It’s
a rare person who has not experienced
anxiety at least once in his or her life. It can be minor anxiety about a test
in school, or a visit to the dentist. It can be major anxiety with a health
problem or a large financial transaction. It can be anxiety about what kind of
priest and spiritual leader this parish will call.
The reading from John’s gospel today is about part of Nicodemus’s visit
to Jesus. When I read this whole story in scripture, John 3:1-21, Nicodemus’
anxiety is what I hear and see demonstrated.
Nicodemus is a community leader, a Pharisee. He comes to see Jesus at
night. We can rationalize this by saying Nicodemus was a student of the Torah,
the Hebrew Scriptures, and rabbis recommended the scripture be studied in the
quiet times at night. But given Nicodemus’ questions, it seems much more like
anxiety.
In
the part we don’t hear today, Nicodemus
starts off revealing his anxiety by flattery. “Rabbi, we know that you are a
teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart
from the presence of God.” And what is Jesus’ answer? He says something that
raises Nicodemus’ anxiety even more. “No one can see the kingdom of God without
being born from above.” Jesus’ statement is open to misinterpretation because
the word used here means both “born anew” and “born from above.”
It’s clear from
Nicodemus’ next question that what he hears is “born anew.” And being “born
anew” raises his anxiety even more. How can an adult be born anew? “How can one
enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus describes this “born from above” and “born anew” by saying, “The
wind (the spirit) 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.”
These are two messy metaphors here. Birth and wind are both
uncontrollable and in the hands of others. We do not ask to be born and we can
do nothing about the process. We are pushed out into the world by the birth
process itself. And the wind? The wind blows where it will. We cannot control
the wind by telling it where to blow or whether or not to blow. Both birth and
wind are beyond our control. And this can be frightening. It can raise our
anxiety to realize we are not in control.
On the other hand, admitting we are not in control can mean freedom. We
can let God be in control. I wonder if this is what happened to Nicodemus
eventually.
Nicodemus appears twice more in the Gospel of John. He appears to defend
Jesus during an argument in the temple, although he seems to do it without much
enthusiasm. And, Nicodemus appears for the last time in John’s Gospel after the
crucifixion. He and Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus’ body to be buried. Nicodemus
brings a hundred pounds of spices to anoint Jesus’ body for burial.
I like to think Nicodemus finally got it when Jesus said to him,
“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.” It took Nicodemus a while,
perhaps. His anxiety got the best of him when he first met Jesus. His anxiety
triumphed again at the temple when he tried to defend Jesus and was asked,
“Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you?”
But then, something larger than anxiety must have filled Nicodemus at
the end. Why else would he bring a hundred pounds of spices to anoint one man’s
body for burial? I’d like to think it was an extravagant offering from someone
who finally understood the extravagance of what Jesus offered him on that night
they talked: Freedom from anxiety.
Jesus offered Nicodemus freedom from anxiety. Jesus offered Nicodemus
perfect peace, the peace that passes all understanding. He offered him
blessing, abundance, and love.
The part we usually hear and see of this Gospel is John 3:16 – held up
at football matches, no less – possibly one of the most anxiety-producing
events for a diehard football fans. Maybe it’s a misplaced attempt to relieve
anxiety about the outcome of the match? “God so loved that world that he gave
his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have
eternal life.”
But what follows that popular verse is John 3:17. A promise that lifts
us out of our anxiety and into a world of peace and blessing, abundance and
love: “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.” (Repeat.)
There is freedom from anxiety. There is peace. There is blessing. There
is abundance. There is love. All these are found in Christ Jesus. Trust his
freedom. Trust his peace. Trust his blessing. Trust his abundance. Trust his
love. These were given for the world. These were given for me. These were given
for you. AMEN.
The
Rev Nicolette Papanek
©2018
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