes an anchor. As we are able to let go of the anchors in our hearts and minds, we increasingly open ourselves to the potential for a spiritual rebirth.
“Rebirth – whether personal or congregational, cultural or political – requires a break, an ending, a risky journey to new life. No wonder Jesus says that this birth must come from above. This is not the kind of transformation that can be programmed or taught. Its source and activity is mysterious – as unpredictable as the wind” (Jarvis, Cynthia A.; Johnson, E. Elizabeth. Feasting on the Gospels--John, Volume 1. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle 2222).
I encourage you to share the following with God in prayer this week:
Lord, what do I need to let go of so that you can lift me to higher places. (Imagine dropping weights from a hot air balloon so you can take off. Your journey can’t continue if you don’t let go of what’s holding you back.)
God of new life, delivery me into a new relationship with you.
God of peace, like baby Jesus in the manger, wrap me in Your love so that I have no reason to feel alone or afraid.
I sincerely believe that if you seek a deeper relationship with God, like a good mid-wife, God will guide you and nudge you into new births and new spiritual growth. With God working in us and around us, all of us can be “born again,” born and reborn into the Kingdom of God where we can live, love, and serve bigger and better than ever before.
Amen? Amen!