Holy Trinity Sunday,
Year B, May 31, 2015
Henry Ossawa Tanner, Study for Nicodemus Visiting Jesus at Night |
John 3:1-17 Now
there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher
who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the
presence of God.” 3Jesus answered him,
“Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born
from above.” 4Nicodemus said to him,
“How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into
the mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus
answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without
being born of water and Spirit. 6What
is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do
not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’
8The
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 it is with everyone who is born of the
Spirit.” 9Nicodemus said to him,
“How can these things be?”10Jesus answered him,
“Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11“Very
truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen;
yet you do not receive our testimony. 12If
I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you
believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No
one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son
of Man. 14And just as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, 15that whoever believes
in him may have eternal life. 16“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. 17“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.
I love a good mystery
novel or tv show. I love solving the puzzle along with the detective and
feeling clever. Given how popular mystery novels are and how many crime scene
investigations there are on tv, I think I’m not alone in this. It’s probably part of how we’re hardwired as human beings: we want to get to the bottom of
things.
But there are at least two kinds of mysteries: the kind that are
solvable, like a murder mystery. And then there are the holy mysteries, things
that are beyond our understanding, beyond even our imagination. We could
contemplate them all day and all night for a year and still only be able to
stand in awe of them.
As the book of Proverbs remarks
about mysteries in Chapter 30:
Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maid. Proverbs 30:18-19
four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maid. Proverbs 30:18-19
Yet unknowable,
unsolvable mysteries draw us, for they are wonderful and awesome.
But what difference
does it make for us in our lives? What does it matter, whether God is one or
two or three or whether God is just one?
The Prophet Isaiah, by Marc Chagall |
Perhaps our scriptures
today help us to see why revelations of God are important. In the Isaiah text,
there was great uncertainty in the political situation after the death of King
Uzziah. The image of God on the throne helped Isaiah to trust that God would rule over all, no matter what political turbulence might come. In the Romans
text, the people were facing persecution because they were Christian. Paul’s
letter reassured them that they had been adopted into God’s family and had
become co-inheritors with Christ of kinship with God. What a word of comfort
for people who had become outsiders in their families, communities, and even
countries and cultures. And in the gospel from John, Nicodemus, speaking for
all the leaders, found himself out of his depth, with unsolvable mysteries that
frustrated him.
A humorous way to think about being in the dark... |
“The wind blows where
it chooses,” Jesus told him. “And everyone who is born of the Spirit is the
same way.” “God’s got this one,” Jesus
is telling him. “You don’t have to know it all or be in control.” What good
news for any of us that think we might have to have it all figured out. God’s
going to show up and love us, whether we understand God or not.
God shows up in so
many and various ways because we all need to see different parts of God at
different times. God solves the mysteries of our pain and sorrow and knows our
every need. Then God comes to take our hand, leading us into a joyful dance of restoration and healing. God provides for us through creation, heals us through
the love of Jesus, and guides us through the Holy Spirit.
This vision of God is
marvelous and beyond our understanding. With the psalmist we might ask, “Who am
I that God should be mindful of me?” (Psalm 8) Yet God, the Creator, the Healer, the
Guiding Spirit, cares for us all. What a mystery, what a wonder, what a joy. Amen.