|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Isaiah 6:1–8 |
Psalm 29 |
Romans 8:12–17 |
John 3:1–17 |
Make no mistake about it. Nicodemus was a conscientious rabbi and true scholar. Nevertheless, he depended too much on what he already knew and what he could tightly conceptualize in his mind. He wished to organize God’s Spirit like the books he had catalogued on the shelves in his library. To his credit he still had the curiosity of an active mind, and Jesus had caught his notice. At first, Jesus very likely unnerved him. Instead of inviting debate on some fine theological dilemma in confidence and under the cover of night, Jesus pointed to the dawn of a new way of living as a person of faith: a faith was much more than an understanding and total assent to accepted doctrine. Jesus pointed to a faith that involved a living relationship that was always evolving, reaching down with roots on many levels. It was never totally predictable, and certainly not under one’s own control.
That is why Jesus didn’t test Nicodemus on his opinion about theological issues. Instead Jesus offered the metaphor of the growth of faith like the process of birth. For after all, none of us has control over the circumstances of our birth. It is a very significant part of our being, yet we had absolutely no input into it. In addition, Jesus offered the metaphor of God’s Spirit like the wind that blows against our bodies at will. Yes, we can make some predictions of the weather, but even when we go out in the morning and bring in the paper, we don’t really know if a breeze will touch our face to the right or to the left, in our face or on the back of our neck, or even if a wisp of morning mist will kiss us at all.
Jesus uses these metaphors to suggest that a relationship with the living God has these characteristics, too. You can as easily capture God’s Spirit in your brain as you could arrange for your own birth or try to hold wind in a jar. The good news is we may assume that Nicodemus discovered this new life, for after Jesus’ death, it was Nicodemus who bravely accompanied Joseph of Arimathaea to ask the authorities for Jesus’ body. No ordinary bystander would have done that. Such an act was outside the written guidelines and expectations of safe, predictive behavior.
In past weeks we have read how the disciples were energized by the appearance of the risen Christ among them and led by the Holy Spirit. They came to understand who was definitely present among them, but also came to know that how and where it occurred greatly varied. At first glance there doesn’t seem to be a common thread linking the story of Nicodemus with this Sunday that we call Trinity Sunday. But maybe what Trinity Sunday is telling us is that there is no discernable thread for people of faith in a relationship with the living God beyond the assurance that God is faithful and trustworthy in all ages and for all time.
The encounter of Nicodemus at night was with a particular person, and not a stranger, but a fellow rabbi. Yet Nicodemus sensed in Jesus someone who would lead one far beyond the horizons and far deeper in wisdom than one had ever imagined. The appearances of the risen Christ and the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were marked by deep joy and surprise, but impossible to classify and fully fathom.
We don’t get into trouble when we acknowledge the reality and mystery of the Trinity. We get into trouble when we try to stuff all the revelations of God into our individual tiny human jar of a brain, or we want to set an alarm clock to the exact time for God to wake us up.
On Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the unity of God, Our Risen Lord, and the Holy Spirit. We also say that God is, who God is, that Christ is alive in the world, and that the Holy Spirit really is unfettered. So when we ask where is God most likely to appear, or want to know when is the most propitious time or best place to respond to the call of discipleship, the one sure thing we can say about God’s revelations is that they are always possible, hence the answer is inevitably, now, and right where we are.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
