Born Identity, Born Supremacy, Born Ultimatum, Born AGAIN
The Holy Gospel for the First Sunday after Pentecost
The Holy Trinity
June 7, 2009
John 3:1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He 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." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."
Nicodemus 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?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water the Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'you must be born from above.' 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 it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 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. If I have told you about earthly thing and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
"No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
"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. 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."
The gospel of the Lord.
My Thoughts:
I spent 8 hours yesterday driving down 95 and 81 from Eastern PA back to Raleigh from a week of vacation. It was a pleasant drive. There was no rain, limited traffic (DC was a pain, but what's new?), and great company (Carol and the dogs). I was even able to listen in on live coverage of the Colonial Golf Tournament taking place in Fort Worth, TX for a couple of hours! Still, when it wasn't coming in I was forced to scan the radio dial looking for something entertaining to listen to.
As I listened to one of the stations I couldn't help but feel a little squimish. You see, as each listener called in the radio personality would ask them, "Are you a saved wo/man?" or "Have you been born again?". Following the question each individual would recite their personal salvation history. They went something like this, "I was saved on December 20, 1987 at 7:30pm when I finally accepted the Lord Jesus as my personal savior." or "I was born again when I let Jesus into my heart one Sunday night in college." You don't hear a whole lot of Lutherans claim, "I was born again after listening to Pastor David's sermon on June 10, 2001." That kind of born again language just isn't a part of our vocabulary.
While it may not be part of our vocabulary (okay, while it may even hurt some of our ears to hear), maybe there is something to this "born again" language. After all, Evangelical Christians didn't make it up, Jesus said it. Jesus told Nicodemus that God's children are "born from above" and "born of water and the Spirit". We, even Lutherans, are born again.
Shocking, I know, but it's true. We are children of God. The difference is our rebirth doesn't happen on our terms when we are finally ready to accept Jesus. No, our rebirth happens when God, the giver of faith, claims us in the waters of Baptism. In our baptism we are "Born Again".
Things to Ponder:
How have you thought of yourself as born again?
Can you remember your baptism? What do you remember about it? What have you been told about it?
Your thoughts?
The Holy Trinity
June 7, 2009
John 3:1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He 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." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."
Nicodemus 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?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water the Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'you must be born from above.' 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 it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 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. If I have told you about earthly thing and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
"No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
"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. 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."
The gospel of the Lord.
My Thoughts:
I spent 8 hours yesterday driving down 95 and 81 from Eastern PA back to Raleigh from a week of vacation. It was a pleasant drive. There was no rain, limited traffic (DC was a pain, but what's new?), and great company (Carol and the dogs). I was even able to listen in on live coverage of the Colonial Golf Tournament taking place in Fort Worth, TX for a couple of hours! Still, when it wasn't coming in I was forced to scan the radio dial looking for something entertaining to listen to.
As I listened to one of the stations I couldn't help but feel a little squimish. You see, as each listener called in the radio personality would ask them, "Are you a saved wo/man?" or "Have you been born again?". Following the question each individual would recite their personal salvation history. They went something like this, "I was saved on December 20, 1987 at 7:30pm when I finally accepted the Lord Jesus as my personal savior." or "I was born again when I let Jesus into my heart one Sunday night in college." You don't hear a whole lot of Lutherans claim, "I was born again after listening to Pastor David's sermon on June 10, 2001." That kind of born again language just isn't a part of our vocabulary.
While it may not be part of our vocabulary (okay, while it may even hurt some of our ears to hear), maybe there is something to this "born again" language. After all, Evangelical Christians didn't make it up, Jesus said it. Jesus told Nicodemus that God's children are "born from above" and "born of water and the Spirit". We, even Lutherans, are born again.
Shocking, I know, but it's true. We are children of God. The difference is our rebirth doesn't happen on our terms when we are finally ready to accept Jesus. No, our rebirth happens when God, the giver of faith, claims us in the waters of Baptism. In our baptism we are "Born Again".
Things to Ponder:
How have you thought of yourself as born again?
Can you remember your baptism? What do you remember about it? What have you been told about it?
Your thoughts?
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