Let us pray for the grace to respond to the Word of God.
John 3: 1-17
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[g]
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
A part of everyone's lenten journey is to re-examine, refresh, re-boot! Today our gospel message goes further and Jesus tells us how to be born again, how to begin life anew. Jesus tells Nicodemus about being born of the water and of the spirit. There are times when life gets a little stale, boring and empty, when you do the same things over and over and over again. You go through the motions but that inner motivation is not there. It can happen in so many aspects of our lives, our work, our school, our marriage, spiritual lives and ministry. In the season of Lent we turn back towards God. We examine the sin within us and turn towards God. In our text today Jesus tells Nicodemus that you can indeed be born again, washed clean and anew in the Holy Spirit. In our baptism we find this promise. Turn to Christ your Lord for this rebirth, remember your baptism each day and wash clean as the water did then, have the Spirit of Jesus Christ living inside of you means that God’s gracious love comes and lives inside of your heart.
It is wonderful to begin this week acknowledging that we need God's help to live anew.
It is so powerful to ask for his grace to express our desire for wholeness.
And, we humbly ask for light in the midst of whatever might keep us from living with the grace of Christ within.
May your kindness, LORD, be upon us,
we have put our hope in you.
Psalm 33:6
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