You Must Be Born Again
Rev.
Finley Schaef, preaching
Park Slope United Methodist Church, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday,
March 3,
1996
SCRIPTURE The appointed lesson for this day is John 3:1-17
Today's Gospel reading has 2 fascinating sentences in it. "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."
We know when the Spirit is present -- we "hear the sound of it." But we don't know about its past or future -- "where it comes from or where it goes." This isn't hard to understand. Very often our worship services take on a special quality, a spiritual quality. When it's over we say vague things indicating that our worship experience was special this morning. But we can't really say why, or what's going to come of it. The Spirit "blows where it chooses."
Churches which emphasize getting filled with the Holy Spirit are called "Pentecostal" churches. They're called "Pentecostal" because Pentecost was the original day in the history of Christianity when believers became filled with the spirit -- onlookers thought they were drunk. [See chapter 2 of the book of Acts.] In Pentecostal churches people are more free to express themselves than we are -- more emotional, we might even say "frenzied." The worship services in 19th century American Methodism were the same way. Compared to them we are very sedate.
The other fascinating part of this scripture is Jesus' conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus. This conversation has had a deep effect on Christianity. It has marked Christianity as a religion of spiritual transformation. We squirm when we hear the phrase "born-again," but if we think of it as spiritual transformation it becomes quite acceptable.
"Born-again Christianity" originated with this phrase from the story in the Gospel of John where Jesus tells Nicodemus, "You must be born anew." Nicodemus is confused because he takes Jesus' words literally: "How can anyone be born after having grown old?" he asks. "Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?"
We may wonder: how can a learned man like Nicodemus ask such a stupid question? The unspoken reality in this test is that Nicodemus was a member of the privileged class. Privileged classes don't want people to realize that they can lead better lives. Privileged classes hire clergy to teach the people to accept their ordained lot and look forward to pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by.
Nicodemus was not stupid -- he was mocking Jesus! He knew very well the implications of a born-again religion. The masses might get wise and rise up! Which is precisely what happened in Nicaragua when Fr Ernesto Cardenal taught the Gospel in Solentiname, and other priests throughout Latin America preached liberation theology.
In our day we are surrounded by a whole culture of spiritual transformation, some of it profound and some of it farcical: New Age philosophy, how-to books on developing your powers, Grateful Dead songs, and soft-drug paraphernalia. The notions of change, spiritual growth, & self-improvement have become commonplace in our culture. They may not let on, but the American privileged classes are nervous about our culture of self-improvement. Once in a while it slips out, like when former Vice President Day Quayle attacked the Murphy Brown TV show; and Bob Dole criticized rap songs; and pot-smokers get tossed in prison while alcohol, which makes us depressed, is promoted. That's why rich people fund right-wing religions which immerse people's lives in rules and regulations and emphasize going to heaven when you die. You see bumper stickers that say things like: YOU CAN GET INTO HEAVEN IF YOU KNOW THE RIGHT PERSON -- JESUS!
In ancient times, lacking mass education, it took a prophet to come on the scene and tell the people how to shape up. These prophets themselves had undergone profound spiritual transformation, as we saw in last week's scripture about the temptations of Jesus.
Prophets reminded the people, and the privileged classes in particular, that they indeed could and must change, in order to please God. When Jesus introduced the phrase "born again," he was carrying on the prophetic tradition.
The great prophet Moses taught the enslaved Hebrew people "to be born again." He led them out of slavery into the wilderness. He gave them the 10 Commandments! He led them to the Promised Land. These were events of social rebirth rather than an individual rebirth. They applied to and defined the nation.
We must never forget this: Moses brought a new people to birth, and Jesus sought the same thing: a new Jerusalem, a re-born Israel, a new people under God. If we seek spiritual transformation, it is for the sake of a new human community, a new wildlife habitat, and a new Earth. To seek spiritual transformation for our own sake alone would be a tragic perversion of the faith.
Insofar as New Age philosophy and practice is individualistic, insofar as Buddhist philosophy and practice is individualistic, insofar as born-again Christian philosophy and practice is individualistic, they are the blind leading the blind.
A performance artist whom I do not know, named Nina Wise, wrote about her experience with the Kalachakra Initiation led by the Dalai Lama in Santa Monica California. The Kalachakra Initiation is one of the most esoteric and advanced practices in Tibetan Buddhism, and it sounds like a beautiful thing. During the ceremony participants vow to devote their lives, and their many re-incarnated lives that follow, to serving all living beings. They vow to put the well-being of the whole ahead of their own individual well-being.
This is how Nina Wise described the first session:
We began with 3 prostrations and monks chanting in Tibetan up front. At the break, people dashed to the payphones in the lobby. Men in denim jeans and Izod shirts paced outside in the sunshine, portable phones pressed against their ears. Quote: Did you get directions for Richard Gere's party for the Dalai Lama? Quote: Has my agent called? Quote: Cancel my 2:30. This is tedious but I think I'll stick it out. Quote: He said he would sign? Fantastic! Maybe this stuff works. Quote: I hear there are 3 parties tonight. Find out if Barbra Streisand is involved. Unquote. At the sound of the gong, people rushed back into the auditorium.
The Buddhist ideal was good, but the motivations of the people attending were definitely mixed!
No matter what we do, we must think of ourselves as a part of the Whole. If somebody asks you, "Who are you? Define yourself." Let the first things out of your mouth be: "A child of God." And, "An earthling."
* * * * *
With this understanding of our responsibility to the Whole, let us consider being born again, being transformed.
There are Christians who refer to themselves as "born-againers." These are people who have gone through a religious experience related to Christ, which they call "spiritual." My former neighbor, Father Lester, who for many years was the priest at All Saints Episcopal Church on 7th Ave and 7th St, across from Methodist hospital, attended a spiritual retreat and was born again, and I must admit that his demeanor did change, from being rather severe to being more warm and friendly.
My son has a friend whose parents were heavy drinkers, then they converted and became "born-again" and went to church; but then, tragically, they fell back on alcohol for their comfort and consolation. In our family there's a distant relative who was born again -- he gets a little self-righteous about it, and you don't really want to talk with him for fear he'll tell you once again how good the Lord has been to him, etc.
On the New Year's resolution sheets you all filled out in January, one of you wrote this sentence:
"If I stop saying 'if only' and just Do it, I will be born again."
Each one of you, I'm sure, could say something similar. "I will be born again if ....................."
Years ago one of our members said, "Yes, I am born again! ..... and again ..... and again .....and again!" That's the point, isn't it? We spiritual development is an ongoing process.
On the "temptation" sheets you all handed in last week, somebody wrote: "I am tempted to put off things I need to get done, but don't want to do."
This is a common temptation and one which almost all of us have had to come to grips with. In the face of this temptation, how does one get "born again"? How does one overcome, conquer, or resist the temptation to put off what needs doing? To learn such a thing would be a definite re-birth for many people!
I have chosen 5 items from last week's "temptation" sheets to read to you, because each one represents a challenge and an opportunity for the author to be born again, and they may touch a chord in your own heart.
1. I am tempted to have all conversations revolve around money (or lack of money). 2. I am tempted to try to hurt the people who have hurt or irritated me. 3. I am tempted to put work before family. 4. I am tempted to ignore the injustice in the world. 5. I am tempted to forget to be thankful and celebrate life.
These are extraordinary self-criticisms. While we may say that these are woes and regrets, they also indicate a wisdom about life which have in them the promise of rebirth. Every articulated temptation represents the potential for spiritual transformation. Last Sunday, when you wrote down your temptations, you were in fact taking the first step in spiritual transformation. Now meditate on this: what is the 2nd step?
Let us pay careful heed to the words of Jesus: "Ye must be born anew."
Amen.
The following was posted on our bulletin board for others to respond. These are 3 of the "temptations" that the people handed in during last week's sermon. PASTOR'S COMMENTS ABOUT OUR TEMPTATIONS:
1. "Doubt us my biggest temptation. It is hard sometime not to doubt."
Response: Doubt is like losing faith, so it troubles us. We can doubt God. For example -- "When the building got blown up in Oklahoma City, I doubted God." Sometimes an event causes doubt to well up in us. As part of a creative growing process, doubt provokes reflection and spiritual struggle. It is necessary to growing spiritually. Everybody doubts.
2. "To base a career on greed."
Response: Jobs pose very serious ethical dilemmas, because the work world is defined by a system which puts profit ahead of the well-being of people and animals and nature. No one has a "pure" job, in the sense that it is untouched by the anxieties of greed, exploitation, and environmental devastation. Unwittingly, this person is probably compromised by more gave serious issues than her motivation to get a good wage.
(Second part, by the same person:) "Not to accept where life leads."
Response: If this person followed life "where it leads," would he quit his job which is based on greed? This would be a drastic decision and should or may be discussed with Pastor, Fellowship Circle, family, friends, colleagues, etc. It should be prayed over.
Respond with your comments and we'll add them here.
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