Pastor's Experience

Do you like questions? It seems kind of like an odd question to ask, but important because some people like questions and some people don't. I happen to love questions. I like being asked questions so that I can share more about my life, think deeper about a particular topic, or offer a solution or suggestion to a problem. I also love asking other people questions, I think it is one of the best ways we can grow. But I have to say, I think some of my favorite questions I have ever been asked are on Sunday mornings, because there is such a great variety.

I never know what I am going to be asked on a Sunday morning.

One of the most common questions I get is "Pastor, why is it so cold in the sanctuary?" Another common one is "Why do we keep this church so hot? I'm melting in here!" I often get asked where the restrooms are located.

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"Why don't we sing more hymns that we all know?" "Why do we always sing the same hymns?"

Probably the most frequent question I get is "Can we schedule a time to meet sometime soon?" And, I have to say, this is my favorite question to be asked on a Sunday morning. Because in that meeting, we get the opportunity to ask more questions, questions about life, and brokenness, and forgiveness, and grace. Questions about God's love. The questions that happen in these meetings are my favorite questions, but they are often the hardest to ask.

When we ask these questions, we put ourselves in a vulnerable place. In order to ask these questions, we have to admit that we don't know as much as we would like to think or believe or that we want others to believe. There is a certain type of humility involved in asking these deep questions. Perhaps, this is why our scripture for today happens under the cover of darkness.

Nicodemus, a pharisee, comes to Jesus in the dark. Now, a pharisee is someone who is large and in charge! Pharisees were considered some of the holiest and best people in the country. They are members of the ruling class and leaders among the Sanhedrin. Pharisees also pledged to spend their lives observing every detail of the scribal law. They believed the law contained everything you needed to know to live a righteous and Godly life. The law contained all the answers to all the questions they would have.

And then we have Jesus. I like to think one of Jesus' favorite past times was making the pharisees mad and breaking their laws. Jesus was not only living an unrighteous life himself, but he was leading 100s of people astray. We know that eventually these religious leaders would eventually plot Jesus' death, but Nicodemus, Nicodemus was different somehow. Even though Nicodemus was so successful and powerful, he was not satisfied with what his life had become. Nicodemus years for something more, so he comes to Jesus in the darkness. In the darkness of his own life, searching for something that all the worldly success in the world can't give him.

Jesus, then, offers Nicodemus something much greater than anything the world could offer, and it is something much greater than anything the world could give us. Jesus offers Nicodemus a new life, Jesus tells him he must be born again.

MORE ON BORN AGAIN! IMPORTANT CONCEPT

What I find interesting is Nicodemus didn't question Jesus on this point, he didn't question is this something I want, is this something I need? But instead Nicodemus questioned was the possibility of being born again. He asked, "How can this be?" Nicodemus questions Jesus.

Now, I don't want you to miss the irony here Nicodemus, the pharisee, the one who should know all the answers to all the questions because he has studied the law and he is powerful and educated, is the one asking "How can this be?". And Nicodemus isn't asking another Pharisee, but he is asking Jesus the rebel, the one who breaks the laws for fun. And Jesus doesn't miss the irony at all! In fact, he points it out and says to Nicodemus, "are you a teacher of Israel? Shouldn't you know the answers?" I can almost see Jesus grinning and winking at Nicodemus as he is asking these questions.

And to be honest, I can almost sense that same look, those same questions, pointed at me, at us. With all of our science and technology. Our rational thought and reason. Our Wikipedia and google. I can see Jesus winking and grinning at us when we come to a big question in our lives. The ones we would rather not deal with or talk about The ones about faith, life, brokenness, forgiveness, hope, grace, and love. The ones that put us in a vulnerable place. The ones we google and can't find an answer for. I can see Jesus smirking at us as we try to find the answers, saying "do you not know the answer?"

Jesus offered Nicodemus something that was much greater than anything the world could give him. It is something much greater than anything the world could give us. God's love. God's love isn't a choice for the world. "God just goes ahead and loves, and not only loves but gives the world God's only beloved Son over to death·God's love surprising, all encompassing, unasked for and undeserved is also given unconditionally. God loves us, that is, whether we like it or not." In this, God's judgement is revealed. God loves whether we run from God screaming or embrace and accept the love of God. God loves this world, even the God-hating world that crucified God's son. God loves this world.

I have to admit, the lectionary reading for today was supposed to stop at verse 17. We were supposed to end on the beautiful, happy note of, "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." But the following verses are what really spoke to me. They read, "Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hat the light and do not come to the light so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

I couldn't end on the positive note. I couldn't rest in the comfort of the idea that everyone who has eternal life will not perish and just leave it there. Friends, I believe if the scripture reading stopped here, I would be sending the message that being born again and saved for eternal life is simply done by saying the right words. This call to be born from above is reduced to saying we are disciples of Jesus Christ. And this is true, we are assured the salvation of Jesus Christ by being born again with these words, but I believe there is so much more. I believe the message to Nicodemus is so much more than words of assurance because we can say we believe in Jesus in the full light of day but commit evil deeds under the shadow of the night.

Jesus asks for more than that from us. We must be born again. Jesus suggests that believing in him is less about what we say, and more about what we do. Believing cannot be separated from doing. It is one thing to say we are Christians, but it is another thing to live as disciples of Jesus Christ. Have we really made this change in our lives, our hearts, our souls?

Friends, you and I, we stand at the end of a long line of human beings whose history is one of being aggressive to the point of ruthlessness. Our ancestors of this nation took land from indigenous people and broke so many treaties we made with them. Others took people by force from Africa, enslaved them for generations, and later went to war to uphold their right to treat human beings as property.

We the people are using up the natural resources in this land and around the globe at an alarming and destructive rate: cutting down trees that clean our air and protect the surface of the planet; polluting the soil and water that sustains all life on Earth; and taking the life out of the earth's veins to burn it up to power our extravagant lifestyles. All of which pollute and destroy the atmosphere we must have in order to survive. We have bullied our neighbors to the north and to the south, paid off corrupt leaders in every part of the world, and made deals to get others to do our dirty work. Our own United Methodist Church, instead of being the House of God working to bring in God's kingdom, has given into marketplace values and grown to represent not the oppressed of our world, but the status quo.

What I must confess is that while I have agreeded to being born again in Christ with my lips, I have yet to come out of the shadows of night and stop my evil deeds. I drive a car, fly around the country, and live a lifestyle of luxury when compared t the lives of the majority of people on this planet, all while being fully aware that maintaining it comes at a great cost to others. I choose to remain in this denomination as one of tis pastors, and in doing so, knowingly and willingly participate I a system tainted by sin and oppression.

And I have to believe that what I say of the United Methodist Church goes for other denominations. What I say of my own country can be said of other countries. What I have said of myself is true of others. Nobody is pure. I am corrupt. My nation is corrupt. My church is corrupt. The WORLD is corrupt. But God loves this world. "God so loved the world he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

This is the good news. That God would not have us perish. God would have every one of us in eternal life. God did not send Christ to condemn the world, but to save it. God sent Christ to be lifted up before the eyes of the world, that all who believe are healed of the sin that infects us all. Only through Christ will we be born again.

We may not know all the answers. I am still trying to figure out why God loves the world in all of our brokenness. But we know that God loves us. We know the truth of God's love. And this truth can set us free. AMEN.