IN FAITH
Reflections On Being Born From Above
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. {2} This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” {3} Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” {4} Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” {5} Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. {6} That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. {7} Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ {8} The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:1-8 RSV)
There is true mystery in this encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus came to Jesus in the night in order to try and understand what the Kingdom of God was really about. In John’s gospel light and darkness stand for opposites: light, for goodness and the ways of God, darkness, standing for evil, and the ways contrary to God’s will. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, meaning that he was not only “in the dark,” but also meaning that he didn’t know how to enter the Kingdom, and was also afraid to be seen with Jesus. So he went at night, when the chances of his being seen by other members of the Ruling Council in Jerusalem, would have been much less.
Jesus’ response to Nicodemus indicates that Jesus knew that Nicodemus needed a brand new way of understanding himself, and of understanding God and his own relationship with God. The requirement: to be born “from above,” (the Greek in John’s gospel uses a word ‘anothen), or born anew, or born again. Jesus uses a mysterious analogy, speaking of how the wind blows “where it wills.” The wind cannot be seen, but a person can see the results of its blowing. So it is with those who are born of the Spirit of God, and are “born again,” or “from above.”
This passage has been the heart of many sermons about the necessity of being “born again.” Billy Graham, and John Wesley (whose own sermon written on this scripture is the pattern for every sermon I’ve ever heard about, the new birth) and many other evangelists, have made this a central doctrine in their understanding of how a person receives salvation. The story bears witness to a man who was searching for the way to “abundant life,” to use the phrase that is used so often in John. (Eternal life is also used).
What makes this story so controversial is that many people do not believe in the necessity of the new birth. They may say things like “I’ve always felt God close since I was small.” And that is unquestionably true. But, the heart and soul of this lesson is that when one is “born again,” or “born anew,” his or her own inner disposition is shifted from a focus on self, to a focus on God and God’s will. This statement almost sounds clichéd, but it is not. In a world where we have become so obsessed with self and where radical individualism seems the current orientation of most persons, the requirement to be “born from above,” becomes even more necessary.
This radical individualism seems so prevalent, that there are days, when I wonder if the human race has not become like the seagulls in the movie, Finding Nemo. As these gulls look for food (fish or crabs), the one word, which pops out of their beaks is the word “mine.”
The seagulls are awfully intent on making whatever morsel of food, which happens along, a tasty tidbit. But, only one gull is going to get the food. The rest, well, simply are going to lose out. What a way of looking at the bulk of the human race! At our worst we are so intent on getting what we need, even if others don’t get what they need. I would submit that there is a profound difference between perceiving that there is a God, and actually being willing to submit to God’s will and to live life not by what we want, but by what God desires. God desires that not only we get the fish or crab, but that others have what they need, too. True love is like that. It cares about whether or not others have what they need, as much as we, ourselves, getting what we need.
For that to happen, we need to be able to truly love. And that happens when we are not so self-focused that we can see the needs of others around us. This kind of “new birth” happens when we allow God to transform us inwardly into a person who truly loves. We love God, and love others. That kind of inner transformation really is a breath of “fresh air,” because if you have known persons who are so “self-focused” they really aren’t very much fun to be around!
They think everything revolves around them! (Which makes them God, by the way, at least in their own thinking).
In a world with shrinking natural resources, with a shrinking middle class in our nation, and in a time when nations are competing with one another for survival, to remain “self-focused” will be our undoing. Loving God and loving neighbor as self is the heart of the gospel. But, that cannot truly happen unless, like Nicodemus, we are born “from above.”
These are things to ponder in a world where winning at any cost is often personal and national policy, but certainly not the will of God.
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