Jesus answered, "I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again." "How can a grown man be born again?" Nicodemus asked. "He certainly cannot enter his mother's womb and be born a second time!" "I am telling you the truth," replied Jesus, "that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.
Who are you?" That’s a question we are asked frequently. In answering, we usually give our name, where we come from and even what kind of work we do. "Hi! My name is Samuel, and I’m the pastor of St. Ansgar Lutheran Church". Sometimes we have to do a little more than that to prove who we are.
If I wanted to open an account at the bank, I would need to provide some other evidence of who I am – a driver’s license with my name, photo and signature. If I want to go overseas, or travel to the States I would need a passport, something that tells who I am.
When we visit a doctor or an accountant in their office you will see various certificates hanging on the wall – degrees from universities, membership certificates from professional organizations – all very impressive and if you look closely at these you will even see what school, college or university they come from.
There’s nothing wrong with doing that – this is important for establishing reputation. If you want a tax accountant to prepare your tax return, it’s good to be certain that he / she knows what he / she is doing.
You’ve probably got a few certificates for various things tucked away somewhere. I have – from grade school, and from college and seminary, from various courses, and seminars that I have participated in. When I look at these, I feel kind of good, I can say, "I have done all right" but not too impressed. These certificates are a reminder of the various things I have done to achieve them.
There’s one particular piece of paper that I have, which I am very proud of. You have one at home too, tucked away safely in a shoebox or drawer. We don’t take it out very often – and that’s our baptismal certificate. This certificate proves who we are but it has nothing to do with how clever we are, what schools we went to, what organizations we belong to and etc.
This is one certificate we didn’t have to work for. It was given to us, not because we were particularly good, or because we have earned it in some way. Our baptismal certificate was simply given to us.
This piece of paper (holding up baptismal certificate) has nothing to do with something I did, or to what I achieved through my cleverness or hard work. This certificate refers to something that God did for me. This doesn’t state what I did, it states who I am.
On the day of our baptism, through a very simple act involving a few drops of water or total immersion along with God’s Word of promise, a wonderful new relationship with God was begun. God did something for us. He made a commitment to each and every one of us.
When we are afraid and the road ahead looks hard and uncertain, our baptism reminds us of the promise of God that he would always be near. Like a loving parent who is never too far away from a small child, calming their fears, comforting them when they are hurting, likewise God the Father promises through our baptism that he is with us always.
At our baptism, God gave us the Holy Spirit who enables us to trust in Jesus, who gives us the faith and confidence to rely on our heavenly Father to take care of our every need. Daily God reminds us of Christ’s forgiveness when we fail and enables us to walk the ways of God.
What is even more amazing is that God has made this commitment toward us, not because of our commitment to him, not because we have decided to follow Jesus, not because we have been especially good and deserve this kind of favour. He constantly affirms that we are his children.
No doubt, this baptism certificate is the best certificate of all that I have, I believe. It says that I am God's child and that his love for me is unbelievably strong.
Nicodemus came to Jesus one night. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, that group of people who were always trying to find fault with what Jesus taught.
But Nicodemus wasn’t like that. He wanted to know more about Jesus. He was confused. His training included strict observance of all kinds of religious rules and a very regulated worship life. This, he was told, was the way to be right with God. What he had learnt as a Pharisee seemed to be so different to what Jesus taught. Before he could even ask his question, Jesus says, "I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again."
If Nicodemus was confused before he met with Jesus, he is even more confused now. How ludicrous is the suggestion that a grown man could return to his mother’s womb and be born again. The new birth that Jesus is talking about is from above. Getting into the Kingdom of God is not something we are able to accomplish; it is something that comes "from above", given by God freely and graciously.
No one gets into the Kingdom of God by being a "good person"! Nicodemus had devoted his life to being good, trying to live up to the standards his religion said he had to meet in order to please God and to win a place in God's kingdom. And he did it relatively well, better than most.
Nicodemus was good, he was a very good person. But the fact is this. No amount of goodness is good enough to establish a relationship with God or to get us into the kingdom of heaven!
Jesus says that it's not a matter of being "good", it's a matter of "being born anew", or it's not a matter of being "good", it's a matter of "being born from above". This means "being born of water and the Spirit." Just as Nicodemus contributed nothing to his own physical birth into the world, likewise he contributes nothing to his spiritual birth into the Kingdom of God.
Life is a pure gift in each case! The new birth into the kingdom of God is a gift by God's power. In other words, Jesus is saying: "You can’t do it, Nicodemus, but God can! God can transform us from the inside out and make us good enough!
Edwin Gulstein: a Norwegian, a fine Christian, and a Lutheran. Edwin was my spiritual mentor in my first parish in Herbert Saskatchewan. He is one of my faith heroes. He shared a beautiful story with me about the sacrificial love of Christ. He said during dirty 30’s a wild fire swept through their grain field one hot summer.
It consumed every thing on its path, except their homestead was spared. The next morning, as the smoke settled Edwin and brother Oliver went to the grain field just to investigate, what was left of their precious grain. Among the stubble they came upon something looked like a huge mothball, burnt and lifeless.
Out of curiosity Edwin kicked it, the impact of his boot split opened what looked like a huge mothball. To his surprise little chicks run in all directions. Then it occurred to him that, it was a prairie chicken, he concluded that during the wild fire mother hen shattered her brood beneath her, she didn’t survive the fire but her chicks did. This brought a profound meaning of the message of the cross to Edwin. “What a gift! The ultimate gift” as tears run down his face. “Mother hen gave her life to save her brood. This is what Christ has done for us”.
Our reading to day from John's Gospel summarized it this way, "For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life" (John 3:16). That is God's gift to each of us. Forgiveness and eternal life through his Son's death and resurrection.
When a person is about to be baptized the pastor summarizes what is about to happen with words of Jesus, we have been "born again through the water and Spirit", "born from above" and made holy. With our sin forgiven, we are affirmed as God's children. We are assured by our heavenly Father that we are his and that he will be our God through every circumstance and situation.
This piece of paper (in my hand) is only a piece of paper. It has no magical powers. But does remind me that God has given me his "okay". I can get strength from that; I can feel that I belong; it is a tool that I can use to confront any kind of situation, because I know that I have God's tick of approval on me.
We know that we have been blessed with his Spirit and that he has promised that he will be always be there for us. What many of us need is not so much an "in-filling" of the Holy Spirit but an activating of everything God is and everything he has to offer.
This blue aging certificate doesn’t look very impressive, but it’s a tangible reminder of
Be affirmed by it – being linked to Christ is the best we have. According to Martin Luther, "A Christian life is nothing else than a daily Baptism, once begun and ever continued" ("The Large Catechism," Book of Concord).
Like me, you’ve probably got all kinds of documents and certificates that remind you what you’ve done. This one (holding up certificate) reminds us of who we are – a child of God.
Amen.
Rev. Samuel King-Kabu
February 13, 2005