May 30 -21 – John

JOHN 3:1-17

Welcome to Trinity Sunday, a day that celebrates and honors the Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  It is a time when we celebrate not an event but the reality that our God is three in one.

In this morning’s Gospel lesson, we meet a man who you have probably heard about before.  His name is Nicodemus.  Nicodemus is mentioned two other places besides this one in the Gospel of John.  In chapter 7 of John, Nicodemus steps forward to defend Jesus among the religious leaders, and in chapter 19, Nicodemus takes a big risk with Joseph of Arimathea in asking for Jesus’ body so that He can be properly buried.  An interesting contrast to today’s account where He sneaks around in the dark so that no one will know He is seeking out Jesus.

Other than this, we don’t know a lot about Nicodemus, but what we do know is that from an outward point of view, he had it all together.  He was what we would call today, one of the rich and famous.  He was educated, held a high position in Jewish society, and had power as a member of the 70 ruling Sanhedrin.  The Sanhedrin were the ruling council in Jerusalem and was somewhat like our Supreme Court today.   They were highly respected and held great power over Jews everywhere in that day’s world.  In spite of the fact that Rome ruled the roost, the Sanhedrin were given a lot of latitude in Jewish affairs.  These men had real power!

Nicodemus was also a Pharisee. Pharisees were the teachers and legal scholars of that time. Pharisees believed in resurrection, and had long been expecting a Messiah, a Savior that would overthrow Rome, and retake Israel as a monarch. Jesus, of course, was not a King of the Flesh.  He was not the type of king the people were expecting.

Yet, Nicodemus recognized that Jesus was up to something amazing, but he also knew that Jesus wasn’t doing what all the Pharisees believed he should be doing. And so, in the dark of the night, he visited Jesus to ask him some questions.

We can imagine him nervously walking through the darkness, perhaps looking over his shoulder to make sure that he was not being followed.  He would have been wearing the full Sanhedrin uniform, a flowing outer cloak on which hung the prescribed Knotted fringes, that proved he was a devout Jew.  Yet, he is intent on engaging in a private conversation with Jesus.  Most likely, Nicodemus wanted to live more fully, and more authentically, he wanted to know who this person, who called himself Jesus was.  He wanted to know if Jesus was truly of God.

With Nicodemus’ background we can be fairly sure that He felt confident and that he was in charge of the conversation as he greeted Jesus.  He starts off with the words, “Rabbi, you are obviously a teacher from God, for no one could do the miraculous signs you do if God were not with him” (3:2). I don’t know about you but this sounds a lot to me like he is “kissing up” to Jesus.  Interestingly, Jesus neither responded to Nicodemus’ compliment nor returned it.  He cuts right to the heart of the matter: “Here’s the honest truth: unless one is born again he won’t see the kingdom of God.”

We can imagine Nicodemus who is very well educated saying, “I have to do what?” So he asks Jesus to clarify.  “Born again?  That would be a trick.  How can a man be born when he is old?  He can’t climb back in his mother’s womb, can he?”

With all his learning, he still did not get that it was not a literal statement but one pointing to the Holy Spirit.  Eventually, Nicodemus left there that night probably shaking his head, more perplexed and puzzled that he had ever been in his life.

There are times that we too are perplexed by God’s Word.  We too often want to take things literally, forgetting that there is most often an underlying meaning.  The concept of the Holy Spirit can seem perplexing to many.  Yet we need to remember that the Holy Spirit is a gift from God, and if we have faith, the Holy Spirit works to help us conform to the image of Christ.  The Holy Spirit’s convictions help keep us from sin and from making bad decisions. That is, if we listen carefully and allow the Spirit to guide us.  Perhaps even more perplexing is that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one, for we worship one God.  The concept is one that we know is true but cannot completely comprehend because we cannot describe God who is greater than all creation.  It boils down to being an element of our faith.

As we begin our new week, it is time to examine our own lives.  It is a time to ask if we are relying on our good works, our morality and such as Nicodemus was, rather than listening for the guidance of the Spirit.  It is time to ask ourselves if we really humble our hearts before God.  It is time to ask ourselves what Jesus sees in our hearts.

The good news is that a generation comes and a generation goes, but God is eternal.  God is the same always, and He loves us more than we can ever imagine.   We are beloved children of God, even if we are perplexed at times by His Word and the concept of God as three in one.   Amen