Today, we are continuing our journey together through the Season of Lent. As I mentioned last Sunday, Lent is a season of 40 days in which we intentionally prepare ourselves for new growth and new life.
And, fittingly enough, the Christian Lectionary (that we follow each week) has selected the story of Nicodemus for our focus on this 2nd Sunday in Lent, because it is the one in which Jesus says that we must be “born again.”
So, what does it mean to be “born again”?
Well, as we just heard, Nicodemus was a well-respected spiritual leader and teacher in Jesus’s day. He was the one that people would come to when they wanted answers about their faith.
And, yet, here he is coming (in the middle of the night, in the cloak of darkness) to ask Jesus a spiritual question: What does it mean to be “born again”?
Well, although this story happened more than 2,000 years ago, the term “Born Again Christian” is actually a fairly new one.
It’s only been since the late 1970’s that the term came into our consciousness, when it became a movement in the Evangelical church in America.
The term “Born Again Christian” has come to stand for a group of very conservative Christians who believe that one must declare Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior in order to experience salvation.
And, this group tends to take the Bible literally.
Which is kind of ironic, since it is this very Gospel passage about being “born again” where Jesus tells Nicodemus not to take his words literally.
When Jesus tells him that “one cannot experience the Kingdom of God unless he is born again,” Nicodemus replies, “Born Again? How can a man go back inside his mother’s womb?”
And, Jesus says to him, “How can you – a teacher of scripture – not understand what am talking about?”
Jesus wasn’t talking literally. He was talking symbolically.
For Jesus, the term “born again” means dying to the false self and giving birth to the true self, the divine self, the spiritual self.
And, when we do that, we experience the Kingdom of God here and now. We experience salvation/freedom…not in the next life, but in this one.
Being “born-again” is not a one-time declaration. It’s a process that happens throughout our spiritual journey, as we die more and more to the false self, and awaken more and more to the Divine Self, the self which God created us to be.
It’s a process. Some spiritual teachers say we’re “born again” every morning. Others say, we’re “born again” every minute.
Every morning, every minute, every moment, we get to decide whether we’re going to keep doing things the “old way,” the way that’s no longer serving us, or if we’re going to give birth to something newer, something Truer?
Today’s Gospel story tells us that Nicodemus came to Jesus in darkness, which –if taken literally- could mean the middle of the night. Or, it could indicate that Nicodemus was in spiritual darkness, and that’s why he (though a scripture scholar) couldn’t understand what Jesus was saying.
Many Christians today (people who have declared Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior) are still “in the dark” about the words of Jesus, misinterpreting his message and misunderstanding his meaning.
And, this Gospel passage about being “born again” has been so misunderstood that it has caused a lot of damage and division in our nation and our world.
For it is also in this gospel passage that we hear the very famous Bible quote of John 3:16: “That God so loved that world that God gave us his only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life.”
John 3:16 has probably become the most famous Bible chapter and verse in America in recent years.
Go to a sporting event like a football game or Nascar race, and you are bound to see people in the stands holding signs which read “John 3:16.”
Evangelical Christians in America today have adopted this as their “go-to” Bible quote. You’ll see “John 3:16” on t-shirts, hats, tattoos, and bumper stickers.
One Michigan mechanic shop recently advertised “Come in and recite John 3:16 and receive a free oil change.”
What is it about “John 3:16” that it has become that Bible verse that Evangelical Christians in America today love so much?
Well, I’d like to think that it’s the first six words of the verse, which say: “For God so loved the world.”
Wouldn’t it be awesome if that’s the message they wanted everyone to hear and to know: that God loves us so much?
Sadly, though, I think it’s the latter half of the verse they wish to emphasize: about Jesus being the only way that leads to salvation.
The misunderstanding over this verse is often the reason many Christians today believe that Christianity is the ONLY Way…that one MUST accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior or they will be damned to hell.
But, this is NOT what John 3:16 means.
If you notice, in this Gospel passage, Jesus speaks of the “Son of God” and the “Only Begotten Son.” He says, “Whoever believes in him will have eternal life.”
Now, why would Jesus be referring to himself in the third person, not just once but multiple times throughout this passage? Why wouldn’t he just say, “Whoever believes in ME”?
Well, that’s because Jesus isn’t speaking here of himself.
“Son of God” and “Only Begotten Son” are terms for “the Christ,” and I’ve told you before: “the Christ” existed billions of years before Jesus was even born.
When God birthed the world into existence during the Big Bang and said, “Let there be Light!” the Christ was born. The Divine DNA became infused in all of creation.
God so loved the world that God gave us of its very self, of its very nature.
Jesus was a human being, a man from Nazareth, who lived more than 2,000 years ago. And, during his lifetime, he had an awakening in which he came to the realization that he and God were not in fact two, but were one.
And, after his awakening, he made it his mission to go out into the world and to teach others how to experience this Oneness for themselves.
He told us to follow the Way: the way of forgiveness, the way of service, the way of unconditional love.
Because he knew that when we follow this Way of life, we die more and more to the ego (to the small self) and awaken more and more to the True Self, the Divine Self, the Christ Self.
THAT’S what John 3:16 means: God so loved us that God gave us of its very nature….its only Begotten Son (capital “S”) and that Son – that Light, that Presence of the Christ – dwells within you…and within all people.
And, when you believe it, you are set free.
The medieval Christian mystic known as Meister Eckhart, said: “God never begot just one son, but the eternal is forever begetting the only begotten.”
“The eternal is forever begetting the only begotten.” He wrote that in the 13th Century! And, the Church silenced him for it and called him heretic.
But, Meister Eckhart (like all the Christian mystics) wanted us to discover that the “only begotten” wasn’t just in Jesus. It is with us and within us, too.
The late Bishop John Shelby Spong said, “Christianity is not about the Divine becoming human. Christianity is about the human becoming Divine.”
In in order for us to recognize our Oneness with the Divine, my friends, we must be born again, and that means we must die to old ways of thinking and old ways of being.
Lent is the perfect opportunity for us to partake in this process of transformation.
And, so, my friends, may you find each and every day this Lenten season to let go of any limiting beliefs that are keeping you from your spiritual growth and ascension.
And, may you come to know more and more of the Truth of your being, the Truth that will set you free.
Here are three questions for reflection and/or journal writing:
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What “old ways” of thinking or believing about yourself, God, or others might you need to let die this Lenten season in order to be “born again” into a truer, freer way of living?
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When you hear the words “For God so loved the world,” how does that shape your understanding of God’s nature—and how might fully embracing that love change the way you see yourself and others?
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In what practical ways can you follow the Way of forgiveness, service, and unconditional love this week so that you awaken more fully to your Divine or Christ-like nature within?