2 Lent, Year A

Psalm 121
Romans 4: 1 – 5, 13 – 17
John 3: 1 – 17

A homily by: Fr. Gene Tucker
Given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, March 20, 2011

"BOUNDARIES”
(Homily text: John 3: 1 – 17)

Let’s book at the very familiar account of Nicodemus’ visit to Jesus from the point of view of boundaries….

Boundaries are important parts of our lives.

For example, we regulate traffic by the use of boundaries such as lane markers, stop signs and lights, and so forth. Boundaries like that allow us to live with one another (and not run into each other!).

Other boundaries allow us to own and keep property with a measure of security. For example, laws about trespassing are written to allow the owner to enjoy the use of their property without interference.

Other boundaries create identity. The boundaries of the United States define (for the most part) who are Americans. Americans (generally) are people who live within the boundaries of the United States.

For God’s people in ancient times, the boundaries that were created by the laws of Moses and the covenants between God and His people allowed God’s people to live with Him and with each other. These boundaries also created an identity for God’s people. “We are children of Abraham,” they would say, claiming their identity because of their heritage as descendents of Abraham.

By the time of Jesus, however, the focus on boundaries had become so sharp that many of God’s people, the Jews, focused on the very boundary itself, and not on the reason for the boundary. It would be as if we kept our eyes firmly fixed on the double lines on the pavement as we drove down the road, rather than focusing on the fact that the double lines allow us to relate to other drivers in safety.

The Jews of Jesus’ day held up the boundaries as a way of preserving their identity. The boundaries consisted of things like: 1. How far could a person walk on the Sabbath day, 2. Did a person wash their hands before eating, and 3. Did a person regularly observe the major festivals in the calendar?

A rigid literal-ness accompanied the focus on boundaries. For people in Jesus’ day, everything was concrete, observable, just as clear as a double line in the middle of a road.

We can see this literal interpretation in Nicodemus’ response to Jesus’ comment that he needed to be “born anew (or again).” “Can a person enter a second time into their mother’s womb and be born?” he asked.

But, of course, Jesus is referring to another sort of birth, an inward one.

He goes on to say, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” To add more clarity to the intent of what He is saying, Jesus adds. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

So Jesus’ emphasis isn’t on the observable, literal aspect of our existence. I think that’s what Jesus is getting at by talking about the flesh. He is picking up on Nicodemus’ remark about entering his mother’s womb again.

No, Jesus is focusing in on the spiritual aspect of our existence.

Let’s reflect on this just a moment.

What Jesus seems to be saying is that God seeks to break down the walls of the boundaries that we create. Put another way, Jesus seems to be telling Nicodemus that in order to be a citizen of the kingdom of God, a person must allow their boundaries to cease to exist, in order to come into a close relationship with God. That relationship forms the only boundary necessary for identity. Coming into God’s boundaries allows us to live with Him.

And how does a person become a citizen of the kingdom of God? Through baptism, of course, and through belief in God’s Son. Jesus seems to have baptism clearly in view as He says that this new birth will come through water and the Spirit. (By the way, this is as close as we will ever come in John’s gospel account to a reference about baptism. We do know that Jesus’ disciples were baptizing, so we know that the Lord encouraged baptism from this report.)

So, in baptism, the boundaries which exist between us and God come tumbling down, and we are accepted as “naturalized citizens” (if I may use this way of describing our new relationship with God) of the kingdom of God. We do this by accepting the offer to become citizens of the kingdom. Jesus finishes His discourse with Nicodemus by saying one of the most familiar verses in the New Testament: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3: 16)

God takes up residence within us. The boundaries are gone.

And once that happens, we are able to live in close relationship with God, as we learn more and more of what it means to live without boundaries which can separate us from God, but in a life which allows us to become more and more transformed into the image of God by our actions, our words, and our beliefs.

This transformation amounts to a totally new way of relating to God. Our identity becomes more and more like His. Our identity is transformed from within, and works its way outward.

Jesus brings with Him a new way of relating to God. We now relate personally, through belief and baptism, through Him. No longer will we relate to God through laws which regulate our conduct, through laws which create boundaries that create identity, but which can also shut us off from the inner transformation those laws were originally designed to promote.

Now, we will relate through the New Covenant which Jesus ushers in, becoming citizens of the kingdom of God, being reborn into the likeness of God.

AMEN.