Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on February 17, 2008
(Second Sunday in Lent, Year A, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. Mann

Texts:   Genesis 12:1-8
Psalm 33:12-22
Romans 4:1-5(6-12)13-17
John 3:1-17

“Are you a born-again Christian?” There was a time in my life with my circle of friends in which that question was brought up quite often. Generally what was meant was either, “Have you personally asked Jesus into your heart and life?” or “Have you had a life-clarifying moment whereby you have chosen to be a Christian because you believe Jesus is Lord?” And the follow-up question was always, “When did this happen? What was the date, the time of day, and what were you doing?”

Now I don’t want to offend some of my brothers and sisters in Christ nor do I want to minimize any spiritual experience that anyone may have had but after much thought I have to say that, “Are you a born-again Christian?” is an idiotic question. At best, it’s redundant because according to what the Church teaches, if you are a Christian you have been reborn! Through the waters of baptism you have been regenerated which means having new life! Indeed Baptism is called the Sacrament of Regeneration. The root of the word is genesis which means beginning.

Whenever I was asked the question, “Are you a born-again Christian,” I always answered in the affirmative. When asked when did this happen, I always said, July 18, 1958. After they did the math, they said, “But that was when you were a baby. When did you actually know?” I always answered that there was no specific date or time of day when I knew, I just always knew. I grew up in the Church, attended Mass and participated in Sunday school and have always known that I was a Christian.

Now, I have had some spiritual experiences that I call mountaintop or campfire experiences but those moments just reaffirmed what I always knew to be true. Asking the question, “Are you a born-again Christian” is very much like you walking up to me under your own power, and me asking you if you have been born. It’s pretty obvious that if you are standing in front of me and breathing, then you have indeed been born. But when you were born is not as important as what have you been doing with your life?

Which brings up another question from that era, “Sure, he talks the talk but does he walk the walk?” Now that’s a much better question to ask a Christian. Of course, in Anglican terms, if we were so inclined to ask, the question would be framed, “Where are you in the process of your salvation?” And that is more to the point of today’s Gospel.

Nicodemus is a man of the Pharisees, which means that not only was he of the Jewish nation, God’s chosen people, but that he was of a group of learned men that knew the Jewish law inside and out, so much so that in the words of Jesus, he was a teacher of Israel. But Jesus tells him that’s not enough. Unless one is born again or anew or from above, one cannot see the kingdom of God. To which Nicodemus replies, “How can an old man be born again? Can he return to his mother’s womb a second time?”

Now this is not an idiotic question but it is hyperbole. Nicodemus is saying, “I am already a child of Abraham, one of God’s chosen, and a Pharisee at that, with which all that entails. Plus, I’m an old man. You’re telling me that now; after all of these years I have to do something different in order to get into heaven?” And Jesus goes on to say, that unless one is born of water and spirit, one cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Now this has a far reaching effect on Nicodemus because as a Pharisee he has been raised and trained to believe that salvation lies in following the law. If he is being told that he has to do something different, what about all of those who have gone before him. And what about being God’s chosen through Abraham? That’s supposed to count for something because we are different from everybody else in the world. These are the things going through his mind when he asks, “How can these things be?”

Paul’s answer to him is found in today’s epistle reading. In this long, seemingly convoluted statement dealing with circumcision, Paul is saying that being an offspring of Abraham is nothing to count on because we are all offspring of Abraham; Jews and Gentiles alike. Yes, the Jews are the descendents of Abraham, and are inheritors of the promise of God having been circumcised, and followers of the Law. But all of those who believe through faith are also inheritors of the promise of God because Abraham believed in the promise of the covenant before the covenant was made, before the deal was sealed with the physical sign of circumcision, and before the law was given. It was Abraham’s faith in what was to come by which he was considered to be in a right relationship with God by God Himself.

And Jesus is saying the same thing. He came to save everybody. As we read today, God so loved the world that that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish but may have life eternal, which means spending eternity with God as opposed to spending eternity separated from the presence of God. And furthermore, he didn’t come to condemn anyone because we have already condemned ourselves. He came to save the world; all of the offspring of Abraham; the keepers of the law of the covenant and the keepers of faith in the covenant.

But if anyone chooses to be a partaker of this covenant, then they need to be baptized by water and spirit. Earlier, John the Baptist says that he baptized with water but there would be one to come who would baptize with the spirit. And Jesus says to Nicodemus that one must be baptized with water and spirit. The water is to cleanse us of all existing sin including that which we inherited through the disobedience of Adam in the first genesis, the first beginning, and when cleansed we will receive a new life, a new genesis, a new beginning by the power of the Holy Spirit. This new life will be marked by the writing of the Law upon our hearts so that we will know right from wrong subsequently making us inheritors of the kingdom of God though obedience of His commands. This is why Jesus commissioned the Apostles and the Church to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them with water in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that he commanded.

So here we are on the second Sunday in Lent. As Christians in the Church we know that we have been born anew in the regenerative waters of Baptism by which we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Where are we in the process of our salvation?” We have been given this incredible gift from God in Jesus Christ, and infused with His own Spirit. But how are we living our new life? Have we accepted Jesus as our Lord? In our newborn state as children of the Father, do we recognize our total dependence upon him just as an infant is dependent upon a parent or are we regressing into the old life of the perpetual terrible twos in which we believe that the whole world revolves around us? When we become aware of our sins do we repent, confess, and amend our lives? Have we experienced the power of God’s Spirit working in and through us? As children of the Father have we grown, have we been nurtured by daily feedings of His Word and Sacraments? Have we done our part in fulfilling the Great Commission? What more can we do with God’s help to fulfill His will for us in this world?

These questions and others like them are what we need to be asking ourselves in this time prior to the celebration of the Resurrection. These are the questions that we need to be asking ourselves if we believe that we have been given a new life in Christ Jesus because through the waters of baptism, the waters of hope, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have seen the kingdom of God. And it is God’s desire that we not only see it but enter into His kingdom for all of eternity.

Gloria Patri