Genesis 12: 1–4a
Psalm
121
Romans
4: 1–5, 13–17
John
3: 1–17
This is the written version of the
homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown,
Pennsylvania on Sunday, March 1, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.
“ABOUT THAT ‘LEAP OF FAITH’”
(Homily
texts: Genesis 12: 1–4a, and John 3: 1–17)
A curious tale is told of a tightrope
walker, many years ago, who walked across a tightrope that had been strung
across Niagara Falls. The tightrope walker pushed a wheelbarrow across the
falls, and then back again. Watching him do this were members of the British
royal family. When the tightrope walker returned from the second trip across
the falls, he looked at the royals and asked, “Do you believe I can do this?”.
They answered, “Yes”. Then he said, “Would any of you like to get in the
wheelbarrow?”.
Talk about a leap of faith!
If we’ve given any thought to that
phrase, the “leap of faith”, we might know exactly why we describe any sort of
acting on what we believe. For taking action on one’s beliefs and convictions
involves moving from what we know (as in the tightrope walker, making his way
to and fro on the tightrope) to what we don’t yet know (as in “Would any of you
like to get into the wheelbarrow”).
Both our Old Testament and our Gospel
readings that we hear this morning have to do with a leap of faith.
For Abram, it is God’s call to go out
from the land and the people that he knew, to follow God’s command to go to a
place that God “will show you”.
For Nicodemus, the leap of faith has to
do with knowing what Jesus had done, and knowing that He was “sent from God”.
For Nicodemus says, “No one could do the signs you are doing unless God was
with him”. But Nicodemus doesn’t seem to be able understand or to grasp the
spiritual realities that Jesus had come to make known.
Before we look at the conversation
between Nicodemus and the Lord, let’s look at God’s command to Abram.
Notice that implicit in God’s command
to leave all that he had known, in order to go to a new place that God would
show him, probably began with some sort of assurance that the commend Abram was
hearing was really from God. Somehow, Abram came to know that, and then came to
the point of obeying that command. God’s command also carried with it the need
for Abram to continue to rely on God’s leading in order to arrive at the place
where God had in mind. Abram didn’t have a destination. He didn’t have a
roadmap. He had no GPS system to guide him. Abram had to check in with God
periodically to know if he was going in the right direction, and also to know
if the place he had arrived at was where God had in mind as his destination.
Now, let’s turn our attention to
Nicodemus.
(It’s fascinating to wonder about
Nicodemus. We know from John 19:39 that Nicodemus had come to assist Joseph of
Arimathea in anointing Jesus’ body after His death on the cross on Good Friday
evening. So the question lingers: Did Nicodemus become a disciple of the Lord?
Or was he doing his best to try to address a grievous wrong in Jesus’ death.
We’ll have to wait until we see the Lord face-to-face to know the answer to
that question.)
I am always a bit amused by Nicodemus’
opening comments to the Lord. He leads
with his best foot, saying, “Rabbi” (a term that – in Hebrew – means “teacher”,
or – more properly “my teacher”). If Nicodemus had had the good fortune to be a
graduate of the Dale Carnegie Course (OK, I’m dating myself…the Dale Carnegie
Course – which didn’t exist 2,000 years ago - was designed for people who
worked in business to better their skills…its motto was “How to Win Friends and
Influence People”), he would surely have been one of its star graduates, for
Nicodemus is trying to get off to a good start with the Lord.
In his greeting to the Lord, Nicodemus
is obviously trying to win Jesus’ trust and to foster a good influence with the
Lord. From there, Nicodemus affirms what he knows about Jesus and Jesus’
ministry and work. He confirms that God is with Jesus in His work, for “no one
could do the things you are doing unless God was with him”. Also, notice that
Nicodemus affirms the signs that Jesus was doing.
That is the extent of what Nicodemus
knows. He knows that God is involved in what Jesus has been doing.
From this point on in the conversation,
Jesus and Nicodemus seem to be operating on different levels.
Instead of confirming what Nicodemus
had said about Jesus and His work, Jesus begins to talk about being “born
again” or “born from above”. (The Greek can mean either one.)
Nicodemus can’t take that leap of
faith. He responds literally, asking, “Is it possible for someone to enter
their mother’s womb and be born a second time?”. Nicodemus’ response typifies
the mindset that was common among God’s people 2,000 years ago: The literal
meaning, and those things we can see, were the reality that God’s people, back
then, focused on. Little else beyond that was of value.
Nicodemus wonders about this response,
saying, “How can these things be?”.
Now, Jesus clarifies His meaning,
saying that He is talking about heavenly things, not earthly things.
Knowing about heavenly things means a
couple of things: 1. Heavenly things are
things known to God, things beyond our normal, everyday experience; and 2.
Knowing about heavenly things means that are dependent on God to lead us into
those things. In much the same way that Abram had to rely on God’s leading to
know that he was going in the right direction, and to know that he had arrived
at the destination God had in mind, we, too, must continue to ask God for
direction, leading and insights.
In this holy season of Lent, perhaps we
might ask the Holy Spirit to show us the things we do not currently know.
Perhaps we could ask for the ability to come to believe and to know the things
that, up to this point in our lives, require a leap of faith.
AMEN.
