Holy Spirit Church St. John & St. Michael Num. 21:4-9 The Fourth Sunday of Lent Psalm 107:1-3,17-22 Year B Eph. 2:1-10 March 15, 2015 John 3:14-21

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1 Holy Spirit Church St. John & St. Michael Num. 21:4-9 The Fourth Sunday of Lent Psalm 107:1-3,17-22 Year B Eph. 2:1-10 March 15, 2015 John 3:14-21 Nicodemus Jesus said to Nicodemus, Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:16) He came to Jesus by night, this ruler of the Jews. A man respected in his own community, a teacher of the law. Perhaps he had heard him preach, perhaps he had merely heard about him, but Nicodemus was curious enough to leave his study of the law, which he did at night, to seek out and speak to Jesus. We know very little about Nicodemus he appears only in the Gospel of John and then, only three times. But his brief encounter with Jesus is the context for some of the most critical theological issues in John s gospel. He was an educated inquirer a teacher of Israel, who had studied and taught the Scriptures and the history of his people. He was a Pharisee the sect of Judaism which was considered more progressive - believers in the resurrection of the dead - but concerned with the holiness of the community and its purity laws. He was referred to as a ruler probably a member of the Sanhedrin the religious council and court led by the High Priest which made determinations on behalf of the Israelite community. And, perhaps most importantly for us, he was a seeker someone who wanted to know more about Jesus. Nicodemus began his encounter with Jesus by establishing what he believed that Jesus was a holy man, come from God because of the signs he had either seen or heard about from others. The signs in this gospel were the miracles of Jesus, the initial one being the conversion of water to wine at the wedding in Cana, and others while he had been in Jerusalem for the Passover. So, from what Nicodemus had learned about Jesus, he had determined that he was truly a man of God. The Rev. Amanda May Page 1 of 5

2 But instead of engaging in an intellectual discourse, Jesus spoke directly to Nicodemus unspoken question tell me about God and his kingdom. Recognizing that at the heart of this faithful man was the longing to enjoy the companionship of God, Jesus speaks to him of the gift of the spirit and being born again. Immediately following this remarkable exchange was the witness of John s own community through the narrator, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen. Next comes the passage which we read this morning explaining the nature of God s love for his people, which begins with this extraordinary comparison: Jesus speaks of the time in the wilderness, when the Israelites had lost their faith in God when they had complained, saying to Moses: Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? God had sent a plague of fiery serpents (the Hebrew word is seraphim), and many had died from the poisonous bites. So Moses prayed to God to turn from his anger against his people, and was directed by God to put an image of the serpent on his rod, so that those who looked to the rod would be saved. Jesus then compares the rod that Moses lifted up over the people, to his own death on the cross, where he would be lifted up and those who looked to the cross would be saved. The lifting up in John s gospel included Jesus death, resurrection and ascension his return to the heavenly kingdom. As the Israelites were saved from death by the grace of God, so also would believers in Jesus. And John continues - with the explanation that we hold dear, and the promise so familiar to us that we can refer to it by chapter and verse that God loved the world and the people in it so much that he sent his own and only Son to bring them to eternal life - that is the life of the Spirit, life in the companionship of God. For John and his community, eternal life began here and now 1 and continued forever. It was the life of abundance promised by God, beginning with the belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior and resulting in the gift of the Spirit, and life with God forever. 1 Brown, Raymond, The Gospel According to John I-XII, The Anchor Bible, Vol. 29, pub. Doubleday, New York, 1966, AppendixI:6 eternal life p The Rev. Amanda May Page 2 of 5

3 Finally, Jesus reminds Nicodemus that he has not come to judge the world and to condemn humanity, but rather to save those who believe. Whether it is Jesus himself who is speaking at this point, or John, the message is clear. Jesus is the light who has come into the world, and those who believe - live in the light. But those who love evil, hate the light and turn away from the Savior. Each person by his/her life makes the choice to live in the light or to live in the darkness. We hear of Nicodemus only twice more in John s gospel once when he defends Jesus who is teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem at the Feast of the Tabernacles (7:45-51), and finally when he meets Joseph of Arimathea (another member of the Sanhedrin) to anoint Jesus body for burial (19:39-42). The gospel relates that Nicodemus brought with him a 100 pound mixture of myrrh and aloes the gift of a very wealthy man when you consider that 1 pound of oil was worth almost a year s wages to an ordinary person We know nothing further of Nicodemus from Scripture, but the early church recognized him as a saint, and believed him to have been martyred in the 1 st century. Also there is a wonderful story about Nicodemus, who is said to have carved a crucifix so clumsily that he left it in despair. While he slept an angel came and made the crucifix true both to the eye of the craftsman and the eye of the worshipper. The crucifix is now one of the treasures of the Cathedral in Lucca. 2 So what does the story of Nicodemus have to do with us today? What do we have to learn from this story which comes to us through the mists of time and the interpretation of John s community? This Sunday marks the halfway point in the Lenten season. In medieval times, it was known as Rose Sunday because the Pope sent a golden rose to illustrious Christian rulers as a sign of the coming of Easter. In Anglican churches with a more Anglo-Catholic background, the church is decorated with flowers and the vestments and hangings are rose colored. So for us today, as we remember Rose Sunday and look forward to Easter, perhaps we should reflect on those Lenten disciplines that we set for ourselves on Ash Wednesday. 2 Buttrick, George, Yale Lectures John Mark Ministries ( January 2003 The Rev. Amanda May Page 3 of 5

4 For many of us, Lent is about tasks fasting, praying, giving things up, taking things on but if we really think about it Lent should not be about tasks but about important relationships our relationship with God and our relationships with each other. Sometimes it s hard to know where to start but I think the story of Nicodemus can perhaps guide us this morning Nicodemus comes to Jesus seeking information, trying to understand who Jesus is and what he is about. But from the little we know from John s gospel, Nicodemus moves from looking for information to searching for a relationship - engaging with Jesus initially, then defending him publicly and finally attending to his burial with other followers. Nicodemus journey to faith starts with his mind, but quickly moves to his heart and spirit. So what about us? Where are we on this journey of faith? Are we still seeking information trying to understand just who this Jesus is? Sorting through the stories and the teachings and creating our own list of things we can and can t accept? Or, have we moved to be seekers of the heart? Are we trying to live as Christians setting tasks for ourselves which we hope will bring us closer to God? Trying to do the right things but without the relationship with God that is so central? Or are we now light seekers listening for God s voice, recognizing the cross and suffering in our own lives as part of that light, struggling against the temptations to be selfindulgent and self-absorbed, forgiving those who have hurt us, spending time with God, and losing a little more of ourselves each day in the beauty of God s holiness. Lent is a time for personal reflection on our relationship with God. A time to be part of a community of faith to pray, to meditate, to reflect, to study, to give to others. It is a time which calls us away from the darkness to face the Light away from the questions to face the Truth away from the paths of personal enlightenment to face the Way of the Cross It is a time to face what holds us back from God s forgiveness and love what holds us back from following Jesus what holds us back from the joy of a Spirit-filled life what holds us back? The Rev. Amanda May Page 4 of 5

5 Let us pray: And then you 3 We arrange our lives as best we can, to keep your holiness at bay, with our pieties, our doctrines, our liturgies, our moralities, our secret ideologies, safe, virtuous, settled. And then you you and your dreams, you and your visions, you and your purposes, you and your commands, you and our neighbors. We find your holiness not at bay, but probing, pervading, insisting, demanding. And we yield, sometimes gladly, sometimes resentfully, sometimes late or soon. We yield because you, beyond us, are our God. We are your creatures met by your holiness, by your holiness made our true selves. And we yield. Amen. 3 Brueggemann, Walter, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth, Fortress Press, 2003, And then you p. 3. The Rev. Amanda May Page 5 of 5

A2F Ashes to Fire, Year A With Jesus After Dark (John 3:1-17) 1

1 3/12/17 West Valley Church Michael O Neill A2F Ashes to Fire, Year A With Jesus After Dark (John 3:1-17) 1 How many of us have been able to use to the Ashes to Fire morning and evening meditations so