New lives
There was once a young minister who found a serious problem with his new congregation. During the services half of the congregation stood for the prayers and the other half remained seated, and each side shouted at the other, insisting that theirs was the true tradition. Nothing the minister did or said made any difference at all so finally in desperation he went to see the 99 year old retired minister who had been the first minister of that Church after it was founded.
He told the man all about the problems, ‘so tell me’ he pleaded, ‘was the tradition to stand during the prayers?’ ‘No’ replied the old minister. Relieved the young minister said, ‘so it was the tradition to sit down’.
‘No’ answered the old man. ‘Well, what we have is complete chaos’ said the young minister ! Half the people sit and shout and half stand and shout!’ ‘Ah’ said the old minister ‘that was the tradition!’
Tradition can be wonderful but it can also get in the way of all kinds of things – and today’s readings (Genesis 12:1-4a, Romans 4:1-5,13-17, John 3:1-17) talk about traditions that we may have as individuals, and they use the example of 3 men.
In Genesis we hear about Abraham or Abram as he was then. He hears God speaking to him and telling him to go from his country and his kindred and his father’s house to the land that God will show him – and from there he would become the ancestor of a great nation, from there he will be a blessing to all the families of the earth…
Abram was literally being called to take a step into the unknown – I wonder how many of us would have followed such a call ? I wonder how many of us are listening well enough to God to hear his call ? I wonder whether perhaps most of us wouldn’t just dismiss such a call as some sort of stupid idea which got into our heads…
Abram followed, had his name changed to Abraham, and despite the odds seeming to be stacked against him, he became the father of a great nation…
To receive the promises of God, Abraham had to step out in faith, journey into the unknown, trusting in God…
And then we heard from Paul, writing his letter to the Romans. This was another man whose name had been changed by God. Saul had become Paul, but it was not just a name change but a life change that he had experienced. He had gone from being a powerful, probably wealthy man to being a traveller – travelling wherever the gospel could be heard, and in that travelling he risked everything – money and power had already gone, but he also risked his freedom and even his life….
In this part of the letter to the Romans Paul writes about Abraham – a man who had clearly impressed him, not just based on the tradition of reverence given to Abraham, but based on the knowledge of what Abraham had given up in order to go where God was leading him…
Two men – Abraham and Paul, who lived a thousand years apart, but who, through their willingness to be completely transformed by God, were used powerfully by him…
And then we go back just a little bit in our gospel reading to Nicodemus. Just as Abraham and Paul had radically changed their lives to serve God, Nicodemus was asking what he needed to do…
Nicodemus was, like Paul, a powerful and influential man – a devout member of the leadership team at the Temple in Jerusalem and when he asked what he needed to do Jesus said to him ‘… no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above…’ Nicodemus didn’t understand but Jesus pushed that phrase…
Today many people, particularly in the Anglican tradition, get a little worried about the phrase ‘born again’ but that is what this means – Jesus is explaining that to follow him, to accept all of the promises God has made and wants to give, we must be ‘born from above’ or ‘born again’….
It’s easy to look at the great figures from the bible – people such as Paul and Abraham, and so many others, and just look at them as objects of history, but their stories are told in the bible not just as history, but as examples for us to follow and be inspired by today…
Like Abraham and Paul we too are challenged to listen to God, and we are challenged to follow his call, wherever that may lead… And that may very well mean us being taken out of our comfort zone. It may very well lead us to do things which we never thought we could do… Small things or big things…
And back to Nicodemus – in the passage we heard from the gospel today, we hear the famous words of Jesus, ‘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…’
Those words have become one of the best known of all bible readings because they speak directly of the incredible love God has for each and every one of us; and those words represent a promise – a promise that God doesn’t want to condemn or reject people, but to enjoy fellowship with them for all eternity…
And Nicodemus heard these words… And we don’t hear much more about Nicodemus in the bible – the second time is when Jesus is to be arrested at the Feast of Tabernacles John 7:50-52) and Nicodemus speaks up for him suggesting that Jesus at least be asked for an explanation of what he was doing before being arrested…
Even then, standing up for Jesus doesn’t speak of a man transformed like Abraham and Paul – his words were dismissed, and we hear no more until after the crucifixion of Jesus when Nicodemus assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the body of Jesus for burial (John 19:39-42).
Here, perhaps we start to see a transformation – here was a man doing something against the norms of his society and culture – here was a man helping to bury a man who most of Nicodemus’ friends and colleagues hated…
We know nothing more about Nicodemus really though there have been many suggested accounts of the way his life went, and in his actions at the burial we can perhaps assume that he became a follower after the resurrection…
But it doesn’t matter what we know about Nicodemus – he and Abraham and Paul are there as examples for us all – examples of the need to lead a new life, transformed by the incredible love of God; examples of the need to think outside of our comfort zone as we consider God’s call in our own lives and for our Church; and examples of people who, allowing God to transform them, had been used so powerfully and wonderfully by him…
Lent is a great time in our Church calendar to think about our future – it isn’t a period to dwell on the things we’ve done wrong in the past and to just atone for those things by suffering for 40 days or so, it isn’t just a time for sacrifice - it is a time for renewal – a time for getting closer to God, so that we get to Easter as new people, refreshed and ready to lead new lives of commitment to God and new lives trusting in him… AMEN
He told the man all about the problems, ‘so tell me’ he pleaded, ‘was the tradition to stand during the prayers?’ ‘No’ replied the old minister. Relieved the young minister said, ‘so it was the tradition to sit down’.
‘No’ answered the old man. ‘Well, what we have is complete chaos’ said the young minister ! Half the people sit and shout and half stand and shout!’ ‘Ah’ said the old minister ‘that was the tradition!’
Tradition can be wonderful but it can also get in the way of all kinds of things – and today’s readings (Genesis 12:1-4a, Romans 4:1-5,13-17, John 3:1-17) talk about traditions that we may have as individuals, and they use the example of 3 men.
In Genesis we hear about Abraham or Abram as he was then. He hears God speaking to him and telling him to go from his country and his kindred and his father’s house to the land that God will show him – and from there he would become the ancestor of a great nation, from there he will be a blessing to all the families of the earth…
Abram was literally being called to take a step into the unknown – I wonder how many of us would have followed such a call ? I wonder how many of us are listening well enough to God to hear his call ? I wonder whether perhaps most of us wouldn’t just dismiss such a call as some sort of stupid idea which got into our heads…
Abram followed, had his name changed to Abraham, and despite the odds seeming to be stacked against him, he became the father of a great nation…
To receive the promises of God, Abraham had to step out in faith, journey into the unknown, trusting in God…
And then we heard from Paul, writing his letter to the Romans. This was another man whose name had been changed by God. Saul had become Paul, but it was not just a name change but a life change that he had experienced. He had gone from being a powerful, probably wealthy man to being a traveller – travelling wherever the gospel could be heard, and in that travelling he risked everything – money and power had already gone, but he also risked his freedom and even his life….
In this part of the letter to the Romans Paul writes about Abraham – a man who had clearly impressed him, not just based on the tradition of reverence given to Abraham, but based on the knowledge of what Abraham had given up in order to go where God was leading him…
Two men – Abraham and Paul, who lived a thousand years apart, but who, through their willingness to be completely transformed by God, were used powerfully by him…
And then we go back just a little bit in our gospel reading to Nicodemus. Just as Abraham and Paul had radically changed their lives to serve God, Nicodemus was asking what he needed to do…
Nicodemus was, like Paul, a powerful and influential man – a devout member of the leadership team at the Temple in Jerusalem and when he asked what he needed to do Jesus said to him ‘… no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above…’ Nicodemus didn’t understand but Jesus pushed that phrase…
Today many people, particularly in the Anglican tradition, get a little worried about the phrase ‘born again’ but that is what this means – Jesus is explaining that to follow him, to accept all of the promises God has made and wants to give, we must be ‘born from above’ or ‘born again’….
It’s easy to look at the great figures from the bible – people such as Paul and Abraham, and so many others, and just look at them as objects of history, but their stories are told in the bible not just as history, but as examples for us to follow and be inspired by today…
Like Abraham and Paul we too are challenged to listen to God, and we are challenged to follow his call, wherever that may lead… And that may very well mean us being taken out of our comfort zone. It may very well lead us to do things which we never thought we could do… Small things or big things…
And back to Nicodemus – in the passage we heard from the gospel today, we hear the famous words of Jesus, ‘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…’
Those words have become one of the best known of all bible readings because they speak directly of the incredible love God has for each and every one of us; and those words represent a promise – a promise that God doesn’t want to condemn or reject people, but to enjoy fellowship with them for all eternity…
And Nicodemus heard these words… And we don’t hear much more about Nicodemus in the bible – the second time is when Jesus is to be arrested at the Feast of Tabernacles John 7:50-52) and Nicodemus speaks up for him suggesting that Jesus at least be asked for an explanation of what he was doing before being arrested…
Even then, standing up for Jesus doesn’t speak of a man transformed like Abraham and Paul – his words were dismissed, and we hear no more until after the crucifixion of Jesus when Nicodemus assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the body of Jesus for burial (John 19:39-42).
Here, perhaps we start to see a transformation – here was a man doing something against the norms of his society and culture – here was a man helping to bury a man who most of Nicodemus’ friends and colleagues hated…
We know nothing more about Nicodemus really though there have been many suggested accounts of the way his life went, and in his actions at the burial we can perhaps assume that he became a follower after the resurrection…
But it doesn’t matter what we know about Nicodemus – he and Abraham and Paul are there as examples for us all – examples of the need to lead a new life, transformed by the incredible love of God; examples of the need to think outside of our comfort zone as we consider God’s call in our own lives and for our Church; and examples of people who, allowing God to transform them, had been used so powerfully and wonderfully by him…
Lent is a great time in our Church calendar to think about our future – it isn’t a period to dwell on the things we’ve done wrong in the past and to just atone for those things by suffering for 40 days or so, it isn’t just a time for sacrifice - it is a time for renewal – a time for getting closer to God, so that we get to Easter as new people, refreshed and ready to lead new lives of commitment to God and new lives trusting in him… AMEN
Comments