Sermon – The Gift of Second Chances - Lent 2 (A) March 12, 2017
John 3:1-17 Panzer Liturgical Service
I always thought I knew what I wanted from life. I did an experiment in an 8th-grade science class where we learned how to type blood, and from then on, I learned everything I could about the world of hospital laboratories. My singular focus in high school and college was becoming a blood banker… And I was very proud to accomplish my goal and help contribute to the health and welfare of many. But after a couple of years, I realized that I was more in love with the goal than the work. I got more involved at church and started working on youth mission teams in my spare time. I was so committed to the mission, I traded my 1968 Olds Cutlass for a 1986 Mazda B2000 pickup truck because you know, you can’t fit a sheet of plywood in the trunk very easily.
It didn’t take too long for me to realize that I needed commit fully to this new life. So I traded my old life for a new life… cashed in my 401k to pay for my first semester of seminary, worked 3rd shift at the hospital for four years to pay the bills, and eventually ended up ordained and serving a United Methodist church, back in SC where it all started. A lot has changed in the last 30 years. I can honestly say that my life looks nothing like the one I imagined and that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Our lives are filled with second chances. In the successful model, we make mistakes, we learn, we fix it, and try again. Sometimes we learn from the mistakes, but don’t fix them or go back to our old behaviors. The good news is that over and over, we are given a second chance to get it right; a chance to do the right thing, to be the people we were created to be.
Second chances come to us because they are a gift. They are a gift from God, a gift from a forgiving boss or co-worker, wife or husband, parent or child, friend or stranger. Most of the second chances we receive are so small that we barely even notice when they come our way. We may even learn to accept them as a predictable, expect part of our lives. And to most of us, there is nothing wrong with that model, as long as we are the ones on the receiving side of the second chance. But the question arises, are we always so accepting when we are the ones on the giving side of the second chance? Do we have the same feeling of grace when we see a second chance given that we feel is undeserved?
Imagine your own righteous indignation at the second chances you have seen people, maybe even yourself, squander away. It’s hard, isn’t it, to keep always before us the necessity for second chances, just to assure that the morale and function of the community and the family survive.
Today’s gospel lesson models for us the universal temptation to misunderstand the gift of second chances. Most of us remember the story of Nicodemus, who came to Jesus under the cover of night to ask questions and understand for himself the things which he had heard about Jesus. Now, this is a big deal, because Nicodemus was a man of the law. It wasn’t that he was a lawyer in the way we think about the profession. No, his was the business of making sure that every I was dotted and every T was crossed when it came to observing the faith. The Chosen people of God didn’t just live by the Mosaic law… they sought God in ritual perfection.[i]
So Jesus presents quite the conundrum for Nicodemus. “Rabbi,” he said, “you must be from God because no one could do the things you do if God’s hand were not in it somewhere, but...” Jesus gives no easy answer, but actually intensifies Nicodemus’ struggle when he tells him that no one can be a part of the kingdom of God until they are born “anothen.”
I don’t usually throw around a lot of Greek or Hebrew in my sermons, but today I’ll make an exception. It is important for us to understand that this Greek word “anothen” defies accurate translation with only one word or phrase. If you read verse 3 in different translations, you will get two different readings. Some will translate this word “again” or “anew,” while others will render its meaning, “from above.” In most cases, biblical translators have chosen which definition holds the primary meaning and then placed the alternate meaning in a footnote in smaller type at the foot of the page. More recent translations have taken a different position. They understand that the original Greek word was chosen specifically because it transmitted both meanings at the same time. And so we need to hear Jesus say to Nicodemus is, “you must be born anew from above to understand who I really am.”
Nicodemus doesn’t get it. He focuses on the “born again” aspect of knowing Jesus. He sees the disciples, all who have left their previous lives to follow Jesus, the apostolic version of turning over of a new leaf. But Jesus’ words are confusing to him. And so he challenges the literal meaning of the words. “How can this happen?” He asks. “We can’t get back inside our mothers’ wombs. The thought of such a thing is just ridiculous.”
Imagine how weary Jesus must be of these responses. “How can I tell you about heavenly things if you don’t understand about earthly things?” he asks. “Let me make it simple,” Jesus says. “God did not send his son into the world to tear it down or to condemn it, but to save all those who would believe in him.” In this comment, Jesus tells us so much about our lives and his. The allusion to his own death and resurrection foreshadows the path by which our eternal life will come – through the cross of Jesus.
Jesus was not the Messiah they were predicting. Instead, Jesus was what they least expected… a servant king, not a warrior king… a teacher, not a political ruler… one who lived among the least, the last and the lost. He was willing to die so that others could live, rather than kill so that he could remain in power. The words in verse 16, known to so many all over the world, “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,” really do tell us something important about our Savior and our God.
Our Savior is one who believed in second chances so much that he gave us an unlimited number, so that when we mess our lives up, again and again, we are given another chance to repent, another chance to recommit our lives to him, and another chance to begin again, all a gift of newness from above. Our God is the One who loved the ones created in his image so much, that he allowed the death of his beloved Son to happen, even though he and Jesus both had the power to stop the whole process at any point along the way.
A few years ago I had the chance to do a Lenten study called Animal Crackers. In this study, we saw how service to others is a way of being Christ’s hand and feet and voice in the world. Ministry opportunities like Heifer Project, International, and Habitat for Humanity and youth and adult mission projects throughout the world provide second chance opportunities from above, both for the receivers and the givers. This kind of work reminds us that love is not just a word or a sentimental declaration. Love is action – and bound to the ability to see ourselves and everyone around us as those in need of second chances… over and over again.
John 3:16 is probably one of the most often-quoted verses in the New Testament. And we think of it as a seminal verse for understanding who Jesus was and what he does for us. But did you know that the most prolific writers of the Reformation, Luther, Calvin and Wesley, never wrote or preached about this verse? It’s so easy to reduce this verse to its most basic component – to remind people that Jesus died for us. But it’s so much bigger than that. Jesus gave his life, not just in the end on the cross, but every day that he preached and taught and healed and ate and sat and loved. All of creation is touched by his presence on earth. When I read or see the news, I ask myself, “What lessons have we learned from his life? If the state of the world is reflected in our willingness to be his representatives in the world, not just in the souls who come to him, but in how we take care of the world around us, I’m not sure we have learned these lessons very well.[ii]
God calls us to take second chances seriously. As we look at our own relationships with Christ and the world that needs to know Christ, we must remember that we are not the brokers of our own salvation. We do not decide who is living under God’s grace, or who is in or out of the Kingdom. Our ability to give second chances, in whatever form they take, is always in response to the gracious gift of eternal life given to us through the life and death and cross of Jesus Christ. We may think that we are doing a great thing to be so generous, but those gifts are God’s second chances for us.
I heard a story on the news the other day about an increase in Muslim conversions to Christianity in Europe since the new migration began two years ago. Of course, I checked it out from several sources, because that’s what we do today. And it looks like it’s true. In Germany, England and Austria, many of the churches that have welcomed Muslim refugees have seen record numbers of converts in the last two years. While some outside of the church are skeptical, pastors have seen that only about 10% of people who convert leave the church after baptism and confirmation. Those remaining are busy worshiping weekly and reaching out to others in need of God’s grace, increasing the worship attendance and outreach of the churches in the communities where they live.[iii]
Life is not about form. It is about function. And our function… our purpose… is to embrace God’s love. To rejoice in it. To share it. If we get that right, we won’t sweat the details. Do you know that best way to convince people of who Jesus is? Love them… Love them because that what’s Jesus would do… and because that’s what he calls us to do, too. Orthodoxy (correct thinking) is not what keeps people coming to Jesus… Orthopraxy (correct or faithful practice)… that’s what Jesus is calling us to do… it’s all about love.
David Sellery sums it up well. “Why are we here? Where are we going? How will it all end? Jesus not only has the answer to life’s big questions… he is the answer. In the plainest terms, he tells us: Come follow me. Be born again of water and the Holy Spirit and it’s all yours… the forgiveness of the penitent, the serenity of grace, the joy of the beloved, the eternal life of the saved. Jesus has changed the game. And the Father is waving us home.”[iv]
Amen.
[i] David F. Sellery, This Week's Focus - "The Game Changer"
[ii] James Howell, What can we say come March 12? Lent 2 http://jameshowellsweeklypreachingnotions.blogspot.de/2017/03/what-can-we-say-come-march-12-lent-2.html
[iii] Harriet Sherwood and Philip Oltermann, “European churches say growing flock of Muslim refugees are converting,” The Guardian, June 5, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/05/european-churches-growing-flock-muslim-refugees-converting-christianity
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