Loving God, you renew us by the power of your Spirit and empower us to live as your children.  Touch our hearts with this same Spirit as we gather together today and strengthen us in faith, hope, and love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 Have any of you been born again?  Have any of you ever had somebody ask you if you've been born again?  And did you know how to answer them?  If you didn't, you're probably not alone.  You're probably not alone, because different people mean different things when they ask that very same question.  One person might ask if you've been born again when what they really mean is, "Have you had a dramatic conversion experience and spoken in tongues?"  Another person might mean, "Have you been baptized by the Holy Spirit?"  Another person might really be asking, "Do you believe the right things about the rapture and the Last Judgment and the millennium?"  Another person might really mean, "Do you believe in the inerrancy of the Scriptures?"  And others (who probably wouldn't ask the question in the first place) would simply mean, "Have you been baptized by water and the Spirit?"  (Cf. Eric W. Gritsch, Born Againism)

 Being "born again" is a phrase that comes from the gospel reading that we heard today.  Yet, you may have noticed that the wording that we heard was different.  This translation uses "born from above," which is far closer to what the Greek words actually mean.  In fact, if we were going to translate it literally, we would say "begotten from above," for the word that is used means birth from the father's side of things.  And so, what we are actually talking about is a new birth that comes from God.

Now, you might ask why we would talk about this at all!  Well, the answer lies in the fact that being born from above is presented in the gospel of John as not just an important thing, but an essential thing for those who would share eternal life with Jesus.  "No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above" (Jn. 3:3).  "No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit" (Jn. 3:5).  "You must be born from above" (Jn. 3:7).

From today's gospel we learn that being born from above involves baptism - being born of water and the Spirit.  It also involves faith in Jesus Christ, for we are promised that all those who believe in him will have eternal life (Jn. 3:16).  Above all, it involves living by the power of the Holy Spirit - allowing God's Spirit to direct our lives, to plant and grow faith in our hearts, and to empower us to live as both imitators and followers of Jesus.

At the same time, it would seem that being born from above changes our vision.  We see things differently when the Holy Spirit opens up our vision to the kingdom of God.  Remember: "No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."  No one can see what Jesus is talking about or what Jesus is doing unless the Holy Spirit is directing their vision.  And so, when we are born from above, we can see things even here in this church that others might not see.  (And no - I don't mean "seeing things"!)

For example, there is a large cross here at the front of the church.  That cross is not just a decoration.  It says something to us.  In fact, "it is here, on the cross, that God meets us" (Erlander, Baptized We Live).  God has entered into our darkness, our weakness, our pain, our sorrow and our loneliness, and God meets us there.  God meets us there because Jesus Christ - God in the flesh - experienced all of those things among us.  God meets us there, at the cross, and says, "This is how much I love you."  And then God exposes and defeats the powers that reign in this world.  God exposes these powers as the idols that they are and sets us free to allow God to be God.  In this cross we see God embracing us and loving us through Jesus, and in this cross we see God's victory over sin and death and the devil.  It is far more than meets the eye!

In Jesus, we see God.  Because of Jesus, we know that wherever there is pain and alienation, God is there, weeping.  Because of Jesus, we know that wherever there is wholeness and love, God is there, rejoicing.  Because of Jesus, we see that God is here.  Yet, there is even more that we see because of Jesus, especially when we look very closely at the water and the bread and the wine.

When we see a baptism taking place, it would be easy to see just a little bit of water being poured and something about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Yet, when the Spirit guides our vision we can see God's forgiveness and love and grace being poured out.  God is there in the water and the word, saying, "This person belongs to me!"  God is there, saying, "You now share in Jesus' righteous life, death and resurrection."  God is there, making us members of the body of Christ and giving us the Holy Spirit so that we can "grow up" into Christ.  In the waters of baptism, we see God's grace and salvation.

Similarly, when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, it would be easy to see not much of anything happening.  Oh - people are getting a little bit of bread and wine or grape juice, something's said about the body and blood of Christ, and other people are singing.  Yet, when the Spirit guides our vision we see so much more.  When the Spirit guides our vision, we see Jesus, right here, giving himself to us.  We see God in this meal and God in us.  We see all of the saints here with us who have shared in this meal, whether in the past, the present, or the future.  We see the fullest revelation of God's love and grace, which can be seen and tasted and touched and smelled and heard.  In the bread and the wine, we see God's grace and salvation.

In all of these things, it is the Holy Spirit who teaches and inspires us to see God right here among us, just as we can see God in creation as a whole.  And, once we start to see things differently, we start to live differently, too.  We start to live as if other people matter and are loved and redeemed by God.  We start to live as if Jesus really is Lord of our lives, and our Saviour.  We start to live as if we are precious children of God - created by God, redeemed by Jesus Christ, and made holy, or sanctified, by the Holy Spirit - set apart for lives of service to others, just as Jesus lived.  This is being born from above - living as believers in Jesus Christ.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (Jn. 3:16).

Amen.

The Holy Trinity (B)         John 3:1-17
June 11, 2006
St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore