On Whose Terms

John 3:1-17

Now 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.{ Nicodemus said to him, {How can these things be”{ 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 yu do not receive our testimony. If I have told yu about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things. No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wildrness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life
“For God so loved the world that he gave his onoly Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
{Indeed, God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

~ ~ ~

“Where am I? Who am I?
How did I come to be here?
What is this thing called the world?
How did I come into this world?
Why was I not consulted?
And if I am compelled to take part in it, where is the director? I want to see him.”

This rather irreverent barrage of questions comes from the pen of the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard who was in fact a very sensitive, deep thinker. Sometimes in frustration we too find ourselves forgetting politeness and demanding “What’s it all about Alfie?”

How do you handle what you don’t understand? If it’s not something you regard as essential or important to your existence, you might dismiss it after pondering for a bit – “Oh well,” “Whatever.” Shrug your shoulders and go on.

But if there is something that you can’t let go so cavalierly; something that eats at you, or is perceived at some level to be central to your existence, what would you do? The answer is pretty obvious to our technologically savvy society. “I’d get on the internet. All knowledge is contained therein.” Me thinks such confidence may be overstated, perhaps grossly overstated. Pablo Picasso was heard to say, “Computers are useless; they can only give you answers.” Don’t get me wrong. I’m not some Neanderthal when it comes to the info age (nor am I a techno geek), but I do recall that one of the first and abiding laws of the computer age is GIGO – garbage in, garbage out. In our culture here’s no shortage of information to be had, but not all information is useful. Without insight information is just so many facts, knowledge without wisdom -- objectivity without a soul.

On some matters critical to our existence, our humanity, our identity, we may have to kick up our research beyond the maximum megabytes and… go talk to someone; enter into relationship, veer off the information superhighway and follow a hunger, an intuition, a hunch, even if it leads us into uncharted territory; even if it entails some risk.

It’s what Nick did in our passage. That’s short for Nicodemus. He took his questions to the source, which is to be commended. We need to move beyond all the second hand information, the rumor mill, speculations, the predigested opinions and distorted reports. Take it to the source. “First hand research” it could be called, but there is some element of risk to his reputation and role. He was after all a Pharisee. Pharisees were members of a Jewish sect that emphasized strict observance of the Mosaic law. Over time the Pharisees rigid preoccupation with being impeccably committed to the law led to their thinking they were perhaps a cut above the rest. Sanctimonious is the word that comes to mind. More concerned with appearances and the letter of the law than the spirit of law. I recall a little ditty that seems apropos: “The meanest man I ever saw, always stayed just inside the law.” Hypocrite has become synonymous with Pharisee and yet, just when you think you’ve labeled a group or stereotyped a collection of people, you run into the exception that forces you to reconsider, maybe even do a little self-examination regarding why we tend to pigeonhole people. Is this another faulty effort to categorize experience, hoping to make sense of a big, rather confusing world.

Out of the pack steps Nicodemus,  one who does not fit the mold. Cautious, but curious, he comes at night which might suggest John’s use of symbolism – night being a time of darkness, confusion, a lack of clarity. An educated man comes with his questions seeking enlightenment. He’d already heard of remarkable, even miraculous, things this Jesus had done and he addresses him using the term of respect – “Rabbi,” no one can do these signs… unless God is with him. It’s a declarative sentence but it really poses a question

– bluntly said –
“Who are you anyway?”

Isn’t that the question? When it comes down to it… in light of claims made for him and rumors and reports about him… none of which fits the conventional standard or explanation. We are here having stepped out of our own darkness or still inquiring if not confused, to ask “Who are you, Jesus?” He doesn’t fit our previous experience. Another question: What are we to do with Him? I suspect many of us, if we are honest and care enough to inquire, can identify with Nicodemus.

You get the impression that Nick didn’t get the direct answers he sought to his questions. Purposely or naively he frames his questions in a way that asks for a very literal answer. By the time the conversation ends, Jesus is doing most of the talking and asking questions of Nicodemus.

As an aside …  but not really… a rabbit trail that does lead somewhere, the story teaches: be careful the questions we ask. The way we frame our questions can limit the answer.

The classic example of this is “When did you stop beating your wife?” A question that can be answered with a simple yes or no may produce necessary direction but a more open-ended question promotes further inquiry, relationship. “Are you from Alabama?” will be much less evocative of conversation than “What was it like growing up in the South?”

If we don’t ask open-ended questions, we could well still be living in a society that believes the world is flat. We limit our thinking and as a consequence, limit God to our rather finite restrictive categories. “God is in heaven, all is well”… let’s keep Him there. Paul Tillich once said, “Being religious means asking passionately the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers even if they hurt” or if they jar our world view, or if they challenge us. Maybe Nicodemus thought he could get a fix on Jesus, define him once and for all; salt it away and resume orthodox religious observance.

That’s how we often handle what we don’t understand. We try to force it, if we can, to fit in the old categories, the familiar framework. In this case if you want to understand it won’t be by reasoning it out. It’s more like… like being born again, something that originates in love and happens as an act of God. It’s like getting a breath of fresh air from a breeze you didn’t control with a switch or a thermostat. It comes from a direction you do not know… mostly you just knew you were suffocating because you were made for something more than this world offers.

So this morning, this second Sunday in Lent, take Nicodemus as your patron saint, those of you who may be confused or full of questions about who Jesus really is. Take Nick as your model. Come in out of the dark. Go ahead and ask him whatever is on your mind. Use all of your God-given mental capacities. Then listen.
Some people think that Christians are those who have figured it all out, have satisfactorily solved Jesus. But Jesus is that illusive, free, sovereign, and living God who makes sense out of us, rather than our making sense out of him. We’ve got to risk coming to him ­­­ and listening to him even when we don't always grasp what he's talking about. We can’t define him. He defines us. He meets us, talks with us, and invites us to follow him, even when we don’t always understand him.

That’s what Nicodemus did when he “came to Jesus at night.”.

Later in the Gospel of John we meet Nicodemus again (19:39). When most of his disciples deserted him, Nicodemus is one of the few people who standing by the cross ready to bury Jesus lovingly. There, Nicodemus doesn’t ask questions. He simply does what is right. He risks being associated with Jesus. He is a disciple. You don’t have to have completely figured Jesus out in order to follow Jesus.
Faith is not in the understanding but in the following.

I heard of somebody who grew up in a rather conservative church that took great pride in demanding that all of that congregation’s children memorize the whole Catechism. They taught them answers to questions like
Q: “Who made you?”

1. God.

At age twelve, he dutifully attended catechism  classes where he was taught all of the right answers to all those big questions, but he reports that as an adult, he grew away from the church, lost his faith,.

The good news is that he came back. He said what brought him back, “I wish that my church had asked me about my questions when I was a kid. All they gave me was a list of answers. So I got all the right answers, but I never got the reason for the answers or the relationship. Then like a soft whisper into a powerful wind, it got me. I didn’t get it. My questions didn’t stop, but they changed. And Nick said, “Now its got you and you are getting it.”

AMEN

On Whose Terms?

A Sermon by

Dr. J. Lawrence Cuthill

February 17rd, 2008

Winter Park Presbyterian