A Living Faith, Lent 2, March 12, 2017

Second Sunday of Lent (Year A)

Sunday, March 12, 2017

A faith that is simply a set of ideas does not lead us to new birth. It does not change our very lives and give us a new way of seeing or a God’s-reign way of being – which may be why Christians are so often accused of being hypocrites. The faith of Abraham that Paul calls us to experience, the faith that leads to new birth, which Jesus offered to Nicodemus, is a transforming encounter with a God who leads us into a whole new world – the world of God’s reign, where children are the leaders, the meek inherit the earth, and the poor, the mourners and the peace makers are the recipients of God’s presence and grace. Once we have embraced this faith, we cannot help but begin to live this new life in such a way that it makes a difference in our families, our places of work and leisure, our communities and our churches.

– John van de Laar

Theme: A Living Faith

Reflection:  Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?” John 3:9-10 (NRSV)

Sometimes I think John’s gospel makes Nicodemus look foolish. Here he is, a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews, and he comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness, to see what this Rabbi is all about. And this story makes him appear a bit slow on the uptake.

Let’s set the scene – this is very early in the fourth Gospel. Jesus has been baptized by John, who testifies about the Spirit descending on Jesus, the Almighty naming him “My Son, My Beloved.” Jesus has called some disciples, who immediately leave their nets and go with him.

In the book of John, Jesus’ first sign is turning water to wine at the wedding in Cana. Then, he overturns the moneychangers’ tables in the temple. This Jesus quickly is causing a stir. It’s not surprising that Nicodemus is curious – but he doesn’t want to be identified as a follower. So, he goes to ask Jesus some questions … at night.

Nicodemus hopes to gain Jesus’ trust, so he says he knows Jesus is a teacher from God because of his signs.

That’s not how it works, Jesus says. It’s not about recognizing the miraculous. To see the Kingdom of God, one must be born anew. Jesus didn’t mean that literally, but Nicodemus presses him: “I need to go back to the womb?” Jesus clarifies – “being born of water and Spirit.”

Can’t you just see Nicodemus fighting to really understand this? “How can these things be? ”he asks, exasperated. Eventually, it’s just Jesus talking – Nicodemus must have wandered back into the shadows, shaking his head, trying to decide what to make of this.

The Gospels and the rest of the New Testament are filled with many dramatic signs and encounters that lead people to Jesus instantaneously: God asking Abram to leave his land and extended family to become the father of a great nation, the disciples setting aside their trade to follow Jesus, the woman at the well, the thief on the cross, Christian-persecuting Saul who becomes Paul, the 3,000 new followers on the day of Pentecost. I could keep going…

Nicodemus’ story isn’t like that. We run into Nicodemus a little later in John’s gospel, speaking up for a fair trial for Jesus. Then, we hear his name one final time when he joins Joseph of Arimathea, taking Jesus’ body down from the cross to bury him.

Three years – from the beginning of John’s Gospel to Jesus’ death on a cross. That’s Nicodemus’ progression from curiosity to discipleship. That makes Nicodemus –

• Slow to catch on?
•  Stuck in his Pharisee ways?
•  A fence-sitter?
•  Scared to name Jesus as Savior?

Or maybe … just maybe, Nicodemus is the faith model for the rest of us. The rest of us … who had no dramatic conversion episode. Those of us who stepped away from church for a few years …. or perhaps decades. Those with life experiences that made us question our faith. Those who still ask “How can these things be?”

Jesus said: “Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind – the Spirit – 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.”

“The Spirit blows where it chooses.” Sometimes the Spirit arrives as a microburst – that would be a powerfully disruptive storm that explosively brings people to faith. More often, the Spirit’s wind is a gentle breeze, spreading faith seeds that take time to grow and mature.  A surge here, a season of uncertainty there. It’s an honest and healthy faith that can ask “How can these things be?”

Faith is a verb – it grows and deepens. And sometimes it doubts.

It’s no surprise to me that Jesus followed Nicodemus’ confused “How can these things be?” with the most reassuring verse in the Bible:

“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.” John 3:16 (NRSV)

EVERYONE who believes. Not just everyone who comes to faith immediately. Not just everyone who has never had a life situation stir up some doubts. Not just everyone who has never honestly asked “How can these things be?”

EVERYONE who believes. The Spirit’s microburst-blown believers and those coming to faith on the Spirit’s gentle breezes too. EVERYONE who believes.

Faith App: Don’t let your doubts live in the darkness. Consider joining a Bible or book study where honesty and healthy discussions about faith questions are welcome. Can’t find one? Maybe you should start one!

HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS

God Loved the World   ELW 323

Oh, Love, How Deep, ELW 322

O Living Breath of God, ELW 407

The God of Abraham Praise, ELW 831

Borning Cry, ELW 732

Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways, ELW 772

Lift High the Cross, ELW 660

Shoulders, For King and Country

Always, Passion featuring Kristian Stanfill

I Will Lift My Eyes, Bebo Norman

We Believe, Newsboys

LESSONS

Genesis 12:1-4a The Lord told Abram, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you.”

Psalm 121 I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come?

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

John 3:1-17 The Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 

Summary of the Lessons: Faith is a verb. Faith isn’t an unquestioned belief in a theology, creed, or in signs and miracles. We receive faith as a gift, and with exercise, becomes faith in action, Spirit-filled and life-giving. 

OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 121

L:  When I’m in trouble, I look to the mountains,

C:  But my help isn’t there – my help comes from God,

L:  Maker of heavens and earth, including the mountains;

C: In the peaks and valleys of life, God is my strength.

L:  When you feel you’re sliding into danger,

C:  God will hold you up, keep you on firm ground;

L:  By day or night, God is ever present and watchful,

C:  Never falls asleep or turns away from those in need.

L:  When your hope is overwhelmed by this world’s evil,

C:  Remind yourself, God protects you from all harm,

L:  Defending you in your home, and as you do your work,

C:  You can trust in the one who never leaves your side.

CONFESSION

L:  Lord, we confess how we prefer the familiar things;

C:  We cling to what we know, even when it isn’t working.

L:  We prevent your Spirit from sending us in new directions –

C:  Forgive us, Lord, for our lack of trust when you guide us.

L:  Lord, we confess we don’t see a great nation among us;

C:  We’re satisfied with the church family we already know.

L:  We ignore your Spirit blowing us to new disciples –

C:  Forgive us, Lord, for not blessing the world with good news.

L:  Lord, we confess we overlook the gifts within your people;

C:  We condemn people before we know or understand them.

L:  We reject your Spirit leading us through new voices –

C:  Forgive us, Lord, for neglecting the new life in our midst.

(Silent reflection)

L:  In our confession, we pray together,

C:  Most Merciful God … we pray that you would give us faith that is more than a creed, but a relationship that directs every decision we make. Forgive us, we pray, when we confess our faith inside this building, then fail to act like you are guiding us in our homes, our work and our community. Lord, remind us to go where you send us, to work with the people you give us, in the direction your Spirit leads us, for the sake of your kingdom.

Hear this Good News:  We believe in a loving Creator, a God who loved everything and everyone on this Earth so much that God chose to become human and live among us. By the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, we believe that we are freed from our sin and will have everlasting life. Stop to take that in for a moment, that you are loved SO much. THAT IS Good News!

In the name of…

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L:  We pray together, 

C:  God of New Life … we pray that that you would bless us with faith– not by repeated words we speak or miraculous deeds that we’ve read about – but Spirit-born faith that grows as we walk with you. Renew our hearts, Lord, so we feel your Spirit’s direction and believe you are close at hand in every moment. Let our faithful actions be a sign that leads others to you.  Amen.

COMMUNION BLESSING

L:  We pray together,

C:  We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the seeds of faith in this bread, the Spirit’s movement in this cup.  Send us out with an ever-deepening trust in you, so that, reassured in God’s love for us, we can proclaim your promise of everlasting life to everyone who believes in you. Amen. 

SENDING

L:  A living faith asks “How can these things be?”

C:  But faith doesn’t require knowing the answers. 

L:  Step boldly into the light of God’s promises;

C:  Believe fearlessly in God’s love that endures.

L:  Go now, blessed and Spirit-blown, to love and to serve the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God!

First Reading Genesis 12:1-4 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Today’s first lesson introduces us to Abram, who later will be renamed Abraham and become the father of not one, but three faiths. But today, Abram, who has land and livestock, is presented with a choice – keep it, or respond in faith to a new calling.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Second Reading Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: For the new Christians of Rome, Abraham was the very model of a man set right with God. Paul reminds the new believers that Abraham’s status as father to a new nation wasn’t because he followed the law – the law wasn’t given yet!

What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Gospel John 3:1-17 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to Jesus at night, to avoid being seen, to ask Jesus some questions. Nicodemus will step into the light later in the gospel of Matthew, on Good Friday, when he helps Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus to the tomb.

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 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 apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 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?” Jesus answered, “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. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 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.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

“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. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And 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.

“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.

“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.