John 3: Nicodemus
Abraham packed up his family and left the region, moving out in faith to where God was calling him to go. The story begins with a sense of adventure. We like to imagine Abraham as the wise man whose faith was resistant to doubt, who trusted God and obeyed God in all things. Abraham is in the faith hall of fame according to the Letter to the Hebrews. Faith in that text is defined as the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things unseen. We know that Abraham was not perfect, that he did things we would find unattractive, like telling his wife to pretend to be his sister to deceive Pharaoh, and sending Hagar and Ishmael out into the desert to die of starvation at the insistence of his wife, Sarah. We frown at his apparent willingness to sacrifice Isaac. Nevertheless, Abraham is one chosen by God for special purposes. I take this to mean that God does not require perfection, but honors our attempts to be faithful. It is interesting to contemplate what things we would take if we were moving as a family by donkey.
Nicodemus is also on a journey. As one of the members of the Sanhedrin Nicodemus was at least equivalent to a Bishop in the affairs of the church and very well informed about Jewish beliefs and customs. Whether Nicodemus came of his own initiative or was representative of the council we are not told. In any case, Nicodemus came to Jesus to ask some questions and learn more although I doubt that Nicodemus knew how to frame the questions to get at the things that tugged at his spirit. Symbolically Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, which means that Nicodemus did not yet believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Everyone in the region had heard about the miracles that Jesus did and how he taught with authority. Since the Sanhedrin was the Jewish power circle, a person like Jesus would likely have caused them some concern. Nevertheless, Nicodemus begins well enough, but frankly I think Jesus could have been a little more sensitive and conversant, if Jesus intended to inform and educate Nicodemus. Maybe, Jesus wanted to intrigue Nicodemus by giving him something more to think about. Here is the exchange:
Nicodemus, “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: “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
Nicodemus: “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus: “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.” Nicodemus: “How can these things be?”
Jesus: “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?”
It is as if the two men are speaking different languages. When dealing with the Gospel of John we should always be alert to multiple meanings and symbolic terms. Light and darkness, knowing and believing, searching and finding, pervade the gospel. Nicodemus comes by night searching for information but thinks he already knows everything of importance to his religious life.
How common a mistake this is for us. We think we know all that is necessary for our eternal future. We are those who have been baptized into the body of Christ. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We may be not so sure about things like virgin births and bodily resurrection but we stretch to accept these things even when we cannot explain them in scientific terms. We are good compassionate, generous, caring people. We know we are God’s adopted sons and daughters. I wonder if everyone who knows us can identify that truth.
Nicodemus too thought he knew God through the history of Israel, the covenant people. He knew the scriptures, the law and the prophetic history of Israel. He was an active member and leader among the Jews. He knew that good things come from God, so if Jesus is healing people and doing great things, he must be from God.
How often have we met fellow Christians of other denominations or even those within our own Episcopal Church who disagree about what is of God. Controversy today abounds about who is of God…the Episcopal News Service reported yesterday that some of the Primates will boycott Lambeth this year in protest against the ECUSA response to the Windsor document. The inhibited bishop is still invited but not Bishop Robinson of New Hampshire. Since Katherine Jefferts-Schori is the only female primate, one is left to wonder if it is the election of a woman to head the church in the US that is part of the protest movement. These and other disagreements have created an atmosphere of conflict and controversy in the Anglican Communion. Can the world see that we love one another in the midst of this? If we are all doing the works of God why are we in conflict?
The answer may be simply that none of us are entirely able to do all that God or Jesus would have us do day by day. We all think we know what God requires but we all fail to do it perfectly. The best we can do in this life is to be faithful. Being open to new truth, to God working a new way takes courage and faith. We may feel in the dark when other Christians ask us why the Episcopal Church is in such conflict. We may not know what the disagreements are really all about. We like Nicodemus come to Jesus by night – with some understanding of God but without a full understanding. Jesus challenges us to look beyond the physical world to the spiritual domain. Jesus invites us to be born from above, to have a new spirit of God through which we can see more clearly in the midst of our confusion.
Things happen that challenge our understanding of God. In church circles we talk about Christian formation because we know that all we need to know about God to be good Christians is not really learned in kindergarten. We should have learned to play nicely with others, to share our toys, and to treat others with consideration, kindness, and respect. As adults we might have a lot of more complex and difficult choices, about our jobs, our resource allocations, our ministry within the church and our mission beyond it in the larger world. We might struggle to see how to balance our time, talents, etc. In the whole journey of life, we are moving from God and back to God. Remember, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light!
Like Nicodemus we are on a journey of faith. We believe and we doubt. We know and we don’t know everything. We come to Jesus by night and our hearts are strangely warmed, we sense something more than we can put into words. We may not have full knowledge but we know in whom we put our trust.
At the end of John’s Gospel we see Nicodemus again. This time, he stands in full daylight before the Sanhedrin defending Jesus. It is Nicodemus who asked for the body of Jesus, to prepare it for burial. Nicodemus brought spices and with the help of Joseph of Armithea, they buried Jesus before sunset, the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath. So if you don’t know everything you want to know or need to know about God, take heart, Nicodemus is one of the Christian saints, remembered on Aug 3. There is also an extant Gospel of Nicodemus among the apocryphal gospels.
The journey that began with a conversation under the cover of night ended with a full testimony of faith and affirming action. We like Nicodemus need to remember that we walk by faith, often in the dark of unknowing, but God is faithful and will lead us into the light. We are pilgrims on a journey whose path is illuminated by Jesus, guided by the Spirit, all the way to the Father.