Sermon for Feb 17

Baseball is thought to be the great American sport. We have hotdogs, popcorn, fresh air, an afternoon out with the family, enjoying the leisure time that we have. Our national anthem is played and little league everywhere imagine that perhaps one day, they too may play for their favorite team. The joys of youth, family and sport come together and for a moment everything is so simple and so clear. Our values are defined, our unity as a country is complete. Some even believe our faith can be summarized here as well. If you’ve ever watched the game on TV, perhaps you have seen a sign like this one, with the words, John 3:16 on them. Some see a sign like this to be the ultimate evangelistic devise. Millions of people are watching at home, and, by holding up this sign, some may come to faith while watching this great American sport. And, they may. But, others will be confused wondering who this “John” is and what 316 has to do with anything?? It seems like a concise, simple answer to the question “who is Jesus and why is he important to me.” We could hear that our actions lead us to be “signed sealed and delivered” for God.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that John 3:16 is not a beautiful, well crafted verse. And I’m not suggesting that baseball isn’t a great sport. But I think it’s as easy to summarize our faith using one verse as it is to encompass our American values in a sport. At first glance, baseball may look like the all American game. Then, we remember the strikes, the steroids and other scandals that tarnish the sport. These signs may also at first glance seem like an easy answer, a way to understand Christianity in one sentence. It’s not a summary, it is only a start. We shouldn’t toss this verse, or even this sign to the side. But, we should consider if our faith, with all its complexity, beauty and God given love, be summarized in one verse. This passage is about the doubt, and misunderstanding felt by a believer and the patience and love shown to him by Jesus. It is an opportunity for each of us to consider the confusion we have felt regarding our faith. A chance to know that we are a part of God’s plan. That through the Holy Spirit, each of us can have a role in Christ’s great commission for the world. Perhaps the passage is telling us that following Christ significantly and irrevocably changes the people that we once were. That Christ must die for us to live and through Him we are freed from sin. That Jesus is a gift from God.

When Nicodemus asks how someone can be born when he is old, Christ says “that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.” Our lives are greatly changed as Christians. Consider the words that we speak when a new member is baptized: “By water and the Holy Spirit we are reborn children of God and made members of the church, the body of Christ….we grow in faith love and obedience to the will of God.” We are made members of the body of Christ. We are born of the spirit and belong to God. We CONTINUE to grow over time. Now, I challenge you to consider what this means. Before we jump to the all American Hallmark version, ask yourself what it truly means to be born of the spirit, to belong to God, rather than belonging to the flesh. Most of us will be fortunate enough to live our lives in a place where these ideals are broadcast of network television. Where we are free enough to hold signs like this one, proclaiming our faith. But what does it mean to be born of the spirit, and not born of the flesh?

After Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned for 5 years for leading a fight against a partied, he wrote about the struggles of those who wanted freedom. He said “this struggle is a national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live. During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if needed, it will be an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

That which was born of the flesh fought for segregation. That which was born of the flesh fought to separate, to tear down and to oppress people. That which was born of the flesh……was sin. It separates people from people. It separates individuals from God. But…..that which is born of the spirit liberates. That which is born of the spirit empowers. That which is born of the spirit calls each one of us to speak our faith in love, to be united with others to rally against the flesh, against sin.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD

We continue to see the complexities and the depths of these promises as we read. Later in the passage, Jesus makes reference to Moses, stating “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.” To understand this phrase, we’ll have to take a quick trip back to the Old Testament. Christ now illustrates, from Numbers 21, the nature of God’s plan of redemption. In the Old Testament, sin had caused God to punish the Israelites with serpents. God commanded Moses to make a brass serpent, so that when the sick looked to that serpent, they would be healed. This temporary fix helped the people of Israel for a time, and many people in Jesus’ time would be familiar with the phrase. However, Jesus explains that the Son of Man must be lifted up (on the cross) so that man bitten by the serpent of sin might have life eternal. It’s a promise of prophecy fulfilled. No longer must people rely on a brass serpent made by man to heal those who are afflicted. Instead, a savior, made of flesh and blood will be raised up in order to tear down sin and death. Through this promise, each and every one of us, is now flesh made spirit.

For GOD SO LOVED THAT WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY

We are given a huge task. To be born of the spirit rather than the past. To acknowledge that we are irrevocably changed through Christ, though it seems we constantly want to change back. That we are called to be of the spirit and not of the flesh, even though we live in a world filled with flesh, filled with sin. That we shouldn’t perish while we watch everything perish around us. This theology does not fit on a sign. This theology does not wrap itself up neatly, so we are signed sealed and delivered. But, even if we feel we are too far gone, that we aren’t worth saving, we hear this: “For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” The Jews believed that the Messiah would come to condemn the Gentiles (Amos 5:18–20). But, rather than condemnation, rather than tossing aside the flesh, God wanted to turn flesh into spirit. Christ told Nicodemus that God’s plan was to save the world. This changes the focus dramatically. Rather than coming to point out our sins, Jesus has come to relieve us from our sins.

We, as reborn children of God, do not confess our sins in order to remind ourselves we are condemned. We, as reborn children of God repent of our sins to remember that we have been saved. This flesh turned spirit; reborn community of believers has reached a new and deeper relationship with God. We can now rally against sin and death, against the flesh and continue to be reborn daily through Christ. We can celebrate the fact that we can hold these signs up, that we can proclaim our faith on national television and at our supper tables, that we can enjoy not only the freedoms given to us here on this earth, in this country, but we can enjoy the freedoms that can only be found in our eternal kingdom of heaven, united with God. While our faith may not be as simple and clear as joys of youth, family and sport found in a baseball game, we can, as the family of God, enjoy the flesh made spirit, resurrected salvation we receive as members of the body of Christ.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.

AMEN