Wrong!



			March 22, 2009 John 3:1-17 Are Things as Bad as they Seem? Are things ever actually as bad as they seem? Or are things really much worse than we ever imagined? We have never been promised that life will be smooth and easy. What we have been promised is the assurance of God's presence in our lives through good times and bad, in prosperity and poverty, in our strength and in our weakness. "Good news/bad news" jokes are a common humorous form used to reveal both sides of life's little complexities. Contrary to the traditional joke form however, polling reports state that 63% of people prefer to hear bad news first when they are given "good news/bad news." This preference stems from our childhood training when we were told we must first eat all our broccoli before we could have our chocolate cake. The sixth chapter of Isaiah starts out like one of these inverted good news/bad news jokes: "In the year King Uzziah died" (the bad news) "I saw the Lord" (the good news). But depending on your life story it could be the year F.D.R. died, or J.F.K. died, or the year your loved one died. The Church today finds itself as the punch line of yet another good news/bad news joke. The good news for the Church is that more and more people are embarking on a spiritual search for experienced meaning in their lives. Page 2 There is an increasing recognition that the soul needs more than a new car and a second home to ease its longings. The bad news is that this "great awakening" of spiritual energy is taking place primarily outside the Church. In the grand old church tradition people are flocking to the potluck of spiritual experiences now available. As the Church desperately tries to compete with these spiritual interlopers, it finds itself either trying to tack Christian window dressing onto some pretty strange windows to the soul. Confused by its competition, the Church is behaving like a yoyo manipulated by all sorts of cultural factors. One moment the market is up, the future looks bright, the next the market is down, and the future looks bleak. We want our Church to offer a quick fix. There is much good news for us to celebrate in these difficult times. The good news is we are living in a time of revolutionary democratic change throughout the world. Who could have predicted multiparty elections in countries once run by dictators? Who could have predicted the U.S. would reach out to Iran this week? Who could have predicted that Baghdad citizens now fear the economy more than their personal safety? For that reason official tourism began in Iraq this week. Who could have predicted that communist China would provide Billions in loans to the free market democracy of the United States? Who could have predicted that Jay Leno would offer two free performances at the Palace? Who could have predicted the election of America’s first ethnic minority president? Who could have predicted that Christianity’s largest growth is occurring in former third world countries south of the equator? There is also much bad news to ponder and pray about. Page 3 The bad news is that the war continues in Iraq and Afghanistan. Who could have predicted the use of torture by our government? Who could have predicted America would find itself between Iraq and a hard place? Who could have predicted the collapse of major U.S. banks and big bonus’ to A..I.G. execs? Who could have predicted that mighty G.M. stands on the brink of bankruptcy? Which perspective on the world is the right one? Is this the best of times or the worst of times? Should we be patting ourselves on the back or ducking for cover? Christianity came into being as a temporary shelter erected between the "not yet" of the Kingdom of God and the "already is" of God’s Kingdom. A famous New Yorker cartoon depicted one Puritan saying to another as they stepped off the Mayflower: "My immediate desire is religious freedom, but my long-range goal is to get into real estate." If any people should be able to thrive in the good news/bad news days of this in-between world, it should be Christians. Our attitudes and actions must reflect this dual nature of our faith. But we must exercise the gift of discernment. For all apparently good news is not necessarily good. All that is labeled bad news is not particularly bad. Christians reading the "signs of the times" should not be afraid of stepping out of line and calling conventional judgments "wrong" if they see injustice.

			In today’s lesson Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night to question him about the nature of his teachings. Notice on what basis Nicodemus acknowledges Jesus' legitimate authority, as one who has "come from God." Page 4 This is because of the things Jesus has done, not because of the unique clarity of his teachings, or because he recognizes the truth incarnated in Jesus' ministry. Jesus, like all of us, is first known and judged by his actions, not his ideas. Immediately after Nicodemus confirms Jesus' authenticity, Jesus responds with a statement whose contents are guaranteed to start a conversation. Jesus states that: “no one can see the Kingdom of God without having been born from above.” Nicodemus asks the "how" question of “how can anyone be born after having grown old”. So begins the whole question of what is meant by being “born again”. I believe the true focus of Jesus’ teaching is the unmerited gift of eternal life. There is nothing a person did or can do to earn God’s love. It is a gift freely given that allows us to be “born anew”. God’s grace is available through a belief in God's redeeming power. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and Sanhedrin member, who was vacillating, unable to decide whether he should embrace this new faith. Jesus corrects Nicodemus' blatant misunderstanding, which can be interpreted from the Hebrew to Greek to English as born "from above," "born again," or "born anew." Jesus makes it clear that this rebirth is from "above," Jesus reminds the religious how distant they remain from God. Many years ago, the great boxer, Mohammed Ali, was asked by a kid how he could quit school and start a boxing career since he was failing school. Ali smiled at the young man and said in his poetic style: “Stay in college and get the knowledge, And stay there! Til you’re through Cause if God can make penicillin out of moldy bread, God can make something out of you.” Page 5 This is the good news of today’s lesson., God’s loves us so much, that God still wants to make something out of us; when we accept that love into our lives and commit our hearts to God, then God gives us new life! Martin Luther called John 3:16 “The gospel in miniature." In other words, the good news is that God has chosen to bridge the gap between spirit and flesh with the gift of Jesus Christ. So are things as bad as they seem? Only if we worship God as a relic from the past. Only if we worship God as a theological concept, or as a religious novelty, Instead of as the Living God. So are things as bad as they seem? Only if we believe our Christian mission doesn’t matter to the world, or that our local church doesn’t matter either.
			Only if we remain blind to the gifts of other believers, and if we live in the past instead of God’s kingdom in the present and future we are doomed. So let us leave our wrong-headed notions, and commit ourselves to a living God, a living faith, a living kingdom.
			Amen!