As
they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31
“What
is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be
amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it
wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes
from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:6-9
Piety
“We plant the seeds that one day will
grow. We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our
capabilities. We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it
very well. It may be incomplete, but it
is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to
enter and do the rest.” (From A Step
Along the Way,” by the late Bishop Ken Untener)
Study
We are certainly not getting a chronological
telling of the Easter story today. The
Scriptures turn back the clock to the almost the beginning of John’s Gospel and
focus once again on the First Encounter with Nicodemus. With the hindsight of history, we can
contrast the new-found boldness of the Acts of the Apostles with the initial timidity
of Nicodemus – a timidity which will change to bold public action defending
Jesus in the temple and then publicly assisting with the burial from the foot
of the cross to the inside of the tomb.
Like Nicodemus, the disciples were not always
so bold. In fact, for much of the first
week of Easter, we focused on how they did not believe the evidence testified
to them – evidence provided by the direct witness of their friends. Thomas went so far as to tell his friends
that that he would not believe without being able to touch the wounds of
Jesus. That’s a different kind of
self-centered, audacious, and cheeky behavior for a disciple who was with Jesus
for three years.
We know how Thomas turned around his
perspective. We do not know what it was
with Nicodemus. However, we do know that
something was affecting Nicodemus – gnawing at his conscience from the
beginning. We do not know where this
feeling came from. And we would not know
until he assisted Joseph with the burial where it would take him. Nicodemus was being drawn into the story of
Jesus deeper and deeper while Judas was being pulled out as a traitor.
We really do not know the end of the
Nicodemus story. Jesus planted a seed
with this Pharisee. We will come to
learn more about the path he will take.
By sneaking over to talk with Jesus – even under the cover of darkness –
Nicodemus seized the opportunity to allow the Lord’s grace and mercy to enter
his life. Then that grace and mercy did its
“spiritual magic.”
“And
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Action
What is pulling you into the Easter
story?
Are you timid about your faith? How is the story changing you? Has the Holy Spirit given you the gift of
boldness?
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