"Born Again?"

March 12, 2017 Readings Romans 4: 1-5, 13-17, John 3: 1-17, Psalm 121

If any character from the Bible can be regarded as representative of a twenty-first century church member, it is probably Nicodemus because he was considered a well-respected Layman.   In many ways he was sympathetic to the Jesus’ movement, His teachings and he was curious enough to meet with Jesus personally for conversation.   He was a successful self-confident Pharisee, who plays a leading layman’s role in the leadership of the Jewish religion.   Let us remember here that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and so this would lead Nicodemus to be open to consider anything Jesus might have to say around the resurrection.  He was curious enough that he makes an appointment to meet Jesus face to face.   It seems strange that Nicodemus arranges the meeting to be in the evening but we can see that he was not ready to announce a public meeting with Jesus.   He is a practical thinker and so he struggles with Jesus’ metaphor of being born again.  Nicodemus finds this metaphor difficult to comprehend because it isn’t logical.  He follows a faith that uses rules and laws that are rational, but we know today that Jesus illustrated best in parables, metaphors and the use of oxymorons.   A key note for us here might be this:  Nicodemus is a powerful Layman who is not prepared to accept Jesus into his personal life just yet.    For this reason may I suggest that he represents many modern day church goers, those who sit in the pews on Sunday mornings but are not ready either to let Jesus enter their lives on a daily basis, at least not yet.   

This being the Lenten season, a time of self-reflection and personal house cleaning, a question that comes to my mind is this:  Do I really trust Jesus, have I invited Him to come into my life as my mentor and guide or is my curiosity the true attraction as it was for Nicodemus. 

For two centuries most of mainline Protestantism has encourage this behavior and attitudes.  It is through no fault of our own that we have pushed religion into a private sphere, seeing faith as appropriate for family and personal morality, but inappropriate for public display.  Nicodemus  goes to visit Jesus late in the evening, because he is not ready to have his face to face encounter made public.  This is not to say that you shouldn’t at times be private about your faith folks, but may I suggest that keeping it this way, makes faith incomplete.   We are told by scripture not to hide our light but to put it out on a lamp stand for others to see.  There is strength in community and by sharing our faith together we will help guide others to Christ.    So then what about the “born again” statement made by Jesus, what is your perspective here, how do you understand being born again? 

One of the popular interpretations is this :  You must be a born again Christian to be saved and to enter the kingdom of heaven.   For many in the Christian church that has been a standard interpretation.  With this interpretation comes the urgency for some denominations to push the acceptance of being born again as the entry point to salvation, heaven and an eternal life.  The suggestion is:  if you are not born again, you are not saved and therefore you will be going somewhere else, certainly not to heaven.  This interpretation reads the text as a commandment issued by Jesus, but this is not the only interpretation offered from this passage.    There are Christians who do not hear this metaphor as a commandment from Jesus, they read it differently and hear it as an invitation for transformation.  In being awakened or transformed we will begin to “SEE”  the Kingdom of God which by the way Jesus also tells us is at hand. Meaning it is here.    There is good reason for this interpretation because in verse 3 of the text, it does not use the word enter, nor does it say heaven {read it from your bible folks!} I read it from the Good news now hear it from the NIV:    Jesus answered “I am telling you the truth: no one can SEE the Kingdom of God unless he is borne again”.  You should also take note here that the word heaven does not appear in the text either.   The King James version is worded exactly the same.  In fact this is one of those rare moments when all the different versions of the bible agree. 

 The word enter doesn’t show up until you get to verse 5:   “ I am telling you the truth”, replied Jesus.   “no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit.  No mention of heaven or hell in any of his statements.  Jesus continues in verse 6 saying :  “a person is born physically of human parents, but you are born spiritually of the spirit.   

Hearing Jesus’ words in this way, may for you as it did for me, change my understanding of the “born again” transformation.    My personal interpretation of the text is this:   That Jesus tells Nicodemus that there are two births one physical where you are aware of the fact that you are a child of human parents, and one Spiritual when you truly accept and recognize you are a child of the Creator, then you enter the Kingdom of God which by the way is not in the future but as Jesus claims the Kingdom is at hand.  I believe this spiritual re birth transforms and awakens you to the truth about the Kingdom of God, about Jesus and about who’s we really are.   I believe those who are born of the spirit begin to glow, a knowing of who their true parent really is.  This knowing gives you a clearer understanding of the wonder and preciousness of being one of Gods children.  In the Kingdom of God we remain a child until death.   In this Kingdom of God which is a mental construct not a physical destination we begin to really learn from our pain and mistakes.  Even as the storms of life continue to rage all around us we begin to feel and understand just what the peace that passes all understanding is.  With gratitude filling our hearts we see that true joy does not require happiness nor can we rely on our human love to see us through.   God is now always at our side, in our hearts and on our minds guiding and mentoring us as true a parent should.  Because we are spiritually reborn we know this to be the truth, and we know that Jesus is the way to this Kingdom.    All who enter finely know the Triennial God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit and know themselves as a Child of their creation.   The metaphor is surprising provocative because it seems irrational to Nicodemus and to many of us.    This cannot really happen physically and Nicodemus give voice to that reality in the text.  In this sense the invitation to a physical rebirth is literally impossible, but in the form of a metaphor it can open up our imaginations to reconsider our relationship with God which is central to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.    During the 40 days of lent it can be your opportunity to be born again folks, which in turn allows the Spirit to be awakened in your life.    This rebirth of the Spirit makes us aware of the truth about our world, about ourselves and about God, our only real parent.