2 Lent Year A
March 8, 2020
Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17
Questions, questions, questions…we all have them…throughout our entire lives…
But, children, especially are well-known for their curiosity, their minds full of wonderings and questions that are sometimes endless…
Children can ask some pretty deep questions:
“Why do we have to be born young and grow old, why can’t we be born old and get young?” (@KellyRocks)
Sitting in a restaurant, a young child asks his Father, “Why are we here, Daddy?”
“Well, we’re here to have lunch!”
“No, no. Why are we here ON THIS EARTH?” (/u/kateysomething)
Children never seem to tire in wanting to know who, what, when, where, why…morning, noon, and night…especially nighttime… when they should be closing their eyes to finally get some rest…And for the most part, they trust in the answers that we adults give them…even when we just answer with…I wonder about that too… I wonder, too how these things could be….
My oldest son and I had a ritual every evening before turning out the light for sleep…I would be sitting on his bed, letting him know that the time had come to turn out the light…and that’s when the questions would begin…What are we doing tomorrow? What time will we have dinner? What will we have for breakfast the next day? Where will we go on Saturday? Will grandma and grandpa come to my birthday party (that was still 5 months away!)?
I allowed quite a bit of time for his questions every night…I felt like it was important to spend this time just listening and honoring his questions…and at the same time, building a relationship with him, based on trust….offering him assurance…that even in times of not having all the answers…he could still trust…that I was listening…and that I was there with him… and that I indeed loved him and cared about him…
I think there’s something to be said about night-time and questions…for children of all ages…but especially us adults….think about yourself for a moment…How many nights, do you lay your head down on the pillow, to finally rest after a long day…and in a matter of seconds or minutes…you are wide awake…your brain is fully awake and processing everything that happened in the past day, the past few months, the past year….while simultaneously thinking about the present moment, tomorrow, next month…later next fall….Our brains are an amazing thing…too amazing at times…
But do you know what is even more amazing?…God’s love for us….a love so amazing and so wonderful…that God gave his only Son, Jesus, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life…. A love so amazing and so wonderful…that it has the power to save us in times of trials and temptations, to give us hope, to give us peace of mind and heart, in times of uncertainty, in times of suffering, in times of unknowing, in times of question, after question after question… How can these things be?
I wonder if the questions seem to arise more in the night-time, because we finally rest from the busyness of doing things, whether it’s caring for loved ones at home, attending to the needs of one’s children, running all around attending to everything that needs to be done during the daylight hours…thinking it’s all on us…to do it all…
I wonder if the questions seem to arise more in the evening because it’s dark, or because we are fearful of something, or we’re anxious about many things, or because it’s quiet, or that we find ourselves feeling alone for a moment… and in that moment of quiet and stillness, an inner longing and hope swells up in us, telling us that there has got to be something more to this life than running around all day, in a state of worry, concern, and fear…there has got to be more than what we think we already know…and allow ourselves to believe..
And in the mind of Nicodemus, in today’s gospel story…there had to be more to know about this person Jesus….who he had witnessed performing miracles…there had to be more to know about this person Jesus, than he had heard in his teachings to the crowds.
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a Jewish scholar, who was very knowledgeable on matters of Jewish law and religion, came to Jesus by night…with a seeker’s heart…as a child of God, curious and wondering…
Maybe he came at night, because that’s when his busyness of the day was over…and Jesus’ busyness of the day was over…
But he came, at night… And in those hours of the night with Jesus…there were questions that came up for Nicodemus…and answers that Jesus provided….that boggled Nicodemus’ mind….but seemed to be opening Nicodemus’ heart (and mind) a bit more as time went on…and with every question and with every answer Jesus gave: “How can anyone be born again after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”
The short answer, here…Love…God’s love…
A love so amazing and so wonderful…that God gave his only Son, Jesus, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life…. A love so amazing and so wonderful…that it has the power to save us in times of trials and temptations, to give us hope, to give us peace of mind and heart, in times of uncertainty, in times of suffering, in times of unknowing, in times of question, after question after question…How can these things be?
I like to imagine Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night…as a young child again…allowing himself to ask questions through the heart of a child…a heart full of curiosity and wonder…allowing himself to grow closer in understanding the mystery of God and His love for his beloved children of all ages….
I wonder if we might try that? Instead of lying awake at night worrying and thinking we have to answer all of life’s difficult questions all by ourselves…we go to talk with Jesus with a seeker’s heart, as a child of God, curious and wondering….
But, not only at night time…but, in the morning, the day time…today, tomorrow, and the next day….go to Him, by spending time with Him, getting to know more…about earthly things and heavenly things…physical things and spiritual things…getting to know more about God’s love…God’s dream for the world, for you, for me, for our neighbors…
Do this, by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word, spend time in prayer, time in silence, time in worship and sabbath-keeping…
Do this, by building loving relationships with one another, built upon the love of God that has been so graciously poured out for each one of us…
A love so amazing and so wonderful…that God gave his only Son, Jesus, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life…. A love so amazing and so wonderful…that it has the power to save us in times of trials and temptations, to give us hope, to give us peace of mind and heart, in times of uncertainty, in times of suffering, in times of unknowing, in times of question, after question after question…How can these things be?
Let us pray: (Hymn: Lord of all hopefulness)
Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm, whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm: be there at our sleeping and give us, we pray, your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day. Amen. (Vs 4)
Rev. Julie Platson, Rector
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, Alaska
***Preached at St Philip’s, Wrangell, AK***