This week, we have another scripture
lesson from the Gospel of John. Oddly,
our lectionary reading for the day starts in the middle of a conversation Jesus
was having with the Pharisee Nicodemus.
You may recall the setting of the
encounter. Nicodemus was a well-known
Pharisee – Pharisees were scholars and teachers of the Jewish law and
scripture. Nicodemus was also a member
of the Jewish ruling council. So, he was
a well-respected scholar, teacher, and leader of the Jewish people.
Nicodemus was curious about
Jesus. But, he was a recognizable public
official. So, instead of having a
conversation with Jesus during the day out in the open, Nicodemus came and
spoke to Jesus in the middle of the night.
Nicodemus did not want everyone to know he was curious about Jesus and
his message.
Nicodemus had lots of questions for
Jesus. We are not going to cover the
entire conversation today, but I recommend that everyone take a look at the
third chapter of John this week and read Nicodemus’ questions and how Jesus
answered him. Listen now to a portion of
their encounter as it is written about in John, chapter 3, verses 14 through
21:
Scripture Reading John 3:14-21
Jesus said:
14 Just
as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be
lifted up,
15 that
everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
16 For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life.
17 For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save
the world through him.
18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands
condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and
only Son.
19 This
is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone
who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that
their deeds will be exposed.
21 But
whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly
that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Here ends this reading of the word of God
for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Understanding
God of light and truth, send your Holy
Spirit to move in us and among us this day. Speak to us through the scriptures,
read and interpreted, so that they lead us to encounter your Living Word, Jesus
Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Message
No Matter What
Nicodemus wanted to know how Jesus fit
into the Jewish faith. Who was
Jesus? Was he sent by God? Was he the
messiah? Was he divine?
Nicodemus visited Jesus under the
cloak of darkness. He needed to have his answers, but he also didn’t want
anyone to know about his curiosity. He
was interested, but couldn’t be public about his seeking out Jesus.
We also struggle with some of the same
questions Nicodemus struggled with. Even
though many of us have been raised hearing that Jesus was the messiah and the
living part of God, hearing it and understanding it are two different things --
we still work to put it all together. It
is difficult for us to reconcile that Jesus came to the world as the messiah
but that didn’t protect him from his tragic death. It is often difficult for us to conceptualize
that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. And, we wonder, if Jesus was the human part
of God, why didn’t the divine part of God rescue him during his time of trial?
Our reading this morning contains a portion
of scripture that is considered the most
famous and best known verse from the New Testament: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life.” John 3:16…We see sports figures painting this scripture on their
eye blacks, and fans holding up this sign in the stands at stadiums, and people
have it tattooed on their bodies. But,
what does it mean and why is it important?
This one sentence, this one
statement of Jesus, summarizes God’s relationship with humanity and also
communicates how we are delivered from our sins. God’s love for humanity is so great God
allowed Jesus to die on the cross. Jesus
was too controversial to remain alive in the first century – he threatened the
Romans. He broke convention. His message
scared people and disrupted the shaky order that prevailed in Israel. Jesus
came with the message that God loves us and forgives our sins. And, through our belief in God, we receive
eternal life. For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.
This statement is about God’s
grace. Grace is more than a female given
name, like Grace Kelly or Grace Jones. Grace is more than the prayer we say before a
meal. Grace is more than the ability to
move beautifully like a figure skater or a ballerina. Grace is when we love someone even when they don’t
deserve it. God’s grace is the fact that
God continues to love us, care for us, and forgive us even though we don’t
deserve it. Grace is unmerited --- we
haven’t done anything to deserve it.
Grace means God forgives us and frees us from our sin. God loves us so much God allowed Jesus to
live on earth and die so that we would know, know deep in our bones, that God
loves us.
Jesus talked to Nicodemus under the
cover of darkness. But, in the end of
their conversation, Jesus talks about light.
Though Jesus, light has come into the world – the lightbulb moment has
occurred – the truth is exposed – Jesus came to enlighten people about the
nature of God – God is loving, supportive, and life-giving – God forgives us
when we mess up, even though that forgiveness is unmerited. God sees us plainly – we can’t hide our
actions, and thoughts, and feelings from God.
Yet, God loves and forgives us.
Jesus came to the world to save the
people of the world. And, it is our
responsibility to not be like Nicodemus was when he came to talk to Jesus. We are not supposed to be secret
Christians. We are called by God to be
open about who we are and the faith we proclaim. The message of the gospel is too important to
keep under wraps: God loves us, God forgives us, God gives us salvation, and
God wants us to live lives where we spread love, forgiveness and compassion to
all other people. This is not something
to keep quiet about, but we are to show our faith in our actions and share our
faith with our words. God loves us so
much God shared Jesus with us. And, in
response, we are invited to share the message with everyone we meet.
May it be so.
Amen.
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