Nick at Night

       The story of Nicodemus is found only in the Gospel of John. John's dualistic themes of light and darkness shine through the texture of this intrigue. Jesus, of course, is the Light  (John 1.5) and Nicodemus represents "the people that walk in darkness"(Is.9.2). The contrast of shadows and light reminds me of a 50's film noir.  This quick-shot narrative is hard hitting and wastes no time getting to the punch line. Nick is a Pharisee who came to see Jesus by night.  In his introduction to the story the author sets up the scene and the character in one and a half verses.

1.#Hn de… a⁄nqrwpoß e∆k twÇn Farisai√wn, Nikovdhmoß o[noma aujtw/Ç, a⁄rcwn twÇn =Ioudai√wn` 

2. ou|toß h\lqen pro;ß aujto;n nukto;ß....  The literal translation   reads:  "And (now) there was a man of the Pharisees, name to him is Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This one (He) came to him (Jesus)  by night."

           We see right away the character of Nick. Wanting to know more but afraid of his peers, lacking understanding, being in the dark, and not comprehending,  he nevertheless came seeking Jesus, like a moth drawn to the flame.  He cannot help himself. We know this guy. Yeah, he was us once and maybe still is hiding in the shadows of our mind and heart. The uncommitted, uncomprehending, fearful half-believing church goer, maybe even a leader.  But enough of this personal, investigative stuff. Lets get back to the real story.
         John has established in Chapter one of his Gospel that "He (Jesus) was the light and the light shined in the darkness and it comprehended it not". The Pharisees, Nick being an example, were in the dark and did not comprehend what was going on. Even so, Jesus was shocked by his ignorance. "You are a teacher of Israel and do not know these things? You must be born anew to see the Kingdom of God."  What caused this darkness? The Jews were God's people. How could they be living like the blind? Because they chose to live in hope that the Messiah would come and conquror their oppressors, the Romans.  The darkness that Israel lived in was their desire to see God and His Messiah the way they wanted. They just wanted what they wanted. Sound familiar?  Their Messiah was going to establish an earthly kingdom that would overthrow the Romans. Instead, in Chapter 2 of John we see Jesus "cleansing the temple". This had to piss the Pharisees off . This went against their eschatological scheme. Jesus was running the Jews out of their temple, instead of the Romans out of Jerusalem.
      If you read all the Messianic prophecies in the OT it is easy to see how Nick and friends could believe in a physical take-over by God, which most Jews, even John the Baptist waited for. Here is a short list of Messianic prophecies:
Genesis 3.15; 12.3; 18.18; 22.18; 49.10
Leviticus 16.
Numbers 21.6-9; 24.17,19;
Isaiah 2.2-4; 4.2-6; 7.13,14; 9.1,2,6,7; 11.1-10; 25.6-9; 26.1, 19
Daniel, Joel, Amos, Micah, et alii.
             So thinking on a natural plane was easy for the Jews who wanted God to set up a kingdom "like unto David", only everlasting. What did Jesus do in face of this unspoken demand?
           Jesus hammered away at Nick about the Spirit realm. He did not answer any of the Pharisee's  questions the way he wanted them answered. He ended by recapping exactly what Nicodemus had done. "But he that does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds might be made manifest, that they are made in God."  We can hope that this was Nick's experience that night. That he had come out of the darkness and he was exposed to the Light of men, and from then on he did the truth. (To the author, John,  knowing was not enough, the truth was something you did, 1 John 1.6, the Greek word here is poiou:men meaning "to do or make). What was this truth that Nick sought and Jesus held out before him? 
      I was listening to  a group of Christians talking the other day. They were talking about the end time. They were saying. "now we know for a fact that there is going to be a battle, a war, an armed conflict called Armageddon, the end time apocalypse."  I think we as Christian are as sure about Armageddon as Nick was about the first coming of the Messiah. Is His second coming of His kingdom still going to require us to see it? Could His Kingdom already be manifesting and we are looking the wrong direction? This reminds me of one of my kids. Our family would be riding in the car and see something exciting and literally point at it and say "look at that" and he would instinctively look the other way. It was amazing. It became a family idiom. "David Look!" when you wanted someone to do or see what they are not doing or seeing. Are we looking the right way. Are we sure it is going to be physical and just as overpowering as the Jews thought it was going to be the first time? Could we be in any way like Nicodemus, needing to be 'born again' to see anew. 
      Christianity has coined the phrase "born again" to mean those who really, really, I mean really have Jesus in their hearts. But was Jesus using this term in the same way? Lets look at it one more time. He said, "you must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God." Not to have Jesus born in your heart. Not to become a Christian. Not even to have your sins forgiven. Nick did sacrifices and fulfilled the law. He had his sins forgiven according to the Mosaic Law. What did he not have? The ability to see the kingdom of God. Are we seeing it? Or are we like Nick waiting for its coming?  Do we live in the realm of Spirit or are we still living in the realm of flesh? If we are seeing the Kingdom of God clearly would be different from those who don't?  Can we tell the difference between Christians and non Christians? 

Mary's Sixth Sorrow

      I teach at a Christian school. Sometimes it is hard for me to tell the difference between those professing salvation and those who are not saved. How much more difficult is it to tell the difference between those who seek the things of the kingdom and those who seek the things of the world. The 
conversations are all the same. The dreams and ambitions all seem similar. I think we need an experience in God that will blast us out of this age. Shake the desires, hungers, ambitions, loves, likes, wants, greeds, off of us and get us seeing straight. I want an experience that opens my eyes to the beauties of God. I want to be sure I am seeing the kingdom. For the Ephesians Paul prayed that,

"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know
what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints "(Eph.1:18). Paul was talking to Christians.

We see Nick again two more times in John's Gospel. The last time in a very tender and touching moment he brings myrrh and aloes for Jesus' body, in what tradition refers to as "Mary's Sixth Sorrow". I do not know what happened to him after that. He disappears back into the shadows of history. But I do know I am grateful for his questions and his desire to see Jesus. Without this conversation we would not have John 3.16 or 3. 21 or even the phrase "you must be born again."

For a serious look at this story listen to the CD by Gary Hargrave entitled "Born of The Spirit".

Preaching the Lectionary, Proper 17 (continued)

Continued from, well, before.

      It is interesting to look at old movies, maybe not that old, five or ten years, and it is amazing how fast the famous actors of a few years ago are gone. And those of fifty years ago are completely forgotten. Fame is short lived and glory is fleeting.
      Humility is a fundamental principle or law in the Christian life, and yet it can be fleeting too. It is an "honor" that is bestowed by someone else. If you think you have achieved humility it has probably fled from you.
      Even though humility can be as a vapor it can also be an attitude from God that brings recognition and permanence. Moses, the Bible says, was the most humble man of the Old Testament. The stability and strength in which he walked before God, remained with him a lifetime. Some call him the father of the nation of Israel.
      Humility is important since it involves authority. Paul tells us that because Christ humbled himself he was give a name above every name in heaven and on earth. This may be Jesus' concern for the Pharisees since they were the ones in authority in Israel and did not seem to know this principle. It is disturbing that the Pharisees seemed unaware of the connection between what they were doing and what the scriptures tell them to do. When reading the story it seems obvious to us, but we must stop and ask our selves, “do we ever act like they do?” Should we check ourselves before going to a festival, party, dinner or social gathering? There may be those there that the Lord would like to honor. It may even be someone who we think is not honorable. We do not always know what someone might need or what someone has done, especially if they are humble about their experience.
      During some of the State of the Union addresses the presidents have asked people to sit in specific seats that were visible to all. The president would then point them out and honor them for something they have done. Wouldn't it be embarrassing and awkward if someone else got to those seats first?
      Could this thinking happen to us? I am going to describe 3 events where seating may be important. Be honest and see what your response would be.
1. Let us say that you are invited to a wedding and the reception of a close friend. At the reception, do you look at the seating arrangement to see who’s sitting next to you? Ever disappointed? Have you ever changed the assignments? (Friends episode)
2. Your boss offers you tickets to see the Lakers play. There are two sets of tickets, one set is courtside, the other set is 15 rows back. You can choose either set. What is your choice?
3. A close associate of yours invites your favorite author to speak at a luncheon. You are invited too. There is open seating, you enter the dinning room ahead of everyone else, where do you sit?
       These situations may not be tempting to you because you already have chosen to be humble. Maybe you go to a movie and pick the worse seat. Two rows back from the big screen. Or maybe on a really crowded airplane you choose the seat between the two biggest guys. You pick the seat nobody else wants, right between two National League football players. You squeeze in between so you can fulfill this law of humility.
        This is another way we have trouble interpreting the wisdom scriptures. We want to fulfill God's word with such zeal that we might not have any wisdom in how we apply it. Wisdom is defined as "knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action."[dictionary] The just judgment in Jesus’ parable is that the lord of the banquet would tell you where to sit. That is where our faith comes in to play. As we position our hearts before the lord in all humility, we don't focus on producing humility as it will flee too quickly when gazed upon, but we look to our Lord who will help us find the exact seat he has for us. True humility is doing the will of God. Being who God wants us to be, no matter where he places us, is the answer. If we all have this attitude then all the seats are the same.
        Looking to man is not the answer either. We do not have to depend on men or on "the kindness of strangers". We are not playing musical chairs, either. It is not all by chance or luck or quickness that when the music stops you are in the right spot or can quickly get to the chair. Our lives are ordered when we submit ourselves to the Lord in humility. He will not waste one minute of our lives.
      It is interesting to look one more time at the Luke scripture concerning the dinner. After Jesus had explained to the other guests their need for humility, he talked to the host of the dinner. Jesus rebukes the host for inviting his friends, neighbors and acquaintances. Those who Jesus said could "repay you". These were not the ones to invite. He suggested that he give a feast in which he invited the halt, lame and the poor to eat at his table, those who could not pay him back. This was an interesting request. I have to say, I have yet to give a party where all the guests were poor, lame, blind and homeless. But Jesus suggested this to the host. His reasoning was that the host would be repaid, but it would come during the eschaton. I don't know if Jesus was suggesting that the host was wasting his time with this group of "friends".

       Is Christ asking us to have people such as this as our dinner and party guest? I think  he was serious. But beyond that difficult request is the hope that everyone at the dinner (the Shabbat) would conduct himself or herself in a way that addresses the kingdom of God. The Pharisees believed in the coming day of the resurrection of the righteous. Jesus wanted them to live like there is a tomorrow, the eschaton,  to be responsible to. Christ’s interpretation and application of the scriptures maintain this tension of “already but not yet". He knew the Kingdom of Heaven had come in some measure with his appearance and that men should be living in that dictate. To live otherwise was to live in a lesser day with lesser hope and lesser fulfillment. Jesus was not being cynical or mean spirited in his explanation and application these scriptures. He was encouraging every man to press into the age he was representing to them. The opportunity for them to receive the Kingdom of God, that had come near to them, was real.
     It is the same with us. He offers us to live in this present age and still be a part of the age to come. We are called to apply the scriptures in this present age with Kingdom intent. "We are heaven's colony. We are citizens of the Kingdom. We live by a different set of rules that those around us" (Stevens). Jesus’ reasoning was one of hope and deliverance for all of us who can in faith, humbly apply the scriptures to our lives today.