Sunday, March 12, 2017

Jesus Great Gift of Forgiveness

            The conversation that Jesus has with Nicodemus that is described in John’s Gospel is very significant.  Nicodemus was a Pharisee, one of the higher orders of the Jewish faith.  The Pharisees were always the judges of who was keeping the law and who wasn’t.  Rules were very important to them.  These leaders were the ones who God spoke about who made sure that everyone knew what good deeds that they were doing.  When they gave sums to various causes, they did it with great flourish so that they got optimum credit.  Jesus told us not to be like them.  When we said our prayers, or when we gave of our wealth to causes, we ought to do it quietly so as not to make people look at us rather than at the causes that we are supporting.

            Jesus also brought a message of forgiveness and restoration to the people that he met in his ministry.  They all lived in a society in which keeping the rules that the Pharisees set was all important.  The Pharisees set the boundaries.  What Jesus brought to this world is the infinite mercy of God, who sees the struggle and the pain of human existence and who sent Jesus to help us to understand that love is the answer to our struggle.  The story of the woman accused of adultery who is brought before Jesus who refused to condemn her to being stoned to death and who said those wonderful words, he who is without sin cast the first stone; and after he said this, the crowd just melted away. Condemnation and punishment was not something that Jesus wanted to see.  He wanted us to understand that the desire of our God is for us to be forgiven and returned to a place where we could live our lives in peace and hope.  Sometimes people want to focus on the fact that he also told the woman to go and sin no more, but focusing on that diminishes the message of this moment in Jesus ministry.  The last thing that Jesus says to Nicodemus is that God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world would be saved through him.

             Nicodemus saw something in Jesus that intrigued him and that he wanted to know more about.  He knows that Jesus carries with him the being of God and he admires him very much.  He says that nobody can do the things that Jesus has done apart from God’s approval.  Jesus tells Nicodemus that the only way that we can know God’s presence is to be born from above.  What our Lord means is that without being dedicated to the working of the Spirit, that you can’t know any of the things that God is doing in this world.  Nicodemus has a hard time understanding what Jesus is trying to tell him, but he follows him anyway.

            What I find compelling in the story of Nicodemus is that he is the one who provided the empty tomb for Jesus after his crucifixion.  Nicodemus, the Pharisee, came up with the place to lay Jesus’ body.  He did that out of a faith that came from watching Jesus do his ministry in this world. Nicodemus found a way to be “born from above” and see the beauty of the love that Jesus brought into this world, and the forgiveness that became the basis of Christianity as it began to tell the world about the Risen Christ.

            Over the years, the church has sometimes slipped back into the Pharisee’s mode of giving us all rules to live by.  Many Episcopal churches will tell you that all “baptized” Christians are welcome at the altar to receive the sacrament.  I’ve always thought that to be a bit too strict.  I like it when everyone in the congregation is invited to come and receive the sacrament.  The reason for that is that in the process of receiving the bread and the wine which has become the body and blood of our Lord, we receive the presence of God in our lives and have the joyful experience of being forgiven our sins and sent out to show the world the love that God has given us in the person of Jesus, his Son. 

            Here we are in Lent, a wonderful time to cleanse ourselves of the things that we have all done wrong and to find a way to be agents of the God who loves us all so very much.  That is a great gift and one that I hope that we all can share with the world.  I’ve had moments in my life when I have hurt very much.  When I had my brain tumor, I had a whole congregation surround me with their comfort.  I was so thankful for their care and their compassion.  It made a great difference in my recovery. As you go on with your lives, look for those who are hurting and afraid.  Comfort them as you can and make sure that you leave them with the sense that at least somebody cares.  That is our mission as Christians.  God wants peace in this world, not only between nations, but with all of us.  In this tumultuous time, listen to one another.  That alone will help create peace.      

           
              


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