Sermon - John 3:1-17
RLD
Title: To See the Reign of God
Focus (What does the text say?): Unless anyone be born anew, they will
not able to see the reign of God.
Function (How will the text affect its listeners?): To remind us that we
continually need to look to God for our vision of life.
Helpful References
For a discussion on the meaning of the Gr. ""anothen"" Bucshel''s article
in the TDNT was very helpful.
I have greatly enjoyed following the scriptural references given in the
margins of the Nestle NT. They have provided a depth of understanding
of our sermon texts that I usually miss. However, following all of the
references takes a very long time. On the one hand, they are very
valuable. On the other hand, I''m not sure how much time I can
consistently devote to searching them out. For the next week or so,
I''ll keep following them to see if I can find quicker ways of finding
them (i. e. Biblical websites, biblical software, etc.)
Sermon Outline for John 3:1-17
Title: To See the Reign of God
Focus (What does the text say?): Unless anyone be born anew, they will
not able to see the reign of God.
Function (How will the text affect its listeners?): To remind us that we
continually need to look to God for our vision of life.
Introduction
Jesus points out that the teachers of Israel did not have a very
impressive understanding of God. They spend a lot of time telling
others how to live, but they have a fairly limited understanding of
spiritual things. I do not think this was a problem unique to first
century Jewish leaders. We all have a tendency to resist new ways of
looking at our world.
Change Is Hard to Resist
In the most recent issue of Presbyterians Today magazine there is an
article on Celtic Christianity. Among their beliefs, Celtic Christians
believed God''s goodness could be seen in creation and that all people
were equal in God'' sight. It was for these beliefs that Celtic
Christianity was considered heretical. The Celtic tradition was
suppressed by the official Church. The official Church had defined
faith in such a limited way, that whole cultures were excluded or
ignored or sometimes even persecuted.
More than a thousand years ago, the Church fought against environmental
theology and the equality of believers. But these ideas did not go
away. Today they are still an important part of the faith of many
people.
Changes We Resist
I am sure we people of faith are still doing this. We don''t mean to
exclude or ignore or persecute people. But we like to maintain a sense
of human certainty in our faith. And yet, how will we ever learn to
live side by side with Muslims, a faith that did not even exist when our
faith began, if we cannot adapt and change? How do we as Christians
show them the love of Christ? We need new ideas to live in this ever
changing world.
When Mohandas Ghandi spoke of his spiritual search, he described trying
to become a Christian. For 21 years he worked for the rights of Indians
in South Africa. His teachings were largely based upon the New
Testament (He insisted on non-violence in political struggles). But,
because he was not white, he was not welcome as a fully equal member of
the South African Church. Because of this rejection, he abandoned the
attempt to join the Church. Throughout his life, he studied the
teachings of Jesus. He prayed twice a day every day. After doing all
he felt he could in South Africa, he returned to his nation of birth,
India. There, he continued to work for the rights of all people,
helping India become independent of Great Britain without a violent
struggle. Wouldn''t it have been a great testimony to the world if
Christians had granted him the right to call himself Christian?
And this type of rejection happens in our own communities. When I
worked as an engineer in Austin, I worked with a man who wanted to be a
part of the Church, but he did not know of a Church that would let him
think in a scientific way and still explore faith. He had been rejected
repeatedly by very narrow-minded Christians and had spent years wanting
to be a part of the Church, but unwilling to deny the intellectual life
God had given him.
(I hope to add a positive story here of a Church that took a risk by
trusting or accepting someone new. However, I haven''t found one yet.)
Conclusion
Unless anyone be born anew, they will not able to see the reign of
God. This is true of Church as well as individuals. There are people
around us who desperately want to be loved but who are afraid of us
because of past rejections by the Church. There are people who could
become great leaders in the Church and society who do not trust us
because of our history of narrow mindedness. Jesus could still say to
His Church today, ""You must be born anew, or you will not see the reign
of God."" I pray that we will always look to God for the vision of how
our Church ought to look. We have much to teach, but we also have much
to learn. Let us keep listening for the good news even as we proclaim
it. Amen.