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Trinity Sunday Scripture John 3:1-17 3 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 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.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 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?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 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.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus 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. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that 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.
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Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Nicodemus was a literalist. The suggestion of being “born again” or even being “born from above” did not register with him. When a person comes for a faith that is managed, protected, and guarded on all sides, it is no surprise that Nicodemus has questions. Nicodemus say his faith in a very narrow possibility. “Nicodemus’ faith stayed within the tiny box of human possibility. Jesus’ faith expressed a leap into God’s Grand Canyon realm of impossibility. Jesus encouraged Nicodemus to throw caution to the wind and allow some real learning to begin.” 1 How does one get out of the box? It is possible that our faith can be contained in a tiny box. Jesus encourages us to throw caution to the wind and allow some real learning to begin. This is not an easy process to move from a faith that is managed, protected, and guarded from all sides. To experience a faith that opens one to a new life and new birth is outside the box we often use to contain our faith. “Yet where can we turn? Self-help books, no matter how insightful, are insufficient. Where can we find a safe place to be vulnerable? How can we carve our time to experience and absorb full-scale, full-bodied rhythms in the midst of our disconnected, high-speed schedules? 2 “How can these things be?” Like Nicodemus we turn to Jesus sometimes in secret and sometimes in public but always our of necessity. Jesus provides help to get out of the small box of our faith. 1 http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=resources.sermon_prep&item.
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