The Nicodemus direction ?
From Helen :
There are many excuses that we can find for things in life. My main excuse for most things is that I don’t drive. This is the way that I try to excuse my appalling sense of direction. I am sad to say that there is a truth in the comment that if I have been somewhere once I am unlikely to find that place again ! Even when I have been somewhere lots of times I still have to double check that I know the way, and even then I manage to completely lose myself. I was once given a postcard of a sheep on its own in a field where it is raining, the sheep is saying, “Lost ! Me ? I know exactly where I am… I am here”.
I have a certain sympathy with that sheep.
As we look at the gospel reading that we have heard this morning, there is a sense of being lost. There is a sense of needing direction and of needing to know the way.
In the gospel reading this morning we heard of Nicodemus and his meeting with Jesus. Nicodemus went to Jesus with questions. He wanted some answers. It is possible that he was trying to work out what Jesus was up to, it is possible that he wanted to hear that Jesus was dangerous and should be stopped, and it is possible that he really was interested in seeing if what he heard of Jesus being a great man was true. As a very learned man he would not have expected to be given an answer that at first seemed very stupid.
You can almost imagine Nicodemus, sitting there ready for a great argument, and then Jesus provided an answer that at first may have seemed ignorant, an answer that certainly did not provide Nicodemus with any clear direction. The answer Jesus appeared to give was that the direction to Heaven was in being born again. Poor Nicodemus, if he had been looking for an answer to debate well, then this was not it.
Nicodemus thought he knew all there was to know about God and yet Jesus was showing that actually the most important thing is to become as new, to accept that actually we do not have the answers, only God does. That it is God we need and we need to be born of Him. We need to have a relationship with Him where we realise that we must become a new person, a new creation, someone who believes that God can and does make a difference.
A group of students were once listening to the great theologian Karl Barth and one asked him, “Professor Barth, after all your years of study what is the most important thing that you have learned ?” You can imagine people waiting to hear what his answer would be but Karl Barth paused, and then answered, “That Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so.”
This is direction, this is knowing the way. As Christians we say that we know the way, we feel we have a direction and do not feel lost. However, what about those around us ? I think one of the biggest challenges we have today, is society. In this society we are not normal. We stand out and we should. Thinking of being normal, I recently read some statistics, and these may surprise you !
21% of people don't make their bed daily. 5% never do.
58.4% of people have called into work sick when they weren't.
53% of women will not leave the house without makeup on.
46.5% of men say they ALWAYS put the seat down after they've used the toilet, yet women claim to ALWAYS find it up.
71.6% of people eavesdrop.
4 out of 5 people sing in the car.
I am not sure if you think any of these apply to you, but it makes a point that it is hard to define what is normal. It is even harder to stand against the norm. I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t make our beds daily. I am suggesting that we need to show that Jesus has made a difference in our lives. That we do have direction and we can show people a way to live, that, whilst at odds in some respects with those around us is still the best way.
Our beliefs automatically make us at odds with society in many respects. In an age when things can be proven, in an age when people are used to results and statistics then for someone to stand up and say that whilst they cannot always explain the ways that God works but they still believe in Him is an oddity.
We believe that we need God in our lives in a powerful and life changing way as we follow Him and try to be more like Him. In the gospel reading we heard perhaps one of the most famous verses from the bible. John 3:16, “That God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.” This verse sums up our faith, we believe that God loved us so much that He would die for us. This is our direction, this helps us find our way in life. It is the only and the best way that we can have.
As we go through the season of lent, which prepares us for Holy Week and Easter we remember these words.
The challenge to us, is though, not just to accept these words, but to let them change us as we go through lent and each and every day of our lives. We stand out in society and we should. It may be that some of the statistics I read earlier are true for us, it may not. The thing that is true for us is that we are different. We have committed ourselves to being more like Jesus, to following Him, and this does make us different in the world.
As we move through lent, our spring and time of celebrating new life, we need to put into practice in our lives the points of what it means to be a true follower of Jesus. We need to show people around us that we have found a direction.
In the same way as I hope you would help me, if I looked lost (which is often likely to happen) so we need to point people to the true direction, that of following Jesus. May we celebrate this lent, as we remember that God has given us direction, that we have found a way, to be born again to start anew. May we pray for those who are lost and need direction, and may we help each other and show that Jesus really does make a difference in our lives. AMEN
There are many excuses that we can find for things in life. My main excuse for most things is that I don’t drive. This is the way that I try to excuse my appalling sense of direction. I am sad to say that there is a truth in the comment that if I have been somewhere once I am unlikely to find that place again ! Even when I have been somewhere lots of times I still have to double check that I know the way, and even then I manage to completely lose myself. I was once given a postcard of a sheep on its own in a field where it is raining, the sheep is saying, “Lost ! Me ? I know exactly where I am… I am here”.
I have a certain sympathy with that sheep.
As we look at the gospel reading that we have heard this morning, there is a sense of being lost. There is a sense of needing direction and of needing to know the way.
In the gospel reading this morning we heard of Nicodemus and his meeting with Jesus. Nicodemus went to Jesus with questions. He wanted some answers. It is possible that he was trying to work out what Jesus was up to, it is possible that he wanted to hear that Jesus was dangerous and should be stopped, and it is possible that he really was interested in seeing if what he heard of Jesus being a great man was true. As a very learned man he would not have expected to be given an answer that at first seemed very stupid.
You can almost imagine Nicodemus, sitting there ready for a great argument, and then Jesus provided an answer that at first may have seemed ignorant, an answer that certainly did not provide Nicodemus with any clear direction. The answer Jesus appeared to give was that the direction to Heaven was in being born again. Poor Nicodemus, if he had been looking for an answer to debate well, then this was not it.
Nicodemus thought he knew all there was to know about God and yet Jesus was showing that actually the most important thing is to become as new, to accept that actually we do not have the answers, only God does. That it is God we need and we need to be born of Him. We need to have a relationship with Him where we realise that we must become a new person, a new creation, someone who believes that God can and does make a difference.
A group of students were once listening to the great theologian Karl Barth and one asked him, “Professor Barth, after all your years of study what is the most important thing that you have learned ?” You can imagine people waiting to hear what his answer would be but Karl Barth paused, and then answered, “That Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so.”
This is direction, this is knowing the way. As Christians we say that we know the way, we feel we have a direction and do not feel lost. However, what about those around us ? I think one of the biggest challenges we have today, is society. In this society we are not normal. We stand out and we should. Thinking of being normal, I recently read some statistics, and these may surprise you !
21% of people don't make their bed daily. 5% never do.
58.4% of people have called into work sick when they weren't.
53% of women will not leave the house without makeup on.
46.5% of men say they ALWAYS put the seat down after they've used the toilet, yet women claim to ALWAYS find it up.
71.6% of people eavesdrop.
4 out of 5 people sing in the car.
I am not sure if you think any of these apply to you, but it makes a point that it is hard to define what is normal. It is even harder to stand against the norm. I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t make our beds daily. I am suggesting that we need to show that Jesus has made a difference in our lives. That we do have direction and we can show people a way to live, that, whilst at odds in some respects with those around us is still the best way.
Our beliefs automatically make us at odds with society in many respects. In an age when things can be proven, in an age when people are used to results and statistics then for someone to stand up and say that whilst they cannot always explain the ways that God works but they still believe in Him is an oddity.
We believe that we need God in our lives in a powerful and life changing way as we follow Him and try to be more like Him. In the gospel reading we heard perhaps one of the most famous verses from the bible. John 3:16, “That God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.” This verse sums up our faith, we believe that God loved us so much that He would die for us. This is our direction, this helps us find our way in life. It is the only and the best way that we can have.
As we go through the season of lent, which prepares us for Holy Week and Easter we remember these words.
The challenge to us, is though, not just to accept these words, but to let them change us as we go through lent and each and every day of our lives. We stand out in society and we should. It may be that some of the statistics I read earlier are true for us, it may not. The thing that is true for us is that we are different. We have committed ourselves to being more like Jesus, to following Him, and this does make us different in the world.
As we move through lent, our spring and time of celebrating new life, we need to put into practice in our lives the points of what it means to be a true follower of Jesus. We need to show people around us that we have found a direction.
In the same way as I hope you would help me, if I looked lost (which is often likely to happen) so we need to point people to the true direction, that of following Jesus. May we celebrate this lent, as we remember that God has given us direction, that we have found a way, to be born again to start anew. May we pray for those who are lost and need direction, and may we help each other and show that Jesus really does make a difference in our lives. AMEN
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