John 3 : 1 - 17
The Message
1-2 There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we all know you’re a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren’t in on it.”
3 Jesus said, “You’re absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s kingdom.”
4 “How can anyone,” said Nicodemus, “be born who has already been born and grown up? You can’t re-enter your mother’s womb and be born again. What are you saying with this ‘born-from-above’ talk?”
5-6 Jesus said, “You’re not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the ‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.
7-8 “So don’t be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be ‘born from above’—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next. That’s the way it is with everyone ‘born from above’ by the wind of God, the Spirit of God.”
9 Nicodemus asked, “What do you mean by this? How does this happen?”
10-12 Jesus said, “You’re a respected teacher of Israel and you don’t know these basics? Listen carefully. I’m speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God?
13-15 “No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.
16-17 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
REFLECTIONS:
Thoughts from John, Pastor of Community Development:
This week, we look forward to Trinity Sunday, the day in the Christian calendar that commemorates the revelation of God’s shape as the Triune, 3-in-1, Community. In other words, this is the week that the Christian tradition celebrates the funky, paradoxical reality that God is Relationship.
If you’re confused, welcome to the club. It’s good to have you.
But here’s the good news: this isn’t a project of intellectual ascent. The Trinity isn’t a doctrine to understand. It obligates no programs or strategies to prove our devotion. It doesn’t ask to be defended or to be fit into our theological boxes.
The Trinity, like all language, is metaphor we ascribe to God to give God shape. It is also the point in Christian theology from which we are able to affirm that the entire fabric of reality is designed for relationship and interdependence. That we are only ever who we are within the context of relationship.
The Trinity, therefore, is a reality to be experienced. It is a water of mystery into which we get to plunge ourselves, even while we are still confused by what exactly we are jumping into, letting the current pull us even deeper into the truth of our being. Indeed, we are saved into our most true selves as we discover our place in the Community of Creation.
In this water, our lines of division dissolve. Our pointed fingers of condemnation prune, and our lives extend past the shores of finitude. And only once we are in the water can we shout back to the shore: “jump in! it’s warm!”
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application
This week, see if you can refrain from saying anything negative about anyone!
Non-Violent Communication Question of the Week:
Consider a person whose behavior is currently frustrating to you. Can you think of a time when you behaved in similar ways?
What do you remember wishing others understood about you and your circumstances as you were behaving that way? Can you apply any of those memories to increase your empathy for the person frustrating you?
Pathways toward Centeredness
Naturalism (Loving God outdoors and in nature):
Find a park or similar “natural area.” Sit under a tree for 30 minutes. Imagine all the life, events, comings and goings, and people and animals the tree has seen. Consider where you fit inside that tree’s life story.
Questions for Reflection
When do you feel most connected to the world around you?
Where are you tempted to draw lines in sand around who is “in” and who is “out?”
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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