“Rising Above the Chaos” – John 3:1-17 – February 17, 2008

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. The man prayed for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none came. The man was exhausted but he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood for protection and a place to store his provisions. But one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived at his temporary home to find it in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened. Everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. “How could God do this to me?” he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. When they arrived he asked, “How did you know that I was here?” “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied. (from Homiletics, February 2008)

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it wills.” Or, in other words, God acts on our behalf in ways that are beyond our comprehension and imagination. We like to believe that we are in control of our lives but obviously we are not.

Nicodemus was confused about Jesus and his different message about how one relates to God. He was used to a religion that was based on rules and the “law.” For Nicodemus, the idea of a spiritual rebirth was totally foreign to his religious tradition. He was taught to obey all the rules, be faithful and observe certain prescribed practices. Therefore, Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus meant after he said one must be "born again" to enter the kingdom of heaven.

When Nicodemus encountered Jesus about the phrase, "born again," Jesus told him that to be born again meant to be born "from above." In other words we must experience a time of second birth to fully become children of God. Nicodemus wanted a simple formula, one he could control. But, being "born from above,” is not that simple. It is not something we can control.

Nicodemus wanted to understand the "born again" process. He wanted a concrete formula to follow. Jesus said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." The words "from above" come from the Greek word anothen. Anothen has multiple meanings. The word means "from above," "again" and "anew."

I believe to be “born again” means to live your life as though God is in control, not you. And when the wind (or spirit) does blow, it means we allow it to move us rather than resisting it. The man’s hut was on fire and he was devastated. However, the fire that destroyed his house became the very signal that saved his life.

How hard for us it is to see that in a midst of a crisis, God is working. How hard it is for us to trust the wind that blows us off course. How difficult it is for us to cease being in control of our lives and become fully dependent upon God.

Nicodemus wanted information that would lead him to God. He was conditioned to think and therefore believe that life is all about rules, laws and following a prescribed system or process. God is not a mathematical equation or formula. God cannot be explained by some scientific reasoning. God is a mystery.

When we understand God as mystery we begin to accept the fact that we are not in control. God is like the wind, an unexplainable force, moving us in a new and different direction. I recently had the opportunity to take a week off. During my vacation I did not read the newspaper or watch the evening news. Occasionally, I would catch up on the headlines. It made me realize that we live in a society where information totally consumes us. We are conditioned to think that with more knowledge and more data we will be able to survive. Unfortunately that negates the opportunity for the wind to have any influence upon us.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make plans, nor does it mean we should not educate ourselves. It means we should be open to the spontaneous wonder of God’s spirit, a spirit that can be life enriching and life changing.

One thing that frustrates us in the modern day world is detours. We hate detours. We are an impatient people who don’t like to change course. Yet, detours lead us into places we have never been and force us to experience life in ways we have never known. Detours force us to interact with unknown territory, trusting that we will still arrive at our destination.

Last Saturday my wife and I visited my parents who live in Deland, Florida. My brother had arranged for us to meet a De Leon Springs State Park. There they gave tours of the Woodruff Wildlife Region. We also ate at the Sugar Mill Pancake House. My parents have lived within 45 miles of the park for the last 30 years. No one had ever heard of the place let alone visit it. We had a wonderful time and learned a lot about the history of Florida. It was a pleasant day, far from the craziness of metropolitan Orlando.

To be born again is to be blown off course, only to realize new life experiences that can be very fulfilling. Of course that requires letting go. It also means trusting that God will be with us.

We are "born again" when we put our trust in God instead of our own resources. We are "born again" when we are open to the possibility that the spirit of God can come at any moment. We are born again when instead of fearing the wind we embrace it and allow ourselves to be moved by it.

For me, more than anything, to be born again is to change. We don’t like change. We enjoy our routines, familiar patterns and comfort zones. Nicodemus could never truly know God without changing. He had to get outside his rigid system of religion and allow himself to be exposed to God’s spirit. That meant living in darkness instead of living in the light. To his credit he was willing to break away from the establishment and seek out Jesus.

To live in darkness is to resist the wind. To live in darkness is to close ourselves to the life-breathing spirit of God. To live in the light is to be open to the presence of God and be willing to go where God moves us.

To be reborn is to change. It might mean moving in a different direction. I could mean some sort of makeover. It could also mean a change in our perceptions about life, the way we see things, or the way we feel about someone.

Nicodemus appears in the gospel of John then fades away. We don’t know if he left the religious establishment. We don’t know if his life changed because of his encounter with Jesus. All we know is that in the next chapter Jesus begins his ministry by calling disciples. Jesus moved on, continuing to be faithful, regardless of the outcome.

One thing I have learned in ministry is that few people are directly changed because of me. In fact, most people seem to go on living their lives as if nothing has happened. I have come to accept the fact that being born again means I cannot change others. They have to be open to God’s spirit just as I have to be open to the spirit. To live in God’s light is a matter of letting the “wind blow where it will.”

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio