1. The First Encounter

Today, we celebrated with the baptism ceremony of a believer, and welcomed a new member into our congregation. Their confessions and testimonies reveal their conviction of God’s love and acceptance of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. They are dedicated to following the Christian path through which they will come to experience a strong faith, while being helped and supported by teachings from the Bible.

Once Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). We contemplate today, by extrapolating from the new church members’ experiences, and what it signifies more precisely, ” to be born of water and the Spirit.”

John chapter 3 represents the scene where Nicodemus visited Jesus for the first time. He was a man of the Pharisees, a member of the Jewish ruling council (John 3:1). So naturally he was also one of the law teachers. This man had a profound knowledge of the Jewish bible and lived a faithful life in accordance with Jewish teaching. Besides, he was a member of the ruling council, which meant that he must be from a rich family. In short, his life was apparently satisfied socially, intellectually and financially. He occupied a position where he was respected and appreciated by others. Nonetheless, he did not feel fulfilled and was always frustrated in seeking the real meaning of life.

Then he heard about this man Jesus, said to be giving outstanding and remarkable teachings by performing marvelous acts. Many Jewish people listened to His teachings and witnessed His works and miracles, like opening a blind man’s eyes, or helping a crippled person to walk. Thus they commenced to consider Him to be the promised Messiah. Nicodemus too wanted to meet Jesus. He wondered if this man might be a teacher who could give him the answers to his questions about life.

For the first meeting Nicodemus avoided coming to see Jesus during day time, “He came to Jesus at night” (John 3:2). Perhaps because he thought, in consideration of social his status, it was not appropriate to be seen visiting a simple man who held no authority or official title. He cared about neighbors watching eyes, instead of God’s will.

Jesus had insight into his mind and said to him, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). But Nicodemus objected, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:4).

Nicodemus, an aged man with common sense, thought it was impossible to be born again. In original Greek the word translated into “again” was ”ἄ¦Í¦Ø¦È¦Å¦Í(an’-o-then)”, which has another meaning: “from above, from a higher place” or “of things which come from heaven or God”

Jesus appears to be using the word with the latter meaning. But Nicodemus did not understand its real significance. Therefore Jesus explains further, “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” ¡ÊJohn 3¡§5-6).

But, Nicodemus could not yet grasp just what, “born of water and the Spirit” exactly meant.

2. The Ultimate Encounter

Jesus continued, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

“Wind” , ¦Ð¦Í¦Åῦ¦Ì¦Á (pnyoo’-mahhas) in Greek, means also “spirit”. Wind cannot be seen by humans, nor can the spirit be seen. However we can feel the movement of the wind when it touches our skin, or by hearing the sounds of the wind. Much the same as the spirit according to Jesus. Even though we cannot know of the spirit’s existence directly, we can often feel it inside of our being. By believing in the Spirit we ourselves can be changed, like today’s newly baptized believer was, after experiencing years of physical and spiritual suffering. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up” (John 3:14).

This phrase refers to the event, which happened to the Israelites after the Exodus from Egypt and wandering in the desert for forty years. The Jewish people began grumbling about their harsh conditions of life. This was interpreted by God as ungratefulness so he sent forth venomous snakes, which bit them and many of the people died (Numbers 21:6).

So Moses prayed a prayer of reconciliation on behalf of the people. Then, the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived (Numbers 21:8-9).

As “Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up” Jesus said. That signifies that Jesus, as the Son of Man, should be lifted up high on the Cross, suffer, and ascend to heaven. Only by gazing at that Cross can humans receive the Holy Spirit from God and be born again. Because, ‘everyone who believes in him may have eternal life’ (John 3:16).

Yet Nicodemus could not understand what Jesus was teaching. In the Gospel according to John, Nicodemus appears three times. His second appearance is in chapter 7, during the Feast of Tabernacles. Jerusalem was filled with crowds on that particular occasion and many of them began to wonder if Jesus was the real Messiah because of His impressive teaching. Jewish authorities thought the issue would be so dangerous for them that they tried to arrest and kill Jesus. At that time Nicodemus tried to advocate in Jesus’ defence before the other law teachers and pharisees. “Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing? (John 7:50-51).

However, he fell into silence when they asked him, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee” (John 7:52). Even at that moment Nicodemus, always hesitating, became again uncertain of his belief. He was not yet “born again”.

But later in chapter 19, we will find him a changed man. It was the ultimate encounter, and John reports: “Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs"¡ÊJohn 19¡§38-40).

At that stage Nicodemus takes responsibility of the burial of Jesus, without fear. He did not care any longer about his social status and possessions. After all, by facing the Cross, he finally understood what those words meant, ” As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” It seems he received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost along with the other disciples. He came to recognize what Jesus taught through the expression, “born of water and the Spirit.” Now, Nicodemus, after seeking for a long time had nothing to be afraid of, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

One of our new members said that he was always ‘going to’ confess his faith in Jesus, and I appreciate his total honesty by making that statement. In life, we humans have a way of always waiting for the right time, which never seems to arrive. By reflecting upon the path that Nicodemus followed, we come to learn that salvation is still possible for those who procrastinate and wait before confessing their faith in Jesus. Only after we make that decision can we receive the power and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our lives.

3. A New life in Christ

I have chosen a Pauline verse which concerns a baptismal theme and a new life for today’s invocation. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:3-4).

Many among you might have seen, Ikiru (1952),* a movie directed by Akira Kurosawa. The scene is situated in post-war Tokyo. The bureaucratic chief of the department of the City Hall Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) finds that he has a terminal cancer. He decides to live intensively the last months of his life. While dying, he finds the meaning of life, and fights for the construction of a playground in a poor zone of the city and a lasting legacy of his existence.

About this film, Kurowa reportedly said, “I tried to describe how a man reflected upon his life during the last days before his death. A life which he found had no profound goals, direction or meaning.” The script of the movie is based on a novel written by Leo Tolstoy,** “The death of Ivan Ilych.” Ilych, like Watanabe, was a respectable citizen, a high court judge in St. Petersburg. He had a carefree life until he began to suffer from a pain in his side. His physician could not pinpoint the source of the pain, and soon it becomes clear that his condition was terminal.

After the long and painful process of death, he finally arrived to realize that all of what he possessed on the earth, like family, status, and wealth, were of no value in facing the fear of death and death itself. Yes it’s completely true. Money nor family nor friends are ineffectual against death. In facing that ultimate and absolute event humans become powerless. And death must grasp all of us without exception.

Recognising that fact Shiina Rinzō (1911-1973), a Japanese novelist wrote in one of his works “My Biblical Story, “It is a dreadful truth that humans cannot live beyond death, beyond this earthly world. I was frozen before that truth.” But after that he met Jesus, the resurrected Lord, and he found that a life beyond death is possible. As Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3).

We must acknowledge the above written words with genuine sincerity. If we are inflicted with a grave disease we would pay as much as we can for medicine and care, because it is a question of life or death. Nevertheless, even if that disease was cured we must die some time in the future. Therefore Jesus compels us to seek now the way which will lead to the gates of eternal life.

Nicodemus found the way after a long period of hesitation. He was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. Today we have reflected upon the significance of a spirit filled life, and warmly witnessed the fruitful and spiritually moving testimonies of our new church members, for whom we pray God’s blessings. May we all continue to follow God’s chosen path which leads to salvation and a new-born life.

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* The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%207;&version=31;

**Ikiru
:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044741/
plot by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
http://www.imdb.com/SearchPlotWriters?Claudio%20Carvalho,%20Rio%20de%20Janeiro,%20Brazil

***The death of Ivan Ilych
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Ivan_Ilych