St. Charles' Episcopal Church -St. Charles, IL

The Second Sunday of Lent – Lent 2 – Year A RCL

Sunday February 17, 2008 

Genesis 12:1-4a – Psalm 121 – Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 -- John 3:1-17

Rev. William R. Nesbit, Jr.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Our lessons today are all about encounters with God. And the demands they place upon us. In the Gospel of John it is Nicodemus who blunders into God. Nicodemus is a Greek name meaning conqueror of the people. He was a well educated leader of the community, a member of the Sanhedrin, the 70 member ruling body of the Jews. He was well-off and pretty much at the top of his profession. He would have made a good Episcopalian. He was very comfortable with his station and understanding of his religion. He came to Jesus because he had heard that Jesus was a good teacher and he wanted to ask him a few questions that had been bothering him.

This incident takes place right after Jesus has come to the temple in Jerusalem and trashed the joint, turning over chairs and tables and generally raising Cain. I am quite sure that Jesus was the topic of much discussion at the next meeting of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus was perhaps trying to find out who the real Jesus was; the teacher or the hooligan. I wonder if he had any idea of what he was getting himself into as he stood outside that door in the dark? He had come to speak quietly with the man Jesus. He was about to meet God.

As Nicodemus talked with Jesus that dark night, he was confronted with God, a God that was outside of his understanding. He struggled to understand, using all his education and wits, but he just didn't get it. His response really isn't all that different from what any of us would do. It's a common response when we encounter something we don't understand. We attack it with our brains, we use our science on it. But that's a mistake. It's a mistake because we have confused mystery with ignorance; the unknowable with the merely unknown. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying science is a bad thing. It's a good thing. Science, with time, can convert the unknown into the known, but even with all the time in the world, science is useless on the unknowable. It's the wrong tool for the job. As I said before, the unknowable is mystery, and with mystery we must live in it and with it and let it surround us. "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."

It is this wind, the Spirit, that gives us the eyes to truly see mystery in the world around us. To encounter God in the everyday stuff of life. We are all born with this gift, it's easy to see in the light of a child’s eyes, but as we grow up it is easy to lose. A child will gaze in rapt wonder at the intricate comings and goings of ants working to build an ant hill. When was the last time you watched ants at work? I know, I know we have much more important things to do. We don't have time to waste on something as silly as watching ants. And besides, it's still winter. OK how about watching a sunset? Or maybe we could look at the stars tonight. These are only everyday things, but they are deeply woven in the mystery of God, as is all of God's creation. When Jesus tells Nicodemus, "If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things," he is telling him, and telling us as well, that this is where we can start. TAKE the time it takes to see the mystery of everyday things; to let the mystery work on us.

Often in Lent we try to take on new discipline. We pray more. We go to church more. We read the Bible more. If we just add these disciplines to an already busy life we set ourselves up for the worst kind of failure. We just get busier, and so these added activities just become a burden that we soon resent. Like Nicodemus, we get the right answer, but we don't hear it; don't understand it. We need to make the time to take the time to let the mystery work. That means shifting priorities; choosing not to do certain things so that we have time to do other things. It is this re-ordering of our lives that gives us a new perspective. And It is this new perspective of life in the Spirit, of being born from above, that changes the way we look at the world. Being born again, we can, once again, see the world through the eyes of a child. Remember the prayer in the service of Baptism that lists the gifts of the Spirit?"..an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works." These are the gifts that come with this new perspective. This is how the Spirit comes to work in our lives.

For Nicodemus, this new perspective allowed him the courage to be the lone voice in the Sanhedrin to defend Jesus, forestalling his arrest for a time, and called him to care for the lifeless body of Christ, preparing it for burial in the tomb. For Abram and Sarai, this new perspective allowed them the courage to leave behind all that they knew and were comfortable with, even their names, and start a new life in a new land. Who knows what the Spirit has in store for us. The only thing I can tell you, the one thing we must constantly be prepared for, is that it will be outside the box. Outside the box of our limited perceptions and expectations.

We don't know how Nicodemus responded to Jesus' remarks, John doesn't say. The narrative jumps abruptly to the next scene with Jesus moving out into the countryside the next morning. It takes time for the seeds of the spirit planted that night to spring forth in a faith that pushes Nicodemus out of his box. For Abram and Sarai it is quicker. No sooner has the Lord spoken than they pull up stakes and head for Canaan. One never knows with the Spirit."The Spirit 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."

As we enter in to this season of Lent, be prepared to move beyond the limits we place on ourselves and into the place of new perspectives. See the world with eyes of hope. Listen to the world with ears of grace. Lift up the world with hands of justice. Embrace the world with arms of love. I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; it is he who shall keep you safe. The LORD shall watch over your going out and your coming in, from this time forth for evermore. Amen.