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Exodus 18:13-27
John 3:1-17
March 12, 2017
Let Go
Marilyn McEntyre writes in her book Word by Word that she clung to the wet cement of the pool as she eyed the deep end, [I was]“sure that I would sink like a stone if let go.” . “And then I let go, and my head went under, but I bobbed back upand what I thought would be a brief shining moment - possibly my last – turned into an astonishing sense of easeas I dogpaddledfurther and further from the safety of the poolside.” [1] I think many of us can remember what it was like to leave the side of the pool and learn to swim.
Fear of drowning, scarcity of breath, walls of water tossing Noah’s ark or flooding pharaohs’ army are to me are universal symbols for chaos and anxiety. I have this friend, a pastor, who tells me that he has this reoccurring dream of being stuck underwater in a pool. It’s not any fun to wake up that way, but when it happens, “it’s merely a symptom and a signal that life for the moment is out of control.” “I’m not really drowning,” he says, “it’s that I know I have work to do. The schedule calls out for evaluation. Situations demand attention. Introspection and Contemplation are required. It’s time to let go of some things and make room for the new.”
The season of Lent calls us to address imbalances. There we cling to the security of the poolside, the world as we know it. Or there we cleave to commotion we know needs changing, afraid to leap, dive, plunge or push out into the unknown. There we sit stuck in the muck convincing ourselves everything is fine. Lent invites us to change what McEntyre calls self defeating stories, hard as it may be; to Take stock, take care, take time to examine our faith and our lives, our discipleship and our predicaments - to Reorient and reestablish our relationship to the Sacred One who sustains our world. It’susually not easy to take the plunge.
We encounter in scripture this morning two biblical figures who are somewhat anxious and restless. Moses and Nicodemus separated by well over thirteen hundred years of Jewish history both find themselves stuck. Something in them prevents them from pushing off the side and swimming into the future God has in store for them. They are not happy with life as they know it, but they are reluctant to leave it. These guys are not duds, they have achieved a certain level of success and status. They have answered God’s call as they understand it, yet they find themselves at a standstill.
Moses does not admit it but his father-in-law sees it all over his face. Moses is overwhelmed by his work load. Twelve and sixteen hour days; The needs of the people have worn him out. Where are you worn out?
You may remember that Moses was called by God in a vivid vision of a burning bush to lead the enslaved Hebrew people in an uprising against the Egyptians. After many battles, with a fierce sense of God being on their side, the Hebrew people left Egypt in large numbers seeking freedom. They were bound for the Promised Land, Israel. Moses was a charismatic inspiring prophet and leader; But Moses had no formal courses in management, he had no Seven Practices of Highly Effective People to read.
There were waves of freed Hebrews wandering in the Sinai Desert joining up with Moses and his people. And as the story is told in Exodus, with these huge crowds of people, came conflict. “They are taking all the manna and quails.” He is not sharing water. The everyday quarrels and conflicts of people were overwhelming Moses. He was beat and burnt. Moses didn’t have Stephan Covey, but Moses had his father-in-law the holy man Jethro. Jethro watches Moses and then pulls him aside. “What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you, and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.” Appoint some graybeards, people of wisdom - our Bible translates the word as able men and put them in charge as officers over thousands, hundreds fifties and tens. Moses takes his Father-In-Law’s advice and gets his sanity back. Presbyterians look back to this story about leadership management and graybeards and they see in it the roots of the office of Elder. If the Job gets to big – let go a little and call in help. Lent is a good time to take stock of our whole life. Where might we need help.
Nicodemus visits Jesus under the cover of the night. Curious but cautious Nicodemus comes in the darkness because he is not ready to go public about his interest in the Rabbi. Nicodemus is a respected Jewish religious leader known as a Pharisee; Pharisees in general were learned men, experts in scripture, salt of the earth, but they could be narrow. Jesus often entered into theological debates with the Pharisees and the Gospel writers tend to cast the Pharisees in unfavorable light. Pharisees were such proper rule oriented religious leaders, that they at times seemed very much to lack compassion. Additionally some of their leaders were in collusion with King Herod the puppet and appointee of Rome. Herod and Rome were severe rulers who harshly over taxed the ordinary people.
Not all Pharisees were on the wrong track and there was something about Jesus that spoke to Nicodemus. He begins the conversation by acknowledging that Jesus is with God. Jesus answers him, “very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Jesus is painting a picture, Jesus is using his theological imagination. Jesus is having some fun. Nicodemus is a dead pan, straight man, by the books; he is not getting it.
This was all very well Nicodemus said, but just how were you supposed born anew? How especially were you supposed to pull it off if you were pushing sixty five? How did you get born again when it was a challenge just to get out of bed in the morning?” He even got a little cheeky with Jesus. Could a man crawl into his mother’s womb a second time? [2]Nicodemus served on the leadership counsel in Jerusalem. He was not a fool. But right then he needed some help because he was shut down and trapped by his narrow world view.
Presbyterian Elder Anne Lamott writes in her book Help Thanks Wow, Sometimes the first time we pray, we cry out in the deepest desperation, “God help me.” This is a great prayer, because when our backs are against the wall or when we are going under the waves at least we finally stop running away from God. Nicodemus knew that his faith wasbland and tired. He visited Jesus in hope that he might let go of what was holding him back, that he might discover a Spiritual Activism[3].
As one pastor imagined the conversation, “I’m telling you Nicodemus that God’s got such a thing for this loused up planet that he’s sent me down, so if you don’t believe your own eyes then maybe you will believe mine, maybe you will believe me, maybe you won’t come sneaking around scared half to death in the dark any more but will come to, come clean, come to life.” “You know – what impressed Nicodemus even more than the speech was the quickening of his own breathing and the pounding of his own heart, He hadn’t felt that since his first kiss, .., since the time his first child was born.” [4]Nicodemus was changed by the life giving grace that flowed from the heart and voice of Jesus. Surprisingly he found himself at complete ease and peace.
Hijacked by grumpy conservative evangelicals this phrase “Born again” was at first offering, an inclusive life giving sermon. Faith is hard work. Life is more than challenging. Jesus preached born again to encourage and enrich. Yet in our time this phrase “born again” has been impoverished by the narrow knuckleheads of slender contentment who claim that their way is the only way. They rail about condemnation and hell; “turn or burn.” They thump joy into submission. They change water into vinegar. And they stake out their position as only and exclusive and isn’t it silly? People born from above cannot and will not condemn the world because as John writes in his Gospel, “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Loving joy turns hearts.
Richard Rohr writes in his Book Falling Upward . “That seems to be the difference between transformed and nontransformed people. Great people come to serve, not to be served. It is the twelfth and final and necessary step of the inspired Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Until and unless you give your life away to others, you do not seem to have it yourself at any deep level.” We begin to enter the Second half of life, as Rohr puts it, when we move beyond selfishness and narrowness to service.
Later in Lent we will read about Christ's murder on the cross, and we will read about Joseph of Arimathea, a secret follower of Jesus, who was allowed by Pontius Pilate to take the body off the cross. We will read that he had help. That helper brought one hundred pounds of spice – very expensive. And the two men carefully and lovingly wrapped the body with linen clothes and the spices. Joseph's helper was Nicodemus who by this very act of compassion was letting go,healing with generosity, brimming over with kindness. His faith was born anew. It was a crazy thing to do with the witch hunt that was going on in Jerusalem, but he swam for the deep end.
One poet writes than on Easter “When Nicodemus heard that some of the disciples had seen Jesus alive again, he wept. He wept like a new born, a new born baby.”[5]
[1] Marilyn McEntre, Word by Word a Daily Spiritual Practice, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids MI 2016 pp49-61
[2] Frederick Buechner in Peculiar Treasures Harper San Francisco, 1979 pp 136-138
[3] Brian McClaren
[4] Ibid Beuchner
[5] Ibid Frederick Buechner