Water
and Spirit
John 3:16
For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so
that everyone who believes in him
may
not perish but may have eternal life.
This
is the verse that everyone
knows.
And
yes, it is an important passage.
But
there is a lot more that comes before
those
words are spoken.
Verses
16 and 17
are summing up of the conversation
that
has happened in the previous 15 verses.
Nicodemus
has come to Jesus.
Nicodemus
is a Pharisee, a leader amongst the Jews.
Usually
when Jesus encounters a Pharisee there is tension,
they
are challenging him or trying to trick him.
But
that is not the
case in this particular
encounter.
Nicodemus
did not
come to Jesus to confront
him,
but
to learn from him.
someone
sent by God to give answers
and
understanding to the Jews.
We
will get to that conversation in a moment.
Last
week we began the season of Pentecost.
Today
is Trinity Sunday.
Most
celebrations in the church calendar are about events:
Jesus’
birth, his death and resurrection,
the
gift of the Spirit to the disciples.
This
Sunday centers on a doctrine of the church;
the
mystery of God’s being as Holy Trinity:
Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit -3 in one.
The
triune God is the
basis of all
we
are and all we do as Christians.
The
triune God is the
basis for all our prayers:
praying to
God
through Jesus
Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Think
about the past few months and the celebrations
you
and I have celebrated
as Christians:
Christmas-Epiphany
celebrating
God’s
taking flesh and dwelling among us
in
Jesus Christ;
Easter
celebrating Christ’s death
and
resurrection for us;
Pentecost
celebrating God the Holy Spirit
becoming
our Sanctifier, Guide, and Teacher.
*
So
here we are at Trinity Sunday,
Jesus
is having a conversation with Nicodemus about
the
Kingdom of God.
Two
men, both knowing the scriptures and the law;
yet
they have 2 different views of God’s kingdom.
Nicodemus
has spent his life in study,
he
knows God,
he
relies on historical and logical proof,
his
faith is solid, safe.
On
the other hand,
Jesus
sees faith as a given
by God,
not
achieved by human action;
life
is uncontrolled and uncalculated,
unpredictable,
like the wind.
Wind,
spirit…
in
Greek the same word for both: pnuema.
One
word, two meanings.
Do
you remember the song
Blowing
in the Wind?
“The
answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.”
Ruach -the word even sounds like a mighty wind.
Have you ever sat in nature,
Ruach -the word even sounds like a mighty wind.
Have you ever sat in nature,
by
a lake,
in
a park,
or
on the beach…and felt the wind?
The
wind making a flag wave,
a
kite dance,
or
a balloon float.
The
wind, the Spirit of God,
touching
your face;
refreshing
our
spirit:
blowing
away worries and regrets,
bringing
new possibilities.
If
there are answers in the wind, the ruach,
what
are the questions?
Nicodemus
thinks ‘born again is a literal birth:
“How
can anyone be born after having grown old?
Can
one enter a second time
into the
mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus
answers:
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.
You
must be born from above.
Nicodemus
wants to understand what Jesus is saying.
The
problem is Nicodemus is literal
his
faith is logical, safe, and solid;
“this
is how it has always been done, why change?”
Why
change?
A
new wind is blowing,
the
pneuma, the Spirit is active,
Jesus
brings a new way of faith.
In
verse 2, the apostle John tells us
Nicodemus
has come to see Jesus by
night.
This
is not about the time of day,
these
are words of contrast:
night and day,
darkness and light,
old and new,
faith by works and
the law versus
faith by grace.
By
night.
Nicodemus
is in the dark, yet he is searching for the light.
John
8:12
Again,
Jesus spoke to them, saying
“I
am the light of the world.
Whoever
follows me will never walk in darkness
but will have
the light of life.”
Jesus
provides light,
he
illuminates truth.
One
who is in darkness does not need to stay in darkness.
God’s
light reaches every dark corner,
whether
it is the psalmist proclaiming
…even
the darkness is not dark to you;
the
night is as bright as day,
for darkness
is as light to you.
or
the apostle John reminding us that…
The light
shines in the darkness,
and the
darkness did not overcome it.
Jesus
is light!
Jesus
tells us we must be born
of water
and Spirit.
In
literal birth, we take our first breath (pneuma)
as
we emerge from the waters of the womb;
by
the waters of baptism, you
and I
are
welcomed into the family of faith.
Baptism
is a sign and seal of God’s grace
in
the forgiveness of our sins and the covenant in Christ
and
the Holy Spirit (ruach) calls us to respond
in
faithfulness,
discipleship, and repentance.
We
are baptized in the name of the Triune
God,
Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit.
When
we talk about the Holy Spirit or about Jesus Christ,
it
must take place as part of our conversation about God.
God
is the center of the discussion between
Nicodemus
and Jesus;
the
central truth about God, God’s kingdom.
The
kingdom of God,
as
disciples of Christ, what is our role in today’s world?
What
can you and I
do now
for kingdom growth?
One
thing learned from the conversation of
Nicodemus
and Jesus, there are two
(and
sometimes more) ways to approach
difficult
conversations, problems, or challenges.
The
short-term solution, the easy to identify, the quick fix;
the
logical and safe way to do what has always been done;
or
The
real root of the problem, hard to identify,
easy
to ignore difficulty that requires real change,
things
that require a new perspective,
pushing
the boundaries, the unpredictable,
the
wind changing the direction.
Which
path does Jesus call us to follow?
Which
path will you and I
follow?
Ponder
these question,
search
to find the answer that is right
for
each of us as an individual,
for
this family of faith,
for
the community we live in.
You
and I encounter the
Trinity in our lives
with
God in prayer,
with
Jesus in discipleship, and
with
The Holy Spirit in our actions.
The
central truth about God brings us back to
that
very important verse:
For
God so loved the world
that
he gave his only Son,
so
that everyone who believes in him
may
not perish but may have eternal life.
God’s
love is proclaimed!
Faith
given by God’s grace;
God’s
gift to all the world:
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.
He
emerged from the darkness to be a follower of Christ.
John
19, Nicodemus was there with Joseph of Arimathea
after
the crucifixion,
to
wrap the body in spices and linens,
and
lay him in the tomb.
You
and I can be touched
by the
Holy Spirit,
the
presence and work of the living God
in
our individual lives,
in
the church, and in the world.
Through
the Holy Spirit you
and I
are
given
the blessing of discipleship,
the
ability to reach out to others,
and
to share the gospel.
Nicodemus’
question comes to mind again…
“How
can these things be?”
How?
“The
answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.”
The answer is blowing in the ruach.
The answer is blowing in the ruach.
