March 5, 2023 Lent 2 St. Andrew Church Rev. Anne McAnelly
First Lesson: Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore.
Second Lesson: John 3:1-17
3 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 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 unless God is with that person.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 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?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 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.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
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. 17 “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.
Very often when I meet someone, they start to tell me about their spouse or significant other. When they do there is a pride in that relationship, or they share an admirable action. That happened not long ago when someone who is not much of a cook, had committed to bring a quiche to a gathering. She was thrilled to come home from an afternoon of activities with the kids to discover that her spouse had made the quiche out the goodness of his heart, and he was not even invited to this event. In passing I said “He is a keeper,” acknowledging the kindness expressed in his action which speaks well of the partnership quality in their relationship. I learned that phrase from a couple in Tennessee, when they would celebrate the things or people in their lives for which they were grateful. It might have been a long-standing relationship or a new endeavor, but when you celebrate someone special, it helps to reinforce something good in their lives.
But there is also a big difference between having and keeping. For instance, I might have a favorite sweater; it is a possession I own. But when something is very valuable to you, it a keeper. When I had my dog Cal, he was certainly a keeper. Cal was more than a possession; he was part of the family, and we all loved him. I cared for Cal because he was dear to me. I watched over him not for my sake, but for his. I protected him from harm, because if he suffered, it hurt me too.
Our Psalmist speaks of keeping as well. As a matter of fact, six time in these short 8 verses. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is your Keeper.” God is the one doing the keeping. Think about that for a moment, God keeps you. God sees you are valuable, God protects you. God says about us, “You are a keeper.” And what that means is that God will protect you, keep you from evil, and care for you. God’s keeping is not something that is on again, off again. God’s keeping is constant. God will keep you and not slumber, God will keep your going and coming from this time on and forever more.
But how does the psalm start? With a plea for help; looking to the hills searching for support. God of course is the source of help. Because God does not merely have us, God keeps us. We are God’s beloved, and immeasurably dear to God. We are not merely possessions in the eyes of the Lord, because if we suffer, it hurts God too. So God wants to help us, care for us, protect us. But very often we don’t seek God’s help because we are so self-sufficient we go about our business with little thought of God’s protection. It is only when we are faced with struggle and hardship, that we recognize our powerlessness do we finally embrace God’s power and keeping.
In our gospel lesson Nicodemus recognized Jesus’ power as God’s power when he said, “Rabbi, we know you come from God; for no one can do these signs apart from the presence of God.” Nicodemus sees God’s power, but I can’t help but wonder if he has gone through his own struggle of late. For this Jewish leader came to Jesus by night, in the cover of darkness. He did so either to not be identified or it was symbolic of the darkness he lives in without the light of Christ. Throughout their dialogue Nicodemus seems to live in darkness, not understanding Jesus’ words. And so, Jesus tells him if he wants to see the kingdom of God he must be born from above. Jesus never said you must be born again, and yet I think many of us hear that when we read this passage, because of the modern connotations that phrase brings.
This week while in Orange County, I saw the movie Jesus Revolution, the story of Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel and the Jesus movement. It was quite good. I encourage you to see it. It traces the beginnings of our modern understanding of being born again, within the last American spiritual awakening.
Here, Jesus tells us we are to be born from above, which is different from being born again. It is Nicodemus who asks if we are to be born again? Jesus then clarifies what it means being born from above as being born of water and Spirit. Water and Spirit reminds us of our own baptism and being claimed by God. But hear these words from the prophet Ezekiel, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses… A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you…I will put my spirit within you” (Ezek. 36:25-27). So, this idea of water and the spirit can be traced back to the Old Testament, but the transformation is very clear. We have a new spirit; we have God’s spirit. What a beautiful way of saying we are born from above. Our spirit becomes compatible with God’s spirit.
When we are born from above, we are not like we were before, we are a new creation, a person living in the newness of the spirit. I recently was speaking to a person with cancer and she has such an upbeat attitude as she faces so many treatment issues. I reminded her that renewal of the spirit is just as important as renewal of the body, and both of those are connected. But we all need renewal of the spirit at different the time in our lives; and not just refreshment, but God’s Spirit abiding in us.
Father Thomas Keating, a monk who was born in NYC and went on to start a movement on centering prayer, helps us to think about this idea of being born from above. He comes at it from a place of prayer, which if we are trying to be more connected to God’s Spirit makes a lot of sense. Keating wrote, “Contemplative prayer is the world in which God can do anything. To move into that realm is the greatest adventure. It is to be open to the Infinite and hence to infinite possibilities. Our private, self-made worlds come to an end; a new world appears within and around us and the impossible becomes an everyday experience. Yet the world that prayer reveals is barely noticeable in the ordinary course of events.
Christian life and growth are founded on faith in our own basic goodness, in the being that God has given us with its transcendent potential. This gift of being is our true Self. Through our consent by faith, Christ is born in us, and He and our true Self become one. Our awakening to the presence and action of the Spirit is the unfolding of Christ’s resurrection in us.” (Open Mind, Open Heart, Thomas Keating)
I love that quote. First, we see the infinite possibilities as we are shaped by God’s Spirit. Being born from above is not something to shy away from, but the paradise promised to people of faith. You and I do not have to remain trapped in the ordinariness of life but can abide in God’s Spirit and embark on the adventure.
But then Keating breaks this wide open, with the meeting of true self- who God created us to be with Christ who is born in us. How powerful is that. It is not that we have to become someone else, or who someone tells us to be. NO. We become who we truly are as Christ is born in us.
Our faith makes this possible.
God’s infinite power makes this possible.
Belief in the resurrection in us makes this happen.
Soon it will be resurrection day, and my prayer for you is that you will be born from above as Christ is resurrected in you.
Thinking about a symbol for this idea, of being born from above- ultimately the image of a cradle came to mind. Not a cradle so we can go back in our mother’s womb like Nicodemus asks, but so that we can be swaddled in God’s spirit and love, willing to grow and learn in faith, experiencing all that God wants to show us, just like an infant. With the goal to live more and more into one’s true self, with Christ being born in us. And those two ideas, your true self and being born from above, become one in faith.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.” How different that passage sounds now. God’s keeping and God’s love through Christ’s spirit in us is exactly how God loves the world, so very much. God is keeping you and God wants all the best for you as you grow into the person God calls you to be. That is how God loves you. But I think we struggle with truly accepting God’s love and that God keeps us, so how in the world can we trust in eternal life. Let us have this Sunday in Lent be the one we know God’s love as enveloping and as nurturing as a mother holds her baby before laying him in the cradle. Let us trust that God has all of our backs as God is keeping you and protecting you. So, when we get to Resurrection Sunday, we have confidence in our eternal life. Jesus- God with us -was born into a cradle in Bethlehem and by the power of the spirit is abiding in us; we are born from above. Embrace God’s love, for in God’s eyes, you are a keeper!
Let us Pray: God you are love. You loved the world into creation, and you loved us into being. But your love became so real when you love us through your precious Son. Christ brought us out of the darkness and into the light of your salvation. Make it possible for us to be born from above abiding in your spirit and becoming one with Christ. This we ask in his holy name. Amen.
