March 16, 2014

Alison Morgan

Lent 2     John 3:1-17

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I was telling a friend that I would be speaking to you this morning. She asked what it was about. “Eternal Life” I said. “You mean after a person dies?”  “No, eternal life right now.” That is what I want to talk about, eternal life, not bound by time or space; eternal life is where God is.

In the gospel reading this morning we heard a discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus.

Nicodemus, is a Pharisee, a Jewish teacher, who comes in the night to talk to Jesus, the story goes. The darkness contrasts with the light that has come into the world, the light of Christ, and that is talked about more, later in this chapter. (John 3:20). In this story darkness also hides Nicodemus; it’s risky for him because he is a leader of the Pharisees, so he comes at night. He is a seeker with questions. Something about Jesus called to him: the miraculous; the spectacular; something out of the ordinary sparked his interest.

Nicodemus says in verse (2) ‘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.’

He gives Jesus a certain status when he calls him Rabbi. But when he says he knowsJesus is a teacher come from God, he is using his intellect, he is making an observation rather than talking from experience. He thinks God must be with Jesus. It would seem that Nicodemus is off to a good start in understanding something of who Jesus is. But Nicodemus is still on the outside looking in. He is saying he likes what he sees but no more than that.

In verse (3) Jesus tells Nicodemus: ‘no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ And later in verse (5) no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit.’

Needing to be born from above or of the Spirit, in order to enter the kingdom or realm of God points to a deeper meaning in this story; when Nicodemus takes Jesus literally he is obviously mistaken. Nicodemus exclaims at the physical impossibility of being born a second time.

This requirement to be born from above or of the Spirit isn’t about the physical world; Jesus is pointing beyond the individual to a greater ‘realm’ as the kingdom of God is sometimes translated. Talk of the Kingdom of God intimates that there is a place we are trying to get to. But it’s not about a place. There was no concept of outer space and an edge of the universe then; so the unknown, the space where God is, was talked about as though it was above.

What this is really pointing to is mysterious and difficult to put into words. Spong describes it (in his book The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic) as being open to a different dimension in life.[1]

Nicodemus talks about “we”: we know you are a teacher who has come from God. In this story he may be speaking for other Pharisees but he could just as easily be speaking for any of us. It’s safe to stick with what we know; it’s comfortable to shut out the new and the call to change. It is too easy to keep to within the boundaries of our own reality, our own world. And it’s not a clear either/or thing. I may be particularly limited in my thinking in one area and open to God in another; or be open today and tomorrow closed off. Our transforming is an ongoing process not a once only thing; it takes both a life time and a moment by moment awareness. We won’t see our limitations if we don’t look for them and if we don’t listen to each other.

Responding to Nicodemus, Jesus implores him to listen; Jesus says in verse (11) we speak of what we know and the ‘know’ here is experiential. Jesus knows God or the Other on a whole different level. And he says ‘we; He is not alone in this experience of God. The offer is there for us; for all for all of us. Jesus says in verse (15) whoever believes in him (the Son of Man) will have eternal life. This believes in is more like an abiding in, a being joined with[2] and it’s about having faith and then letting go and trusting so that God’s love infuses each moment, each eternal moment, and all of life. Eternal life is about something timeless but also of a particular quality; the quality[3] of being one with God as Christ was. Here in the liturgy at St Matthews we talk about the God beyond, between us and within us and what I am talking about today is the God within us. It is eternal life in Christ, a level of consciousness or awareness; a dimension to being fully human.

If we become open to this other dimension in life, to eternal life, we add a new perspective to the way we view things; a God perspective. It’s something available to us, a gift given, if you like, but it’s one we often miss, like Nicodemus.

What does this mean for us in our everyday lives? When we are caught up in the business of the day it’s hard to be aware of the God within. We can try though. It’s a kind of praying.  But we’re often not there. When we become disturbed by events or annoyed at ourselves or someone else, (and it happens so easily doesn’t it?), it can help us to consciously shift to this other perspective, be open to that other dimension and ask: what does God say about this situation? What would be the just or loving thing? Does this disturbance really matter in the scheme of things? What would God have me say or do? This can take us out of ourselves and allow us to be open to God in our everyday existence. This is to pray and try and act from that other dimension; to try and act as Jesus did; expecting that we will often miss it and get it wrong but going with it none the less, knowing there will be many opportunities to practice.

Another place we can be really more conscious of this Other, God, is in silence. I wonder how long it has been since many of us experienced silence; turned off every electrical device; the TV, computers, ipads, phones, all of them, and went to a quiet place away from the children, the grandchildren and the dog and just stopped. Then the challenge is to quieten the mind; let the thoughts come and go and be open. It’s not easy and often takes a while. Then there is an opportunity to experience that other dimension. Outer silence gives space, sanctuary if you like, for inner silence. We can be taken away from our individual self consciousness to a place of connection, connection with God.

Jesus was able to live and die for others because he lived fully in that loving dimension. And for those of us on a Christian spiritual path, this is our example. Jesus showed us the way to God; to oneness with God. If we can be open to something beyond our physical reality and expand our view into something other; something loving; a place we know about from the life of Jesus; it’s possible to experience glimpses of being one with God.

Trying to be open to this other dimension or perspective in our everyday lives and to that expansiveness that we experience in silence, brings us a tiny step closer to understanding what Nicodemus seemed to miss: the gift, the potential to be at one with God; eternal life right now.

[1] Spong, John Shelby. (2013). The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic.HarperCollins. New York. Pg.89.

[2] Morris, Leon. (1971). Commentary on the Gospel of John. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Michigan. Pg 336

[3] Ibid. Pg 227