Why
are you here Nicodemus? Why do you come
sneaking in under the cloak of darkness?
In the wee small hours when things plain and clear by daylight become
obscure and difficult to discern? Why do
you wait till we are tired: for our senses to be dulled, our defenses to be
down, and our wit to be slowed? Why do
you come when no one will see your face or hear your questions? When no one can identify you and say, “That’s
him, that’s the one who has seen the Lord.”
Don’t
shout it out too loud, Nicodemus. Don’t
bore your friends with stories of what it means for you to be here. Certainly don’t bother inviting them or
bringing them along with you. They might
find out about you. They might figure
you out that they don’t see you eye to eye.
You and your little heresy... that you believe, that you believe in
something more than your friends and family or co-workers say you should; that
you think the world can be different and you might have something to do with
changing it?
Why
are you here Nicodemus: Pharisee, leader of the Jews, teacher of Israel?
Oh
yes, you use all the right words: Rabbi, teacher, one who was sent by God. But why have you come? You sing the hymns; you say the prayers; you
stand up at the right moment and then sit down; you attend the feasts and put
your dollar in the plate; you have nice words to say to the people you meet
along the way. But why are you here?
Have
you come to see yet another miracle?
Were you filled with wonder when the water changed to wine? Does the selection of my words give you
chills and excite you? Do you want to
hear me speak of tomorrow or other things unknown? Were you amazed to see the lame walk, the
blind gain their sight, and demons flee from the possessed?
Do
you come to hear the choir sing? To see
the children giggle and play or hear some fancy preaching? Do you want to be entertained by interesting
stories or amused by beautiful music?
Well
listen up Nicodemus and I’ll tell you something important.
None
of it means anything, if you aren’t born from above.
No
don’t tell me you are already grown up and you can’t be born again, because
that’s not what I mean and you know it.
Of
course you are born in the body, but the Kingdom of God means something new,
something different, something changed.
The
Holy Spirit is like the wind. You don’t
know where it comes from, you don’t know where it is going, but you know it is
there.
Close
your eyes, Nicodemus, take a deep breath and you will know that it is there...
the Holy Spirit, in you waiting to be born, waiting to re-birth you!
You
don’t know where it comes from, you don’t know where it is going, but know that
it is there, willing you into a new creation.
The Holy Spirit, the image of God, the light of Christ is in you,
waiting to be born, waiting to re-birth you!
Did
you come to see another miracle, Nicodemus?
to witness another sign or wonder?
Did you come seeking to be entertained or amused? Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you
We
are not here to be entertained, we are here to be engaged by the Holy Spirit,
and that means to be changed:
- we are here to have our darkness changed into light
- we are here to have our despair changed into hope
- we are here to have our pain changed into comfort: our anger to forgiveness, our bitterness to joy, our resentment to acceptance, ignorance to knowledge, shame to pride, greed to compassion, alienation to love, lifelessness to passion
- We are here to be born from above and to be made new
No comments:
Post a Comment