Taking a Risk

The Gospel

John 3:1-17


There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 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.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?


“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.


“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.


“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

The Sermon

Nicodemus was a pharisee, a leader of the Jews. He had had his ear to the ground and heard of this Jesus fellow whom some were saying was the real deal. He just might be the long awaited messiah. So, careful man that he was, he decided to check Jesus out, maybe have a conversation with him, but in the dark of night so that no one would see.

He doesn't seem like a very brave guy. Maybe he is a little like some of us, me included. After all Nicodemus had his reputation to think of. Of course, like us, his reputation was wrapped around his ego which, like us, must be protected at all cost.

Jesus, by his words and example, tells us to take some risks. He tells us to reach out to others even though it might mean rejection. He was clearly rejected by those in power in his day. He knew it could and would happen but he also knew it was the right thing to do. Jesus does not expect us to die on the cross but he does expect us to die to sin and live our lives with a moral compass that is true to his teaching of love for God and love for one another.

So, how do we live a Christian life? What does it look like? A good start is living the words of Matthew 25. It means feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger and visiting the sick and imprisoned. It can also mean speaking out for what we believe to be right and true, Is there some kind of heavenly reward for doing these things? Maybe the reward is just knowing that we did the right thing. We may have stood up for someone who did not have a voice. We may have given a hand up to someone who just needed an encouraging word.

When someone makes a disparaging comment about someone of another ethnicity, race, or sexual orientation I let them know that I will not just let them get away with it. There is no room in Christianity for hatred of others.

Several months ago I was working at the food pantry and a lady came in and asked to speak to me. She told me that she was not there for food but that she just wanted to thank us because several months before she and her family had been desperate. They had no food and she had just gotten a job and her first paycheck was several weeks away. The food pantry had been her lifeline and she wanted us to know how grateful she was. I thanked her and told her I would share her story with the other volunteers.

The last sentence in the Gospel reading is worth repeating, “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Following the good news teaching of Jesus is not always the easy path. But, it is the right one.