February 20, 2005

Mindekirken, February 20, 2005
Pastor Jens Arne Dale

John 3.1-17

For the most part we see Jesus surrounded by ordinary people. In today’s text we see Jesus in contact with one of the aristocracy of Jerusalem. What do we know about this Nicodemus?

He belonged to one of the most distinguished families in Jerusalem. He must have been wealthy. When Jesus died, Nicodemus bought "a mixture of myrrh and aloes about a hundred pound weight." for his body. John 19.39. That shows that Nicodemus must have been well off. It’s very interesting that we get to know what happened after Jesus' death. The fact that Nicodemus acted as a mortician when Jesus died leads us to the conclusion that the conversation we read about today bore rich fruit.

Something decisive happened to Nicodemus in the darkness when he met with Jesus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. In our language it could mean something like a hypocrite. Our understanding is built on Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees. But in many ways the Pharisees were the best people in the whole country. There were never more than 6000 of them. It’s really amazing when we think of their reputation until this day. A Pharisee belonged to a brotherhood to which he entered by a certain pledge in front of three witnesses. He promised to observe every detail of the scribal law. That was their moral advantage and the source of the lack of self-criticism which later caused Jesus to call them hypocrites. But in general it would be right to consider the Pharisees as good people who lived their life dedicated to pleasing God.

Nicodemus was also a ruler of the Jews. He was a member of the High Council of the Jews, the Shanedrin. This was the Supreme Court, which had 70 members. They had religious jurisdiction over every Jew in the world, and at that time they were numerous in the Roman Empire. The High Council also had a limited right under the Romans to be the government of the Jews.

Taking all this into consideration, it’s amazing that an aristocrat like Nicodemus would come to the carpenter from Nazareth by night to talk to him about his soul. Why did he come by night?

The Pharisees considered nighttime the best time for studying the law. Then it could take place undisturbed. However, it’s more likely to think it was an act of caution. For a man in his position it would be a high-risk project to visit with a man whom they considered so dangerous that they later wanted to kill him. But the ultimate reason for Nicodemus to come to Jesus was to seek the answer to the most important questions in life. Even though he was a man with many honors, something was lacking in his life. He came to Jesus in the darkness of the night to find light.

The big question in the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus was this: How does one get born again? Nicodemus knew all the rituals, but he longed for real life.

We belong to a church where traditions are important, especially if they are Norwegian. The rituals for the transitional situations in life mean a lot to us. When a child is born, we gather gratefully around the baptismal font. I’m lucky to the father of a teenager who at the end of May will kneel at the altar rail and will be enveloped in the prayers of the congregation through confirmation. It’s a beautiful act in the transfer from childhood to adult life. When two will share everything and vow faithfulness, the wedding liturgy says that this happens in the countenance of God. That means that the two are God’s gift for each other. And when a human leaves this world, family and friends gather for a last farewell where the word of God and prayers are central.

What I have described now fits well with the Norwegian church reality. The church plays an important role in the great events of life. If I were to describe Mindekirken, I would have to emphasize most strongly the weekly service which so many people usually attend. Christianity has a lot to do with traditions. And to pass on this cultural heritage is one of the greatest things one can do.

Nicodemus carried on traditions. But he was missing the inner peace. He longed for a deeper experience of faith. What about us? Is our Christian life a matter of traditions and rituals, or is it also spiritual life? No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above, Jesus said. Reborn, maybe some of us associate this expression with special Christian groups, maybe even groups we can’t identify with. Is it really necessary to be reborn, born again in order to be a Christian? Does it mean that everyone has to be uniform, worshipping in the same way, having the same values and attitudes?

No, born again isn’t a label that tells about the outer characteristics of religion. Born again is a term which must be understood on the background of the fall of sin. The day you eat of that tree, you shall die, God had told Adam and Eve. When they were expelled from the garden of Eden, they died spiritually. Jesus came to erase the effect of that. He came with the kingdom of God.

In order to enter this kingdom we have to experience new birth, Jesus says to Nicodemus.

He took it literally, but Jesus explained that the new birth had to do with water and spirit.

Obviously Jesus is thinking of baptism where the water works together with the word and God comes near with his spirit in a mysterious way. Paul says: God saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Tit 3.5.

This confirms that salvation and new life is the gift of baptism. We can’t overestimate what happens in our baptism. It is to go from spiritual death to spiritual life. It’s to connect to God, have a relationship with him as our heavenly father. We are a new creation. But I don’t feel like that, you may say. Today’s text gives us a great example of what it means to live the life of baptism. Jesus talks about the snakes that attacked the Israelites in the desert. In their despair they went to Moses and asked for help. According to God’s guidance he held up a copper serpent on a pole. Whoever looked at it would live, even if a snake bit him or her. In the same way the Son of Man would be lifted up, so that every one who believe in him would not die, but have eternal life. This is a prediction of Jesus on the cross. Snakes represent all the sin we do. It would normally separate us from God. But in his love he let Jesus die on the cross. To look at him gives us life, to believe in him gives forgiveness of sin.

That was what Nicodemus experienced. When Jesus died, all of his friends fled. But not Nicodemus. He asked for permission to take Jesus’ body down from the cross, an act by which he risked his own life. But he did it because he had seen and understood. The death of Jesus gave him life.

There’s no opposition between spiritual life and rituals. Baptism conveys the grace of God which he has promised us. Sometimes spiritual life finds new ways of expression, faith may be spontaneously expressed. But the old traditions may as well be sources where our spiritual longing is satisfied.

The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So is it with everyone who is born of the Spirit, Jesus said. The style of worship, outer forms may vary, but where Jesus Christ is preached through word and sacrament, the Spirit of God is present and creates new life.

Glory be to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church ·  924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 ·  (612)874-0716