Year A, 8 March 2020
I absolutely love travelling. Well, who doesn’t love going on a trip? I love the opportunity to see new things, the chance to meet new people, the space to do something you normally wouldn’t, and the time to just get away from the normal routine. I don’t mind a little bit of adventure either. In fact, part of me knows that things will always be okay if I’ve got a current passport.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.’ (Gen 12:1) “So Abram left.” (Gen 12:4)
Personally I find it hard to imagine that two mature people could just pack up and leave, not knowing where God was leading them. Sure it was an adventure, and while I love adventures, I like to be well organised beforehand. I guess I’m a bit of a control freak. When we’ve been planning 4WD trips, I can often be seen filling in a spreadsheet which includes things such as distance between destinations, how many nights we will stop in each place, prices of different accommodation options, where the nearest services are, and what points of interest we should stop at along the way.
So if God appeared to me and suggested that we make a big move somewhere, I would be sure to want more information … maybe a map, GPS co-ordinates, travel details and all kinds of reassurances before I said yes.
Abram, though, seems to have such a faith that he can cast other loyalties aside and entrust his life and well-being (and that of his family) to God’s care.
Abram comes from Ur which is in modern day Iraq. He lives in a time when there is no nation of Israel and no Jewish faith. He is likely to have worshipped many gods, but he hears the voice of God and he responds. For Abram, response to God’s command doesn’t just mean moving house, but relates to the orientation of his whole being. Abram is called to leave all that he has known – country and kin. God’s speech to Abram requires him to embrace newness, to go to where he has never been, to depart all familiar markings and reference points.
For such a small amount of text, we see that God is very active, and speaks a massive promise to Abram. God says “I will” four times, and the promise envisions an existence which is not yet a reality. It invites Abram to live in hope of a future which he can’t yet see. There is no visible evidence of the blessing that is promised, yet Abram is transformed as he catches the hope of the vision. He trusts the One who speaks, believes in what is said and permits a new intent in his life.
Abram begins this new, daring adventure without hesitation. He does not bargain or probe. He doesn’t want more information. He trusts immediately and completely. His faith is able to help him move from old securities towards a new identity, which leads to blessings not only for Abram but an inheritance that is for all people.
In contrast to Abram and his immediate response of faith, in the New Testament reading we meet Nicodemus. I warm to Nicodemus and I have to say that I think I’m a bit more like him. He too, is on a faith journey, but for him the response is not so immediate.
The name Nicodemus means ‘victor of the people’ and that describes him really well. As a member of the Pharisees, he was part of a social movement which held a particular school of thought. Pharisees followed legal traditions that were ascribed to the “traditions of the fathers” rather than the Bible. As such, they were well-known legal experts, as well as faith leaders. Nicodemus is a man of power.
Yet we see Nicodemus coming to see Jesus under the cover of darkness because he is breaking rank with his peer group. He has a genuine interest in Jesus, someone whom his fellow Pharisees see only as a threat to their authority and tradition. Nicodemus is not someone who comes to challenge Jesus, but rather to ask scholarly questions as he tries to make sense of things.
When we consider Jesus’ response to this genuine, respectful man, it is no wonder that Nicodemus ends up more confused than ever. Jesus presents Nicodemus with a complex theological proposition about being ‘born from above’ (John 3:3) and then Nicodemus seems to be chided for his lack of comprehension. In reality Jesus and Nicodemus would have been speaking Aramaic, but the original text comes to us in Greek, where the word añothen can either mean again, anew, or from above. Nicodemus trips over this word which leads to Jesus explanation of the need for the divine Spirit, which will come and bring with it a new creation.
When Nicodemus asks “how can these things be” (John 3:9) Jesus responds questioning Nicodemus as to how he, the best teacher, cannot comprehend. But while Nicodemus has a lot of knowledge, and understands religion, he cannot grasp the strange ways of God who persists in making all things new. The dynamic movement of the Spirit eludes him.
The actions of Jesus, the Son of Man, are the clue that points us to the character of God’s new world. John 3:16 is probably the best-known verse in the Bible. Like Vegemite, it is loved and avoided in equal terms. It is loved by some because it expresses the depth of God’s love for the world and holds out hope for redemption. It is avoided by others because it appears to put conditions on access to God’s grace. But if we read this verse alongside verse 17, we hear that God’s intention in sending his son is not to condemn the world but to make it whole.
As a leading Pharisee, it took great courage for Nicodemus to approach Jesus at all, never mind with such respect and candour. Nicodemus is a man of integrity. He does not try to flatter Jesus with compliments, or trap him with questions. This is a genuine approach by a thoughtful enquirer.
I think Nicodemus is a wonderful example of those who are willing to question the official party line. He is part of a tradition but no longer feels comfortable with it – something that resonates with many in Christian leadership. He responded to Jesus’ radical approach to their shared faith system, cutting through the accumulated clutter of the centuries and taking it back to its roots in God’s love for all people.
If our only context with other seekers after faith is in the formal context of our Sunday worship then maybe we are missing out on the opportunity that Nicodemus had when he met with Jesus – the opportunity that some of us might remember from student days when we talked late into the night about issues of faith, asking difficult questions and speculating on obscure concepts.
The story of Nicodemus invites us to take our faith seriously enough to make it our own, and like Abram, to move away from the safety of conforming to a tradition that we have always known. Abram and Nicodemus were both on a journey of faith, as are we, and we all know that for some the journey takes longer than others. But let us all be brave enough to move to the spaces where we can engage with ourselves, God and one another so that we can find a faith that is real and life-transforming.
Amen.
Rev Heather Hon – March 2020