07-jun-09

Freely Given The Rev. Joseph Winston June 7, 2009

Sermon Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1 In this current economic reality that we find ourselves in, it is very easy to be concerned about what the future will bring. We all know individuals directly affected by this global slowdown. Jobs are hard to find. Last week the government reported that unemployment in the United States was at its highest level in twentysix years. No one needed to tell us this disappointing fact. We can fill you in on all the details about the job searches of our friends and family that have dragged on for months. The same story holds for almost all of the temporary summer jobs normally held by teenagers. These jobs have all but disappeared. Now, what are they going to do? The tremendous downturn in the markets has dropped the values in our retirement plans, whether they are an investment strategy like a 401(k) or 1

Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

1

that piece of property that we had hoped to sell so that we would be comfortable. All of that has changed. It seems as if everyone is planning to work a few more years before they call it quits. For most of us, that was not in the cards. We constantly see disturbing news outside of the world of economics. Our way of life that has lasted for generations in this part of the world is becoming different. When you look around, it appears that fewer and fewer families are farming. They are giving it up for many different reasons. The work is hard. Children no longer want to stay on the farm with Mom and Dad. Global competition is squeezing profits and the costs of running the business are up. The only real choice left is to sell. Once placed on the market, it appears that the big developers literally change the landscape by snapping up these properties. The former fields of cotton or corn are now strip malls or new subdivisions. If all goes as planned, the transformation near Beasley is just starting. Soon there will be an intermodal terminal with the thousands of new people. They all will need a place to stay, some place to shop, a school for their children, and houses of worship. How will we adapt? This trend of bad news is happening all around us. The tremendous decline of Lutherans in Texas is alarming since ethnic groups we normally associate as being Lutheran settled in this area of the country. Two weeks ago, St. Paul’s Lutheran in Galveston closed after begin on the island for sixty-one years. Last year, the church that I was serving in Liberty, Texas voted to disband. The year before that, Park Place Lutheran, a seventy year old church in Southeast Houston, shut their doors for the last time. Here in this place, we face similar struggles. Can we attract younger people to this church? Will we welcome people who are not like us? What 2

do we offer to the local community that they cannot get elsewhere? These are but a few of the questions that we must answer if we plan to be around in the future. Each of the earlier examples of things we fear shares the same root cause. We want to be in control of what is happening and we find it very distasteful when we are not. In the world of economics, we dislike it when a market moves against us since this action shows everyone that we do not have any power over the market. Rather, the world of commerce has authority over our wealth. The same argument holds with all the dramatic changes that we see all around us. We have almost no influence over what others do. If a farm is sold and it becomes a mall, a subdivision or a new business, we are practically powerless to stop any step in this process. Likewise, we are not directly responsible for what happens to the Lutheran Church in Texas. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. While we might like to believe otherwise, other people have suffered similar fates. They too have wanted to be in charge of their lives. We learn this from today’s Gospel lesson. We only have a few facts that describe Nicodemus to us. We know that he was a Pharisee trained in the written Scriptures along with the oral traditions of the faith (John 3:1, 7:50). It seems that his contemporaries held him in high regard because we also hear that Nicodemus is some sort of leader (John 3:1). Additionally, it appears that Nicodemus is very wealthy. Near the end of Gospel according to St. John, we discover that Nicodemus paid for the costly spices used to embalm Christ’s body (John 19:39). It is probably a safe bet to say that Nicodemus liked being in complete control 3

of his life. After all, he was well education and he knew the law. This background gave him the social standing that others lacked. With this prestige, come all the opportunities to have things done your way. Most importantly, he was a rich man. He could afford servants and slaves. This was the common way of living at this time. He might have these people doing his every beck and call. Today’s Gospel lesson offers us yet another clue on how controlling Nicodemus really is. Rather than just accidentally running into Jesus some day on the street and striking up a conversation or taking advantage of a chance encounter that might occur in the temple to discuss the law, Nicodemus deliberately plans a meeting with Jesus. We know that Nicodemus sets the time. It is at night. We can guess that he also set the location. This same trend of wanting to be in control continues throughout today’s lesson. There with Jesus, Nicodemus has the first word (John 3:2). “Rabbi, we have perceived that you have come from God. For no one is able to teach these signs, which you are doing, if God is not with him (John 3:2 author’s translation).” Interestingly, Jesus has done only two “signs” (σημεῖα) so far in the Gospel according to St. John. The fist one is when He changes water into wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11). The second one is when He casts out the moneychangers from the temple (John 2:13-16). So, what signs are Nicodemus referring to? Would you be willing to bet that Nicodemus wants to get in on the wine business with Jesus and make a bit of money? Jesus now turns the tables on Nicodemus by telling Nicodemus that he is not 4

in control of what God does or does not do. Jesus says, “If one is not born from above, then he is not able to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3 author’s translation).”2 The key phrase here is “born from above.” Only God can give us this type of birth. Nicodemus just cannot grasp the fact that he has no power over God, so he asks Jesus a question that only makes sense when you understand how much Nicodemus wants to be in charge. He demands, “How is an old man able to enter into his mother’s womb a second time to be born (John 3:4 author’s translation)?” Once again, Nicodemus wants to be in complete control. He wants to tell his mother to give him a second birth. Maybe at this point we can cut Nicodemus some slack. The Greek word translated as “from above” (ἄνωθεν) can either mean either “from the top” or “again.” From what happens in this lesson, the correct translation is “from above.” However, that is not what Nicodemus thinks the word means. He believes that Jesus is talking about “again.” That is why Nicodemus asked about being born a second time. This is just another example of Nicodemus wanting to be in control. If Nicodemus was confused, then he could of asked Jesus what the word meant. But Nicodemus did not. Jesus tries again to explain to Nicodemus that he is not in control. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “If one is not born out of water and Spirit, then one is not able to 2

Note that the phrase kingdom of God (βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ) is only used in John 3:3 and 3:5. The only other use of kingdom (βασιλεία) is twice in John 18:36.

5

enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:4 author’s translation).” Both the water and the Spirit come from God. The Gospel according to St. John makes this clear. At Jacob’s well, Jesus asked the woman from Samaria for a drink of water (John 4:4-7). Instead of giving Jesus a drink of water, she tells Him that Jews do not interact with Samaritans (John 4:9). Jesus replies that if she only knew who He was, she would ask Him for living water (John 4:10). Jesus himself is the water (John 4:13-14; John 7:38). The Holy Spirit is also a gift from Jesus since the Spirit is what Jesus gives at baptism (John 1:33b). Jesus continues teaching Nicodemus, “That born out of the flesh is flesh, and that born out of the Spirit is Spirit (John 3:5 author’s translation).” Here Jesus is telling Nicodemus that bodies without the Spirit of God are nothing more than flesh. They live and then they die. Those people who have been given the Spirit are children of God. They will live forever. Jesus then notices the confused look on Nicodemus’ face and tells him, “You should not be amazed that I said to all of you, ‘It is necessary to be born from again.’ (John 3:7 author’s translation).” In this passage, Jesus is speaking to all of us that doubt that God is in control. This second birth is given to us by God. There is nothing that we can do to earn it. Finally, to drive the point home that Nicodemus is not in control, Jesus says, “The wind blows where it goes, and the sound of it you hear, but you do not perceive which place it is coming from and where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8 author’s translation).” Just like we cannot control the wind, we cannot make the Spirit do our bidding. God comes to us and 6

makes us His own. We are all like Nicodemus. We want to be in control. We want to adjust the market so that we make money. We want the world to move at our pace so that we remain happy. We want everything to stay the same so that we are comfortable. And if we had our way, we would want God to do our every bidding. That is what we all want. It should be readily apparent from Today’s Gospel lesson that God does not work in this way. We cannot work a bit harder and please God. We cannot impress God with what we have. We cannot purchase our life from God. What actually happens is so amazing that we have to call it the Good News. Without any work on our part, God loves us. Everyone is precious in God’s sight. God freely gives our entire existence. That is why we deeply love this passage from the author of John, “For God thus loves the cosmos. His only born Son He gives that all the believers in Him should not perish, but may have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the cosmos for judging the cosmos, but in order that the cosmos may be saved through Him (John 3:16-17 author’s translation).” For almost seven hundred years, the Church has set aside the first Sunday after Pentecost as the day on which we teach about the Trinity. Today it is important for us to recall the key aspect of the Trinity: the love that gives without cost. All the members of the Trinity come to us and give us things that we do not deserve. The Holy Spirit comes to us and tells each of us about the Son who gave up His life so that we could live. No one here is worthy of this gift. Nevertheless, 7

the Spirit continues to brings it to us. The Son comes to us at this Table and gives us His body and blood so that our sins are forgiven. No one earned this privilege. Despite this fact, Jesus always shows up. The Son then leads us to the Father who always sustains creation. We are not worthy of such care and devotion. That does not stop the Father. He sent His Only Son and His Spirit to each of us. Round and round like a never ending dance, the Trinity comes to you and I. The Spirit brings our prayers to the Father’s throne. The Son walks with us throughout our lives. The Father keeps everything going for another day. We have no right to this kind of care, but it is what the Trinity does for us. God has given us everything. If we are completely honest with ourselves, we know that we are not in control. We see this every day of our lives. Our investments do not work out as planned. Our world changes in ways that we do not like. Our church must adapt God’s unchanging message to the constantly changing world. Our lack of control often causes us to be afraid of what might happen to us so we try all the harder to make it work out. If I spend a bit more time at work, then I will be able to cover the bills. If I can convince my neighbor not to sell, then the neighborhood will not change. If I can keep everything the same in the church, then we will be all right. This attitude is dangerous because when we focus on controlling everything, we turn away from our neighbors and God. This is a recipe for destruction. Contrast the way that we live with the love of the Trinity for the entire universe. God who could control every bit of creation does not. Instead of acting this way, 8

the Trinity gives everything away. We are given a place to live, eternal life, and constant communion with God. We were created in this image. God gives it all away. So should we. “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”3

3

Philippians 4:7.

9