John 3:1-17
Lent 2 / Year A
I
remember crawling out of bed one morning when I was in seminary and stumbling
my way to the Chapel for the 8:15 Wednesday morning Eucharist. I was barely awake and not entirely tuned in
to the first part of the service. Locke
Bowman, a professor on campus, was the celebrant. When we got to the Great Thanksgiving he read
the liturgy: “The Lord be with you.” We
all replied, “And also with you.” And
then, so gently and tenderly he said, “Lift up your hearts.” Now most priests tend say these words in the
imperative: The Lord we with you. Lift
up your hearts (or else)! Not
Locke. When he said, “Lift up your
hearts” his tone was inviting and it caught my attention. I almost replied, “Well, why not! I accept your invitation to worship the
Lord.”
The
role and place of invitation is so important in the life of the Church. It is the offer to embrace the faith handed down
through saints and scholars, through songs and scrolls, through pastors and
parents and make it your own. When the
Church is truly inviting, people are called out of their Chapel slumber and
respond, “Who? Me? Well, why not!”
When
Jesus says to Nicodemus “You must be born from above (or born again) to see the
Kingdom of God” is he sounding a warning or issuing an invitation? Some would say Jesus is saying “You must be
born again… or else!” …or else you will
not please God. …or else your sins will not
be forgiven. …or else you will never get
to heaven. Or else! I contend Jesus is speaking of an opportunity
to see in a new way how God is at work in the world here and now. I contend it is an invitation.
Jesus
never thought of the Kingdom of God only as being eternity in heaven. For him, the Kingdom of God is here and now,
not just in the great Bye and Bye.
Seeing it and entering into it is a matter of understanding the mission
of Jesus and how God works through him.
Nicodemus comes to Jesus because he is impressed by the signs he
performs. For Jesus, it is possible
(perhaps even likely) to see the miracles and yet to miss the Kingdom. In order to find the Kingdom, he says, you
must be born again; not as in ‘or else’, but rather as “Why not!”
Jesus articulates
to Nicodemus his mission and purpose in this way:
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. 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
God did
not send Jesus to provide an ultimatum or warning; the big “Shape Up or Else!” Jesus is sent to save the world, not to
condemn it. The Kingdom begins with God,
out of a deep love for us, giving what is most dear and precious to God –
namely, God’s only Son – so we might have everlasting life, beginning right
now, today. Jesus makes it clear to
Nicodemus he must be moved by God’s self-giving, not the miracles, if he is
going to see the Kingdom at work in this world.
Our
first reading this morning, though brief, is one of the seminal moments in the
Old Testament. The Lord approaches Abram
and tells him to pack up his family and his things and go. Go where?
Just go until the Lord says, “Stop here.” Is it an order or an invitation? I suggest it is an invitation and Abram’s
acceptance is a sign of his deep faith and righteousness.
Do you
remember Jesus’ parable about the king who invites guests to attend a wedding? When everything is ready the king sends out
his servants to tell the guests the time has arrived for the celebration. However, each invited guest decides not to
go. Astonished, the king sends his servants
out again to invite whoever they can find.
The party will be open to those who want to attend – to those who accept
the invitation.
Every
Sunday morning we are invited to enter this place with our whole heart open to
worship and praise. Every day we are
invited to participate in the work God is doing in our world. Every moment we are invited to live out the
faith of our Baptismal Covenant and be a blessing to all, as Abram became a
blessing to all the families of the earth.
When has this invitation so captured your attention you responded, “Well,
why not”?
