Lent 2<\/p>\n
Year A
\nGenesis 12:1-4a
\nPsalm 121
\nRomans 4:1-5, 13-17
\nJohn 3:1-17<\/p>\n
At Diocesan Convention\u2026 in Dayton, OH\u2026 perhaps fourteen years ago\u2026 I was volunteering with Integrity\u2026 the Episcopal Church\u2019s LGBT advocacy organization\u2026 and while I was at the booth\u2026 a deacon came up to me\u2026 when no one else was there\u2026 he looked around\u2026 I\u2019m pretty sure to see who might have been able to over hear\u2026 and he quietly\u2026 I think self-consciously\u2026 asked me\u2026 how did you do it\u2026 how did you come out<\/i>\u2026<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t sure how to answer him\u2026 I had sought counsel with two therapists\u2026 three priests\u2026 and several other gay dads\u2026 I had read some books\u2026 though I couldn\u2019t find a copy of Coming Out for Dummies\u2026 but I had mostly done it on my own\u2026 had mostly forged my own path out of the closet\u2026 out of hiding\u2026 out of the confines of shadows and darkness\u2026 and into more light\u2026 into more truth\u2026 into more authenticity\u2026<\/p>\n
And so the answer to his question\u2026 of just how I\u2026 physically and emotionally and spiritually\u2026 put one foot in front of the other\u2026 didn\u2019t really matter here\u2026 because he wasn\u2019t me\u2026 because our circumstances were different\u2026 because no one who comes out\u2026 does it exactly the same way as everyone else who already has\u2026 but I think we are ALL\u2026 no matter who we love\u2026 called out from whatever inhibits the boundlessness for which we were created\u2026 from whatever kind of bondage that ensnares us\u2026 and into where\u2026 and how\u2026 God wants us to be\u2026 this is one of the most powerful meanings of the Exodus\u2026 it is escape from the constraints\u2026 from all that enslaves us\u2026 and it may seem that we move into increasing freedom solely by ourselves\u2026 it may seem that we earn that on our own\u2026 but we can do it only with God\u2019s help\u2026 only with the Spirit\u2026<\/p>\n
Our Epistle from Romans makes a distinction about what is earned\u2026 through work\u2026 like wages\u2026 but says\u2026 but to one who without works\u2026 trusts him who justifies\u2026 such faith is reckoned as righteousness<\/i>\u2026 and in our theology\u2026 we talk about how we reject works righteousness\u2026 which is a way of saying that we reject the idea\u2026 that we can work for\u2026 or earn our salvation and God\u2019s redemption\u2026 it is gift\u2026 and as gift\u2026 God expects nothing from us in return for it\u2026<\/p>\n
But still\u2026 Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night\u2026 under the cover of darkness\u2026 in the shadows\u2026 cautious about who may see\u2026 or hear\u2026 a leader of the Jews\u2026 fascinated perhaps with Jesus\u2026 as Herod was fascinated with John the Baptist\u2026 but as a representative of the Pharisees\u2026 one who speaks for them when he says\u2026 Rabbi\u2026 <\/i>we<\/i> know that you are a teacher who has come from God\u2026 for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God<\/i>\u2026 he has a mindset which focuses on externals\u2026 like seats of honor at banquets\u2026 being seen praying on street corners\u2026 having beautifully made robes\u2026 and drinking out of polished cups\u2026 in fact\u2026 he is so focused on externals\u2026 that looking within\u2026 being introspective\u2026 may be difficult if not just plain impossible for him\u2026<\/p>\n
Theologian John Shea writes\u2026 seeing the signs\u2026 is the domain of physical sight\u2026 because the signs are manifestations on the physical level\u2026 of truths available on the spiritual level\u2026 and it is the external which has attracted Nicodemus\u2026<\/p>\n
When Jesus says he must be born from above\u2026 Nicodemus gets caught on the idea of a physical birth\u2026 he becomes mired in the physical\u2026 stuck on the least refined level of blood\u2026 even though John wrote in the first chapter of this Gospel\u2026 but to all who believed in his name\u2026 he gave power to become children of God\u2026 who were born\u2026 <\/i>not<\/i> of blood<\/i>\u2026<\/p>\n
Jesus parries\u2026 he tries to explain to Nicodemus that no one can enter the Kingdom without being born of water and Spirit\u2026 that\u2019s why Jesus refers to the wind\u2026 how it blows where it chooses\u2026 and how we don\u2019t know where it comes from\u2026 or where it goes<\/i>\u2026 Shea adds\u2026 to be born of God is to experience God\u2019s being sustaining your own being\u2026 and at the same time\u2026 like the wind\u2026 you realize you cannot control this life\u2026 its origin\u2026 and its destiny\u2026 just like we cannot control the wind\u2026<\/p>\n
When Jesus says\u2026 we speak of what we know\u2026 and testify to what we have seen<\/i>\u2026 he\u2019s referring to those around him\u2026 who are also open to Spirit\u2026 Nicodemus is not\u2026 Jesus knows that flesh can understand only flesh\u2026 but that Spirit can understand Spirit\u2026 Nicodemus came to Jesus at night\u2026 Nicodemus came to the Light of the World\u2026 at night\u2026 and however we determine or describe how much darkness or light we\u2019re in\u2026 there is always more light\u2026 and it\u2019s that light to which we\u2019re drawn\u2026<\/p>\n
Our reading from Genesis reminds us that\u2026 Abram went\u2026 and Lot went<\/i>\u2026 and Sarai\u2026 and the persons they had acquired in Haran\u2026 they all went\u2026 they ventured out from the place they knew\u2026 into an unknown place\u2026 sometimes the place we inhabit is dark\u2026 like slavery\u2026 and the place to which we travel is brighter\u2026 like freedom\u2026 sometimes it doesn\u2019t seem too dark where we are\u2026 like in Haran\u2026 and the place to which we\u2019re called only seems darker\u2026 like Canaan\u2026 so we can also ask\u2026 how did Abram come out\u2026 of the place he knew\u2026 how did he do it<\/i>\u2026 and one answer\u2026 is that he too was drawn to God\u2019s light\u2026 ]\n
We all know\u2026 that at many public events\u2026 like football and baseball games\u2026 someone almost invariably has a sign that says: John 3:16\u2026 for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son\u2026 so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life<\/i>\u2026 now I have it on good authority\u2026 that a lot of people focus way too much on v. 16\u2026 and not nearly enough on v. 17\u2026 which affirms that\u2026 God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world\u2026 but in order that the world might be saved through him<\/i>\u2026 not condemned\u2026 but saved\u2026<\/p>\n
We shouldn\u2019t repent\u2026 we shouldn\u2019t turn away from sin\u2026 because we\u2019re afraid that if we don\u2019t\u2026 we won\u2019t earn God\u2019s forgiveness\u2026 and God will really punish us\u2026 because we have already been forgiven\u2026 and we continue to be forgiven\u2026 forgiveness is woven into the fabric of creation\u2026 we may forget that\u2026 or we may not really believe it\u2026 or we may think that we\u2019ve turned away from sin more than some other people I won\u2019t name now have\u2026 but that\u2019s part of the game of works righteousness\u2026 comparing\u2026 adding points\u2026 keeping score\u2026 but we turn away from sin\u2026 simply to revel in the freedom\u2026 that is God\u2019s gift to us\u2026<\/p>\n
And scripture affirms this\u2026 Psalm 103:12 says\u2026 As far as the east is from the west\u2026 so far does he remove our transgressions from us<\/i>\u2026 Isaiah 43:25 says\u2026 I\u2026 I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake\u2026 and I will not remember your sins<\/i>\u2026 Hebrews 8:12 says\u2026 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities\u2026 and I will remember their sins no more<\/i>\u2026<\/p>\n
Sadly\u2026 we\u2019re the ones who hold on to sin\u2026 we\u2019re the ones who don\u2019t forgive\u2026 because so many around us don\u2019t forgive\u2026 we\u2019re the ones who remain locked in the closets of animosity\u2026 in the wardrobes of belligerence\u2026 in the lockers of antagonism\u2026 and it\u2019s tragic\u2026 because God has already forgiven us\u2026<\/p>\n
We can look back at our lives\u2026 and recount some of what we did\u2026 or didn\u2019t do\u2026 to get where we are\u2026 but we cannot know where the Spirit will blow us\u2026 and as we begin to internalize this truth\u2026 as we ask the Spirit\u2019s help in putting one foot in front of the other\u2026 as we begin to inwardly digest this reality\u2026 both individually\u2026 but especially corporately\u2026 we can have no other response\u2026 but to consciously move\u2026 more and more\u2026 out of every kind of closet which keeps us in lack or in bondage\u2026 and attached to sin\u2026 and more and more open to God\u2019s gift of radical grace\u2026 unmerited forgiveness\u2026 and immeasurable love\u2026 and we will move more and more towards discerning and enacting God\u2019s will in our time\u2026 so that justice rolls down like waters\u2026 and righteousness\u2026 like an ever-flowing stream\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lent 2 Year A Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 121 Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17 At Diocesan Convention\u2026 in Dayton, OH\u2026 perhaps fourteen years ago\u2026 I was volunteering with Integrity\u2026 the Episcopal Church\u2019s LGBT advocacy organization\u2026 and while I was at the booth\u2026 a deacon came up to me\u2026 when no one else was there\u2026 he looked around\u2026 I\u2019m pretty sure to see who might have been able to over hear\u2026 and he quietly\u2026 I think self-consciously\u2026 asked me\u2026 how did you do it\u2026 how did you come out\u2026 I wasn\u2019t sure how to answer him\u2026 I had sought counsel with two therapists\u2026 three priests\u2026 and several other gay dads\u2026 I had read some books\u2026 though I couldn\u2019t find a copy of Coming Out for Dummies\u2026 but I had mostly done it on my own\u2026 had mostly forged my own path out of the closet\u2026 out of hiding\u2026 out of the confines of shadows and darkness\u2026 and into more light\u2026 into more truth\u2026 into more authenticity\u2026 And so the answer to his question\u2026 of just how I\u2026 physically and emotionally and spiritually\u2026 put one foot in front of the other\u2026 didn\u2019t really matter here\u2026 because he wasn\u2019t me\u2026 because our circumstances were different\u2026 because no one who comes out\u2026 does it exactly the same way as everyone else who already has\u2026 but I think we are ALL\u2026 no matter who we love\u2026 called out from whatever inhibits the boundlessness for which we were created\u2026 from whatever kind of bondage that ensnares us\u2026 and into where\u2026 and how\u2026 God wants us to be\u2026 this is one of the most powerful meanings of the Exodus\u2026 it is escape from the constraints\u2026 from all that enslaves us\u2026 and it may seem that we move into increasing freedom solely by ourselves\u2026 it may seem that we earn that on our own\u2026 but we can do it only with God\u2019s help\u2026 only with the Spirit\u2026 Our Epistle from Romans makes a distinction about what is earned\u2026 through work\u2026 like wages\u2026 but says\u2026 but to one who without works\u2026 trusts him who justifies\u2026 such faith is reckoned as righteousness\u2026 and in our theology\u2026 we talk about how we reject works righteousness\u2026 which is a way of saying that we reject the idea\u2026 that we can work for\u2026 or earn our salvation and God\u2019s redemption\u2026 it is gift\u2026 and as gift\u2026 God expects nothing from us in return for it\u2026 But still\u2026 Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night\u2026 under the cover of darkness\u2026 in the shadows\u2026 cautious about who may see\u2026 or hear\u2026 a leader of the Jews\u2026 fascinated perhaps with Jesus\u2026 as Herod was fascinated with John the Baptist\u2026 but as a representative of the Pharisees\u2026 one who speaks for them when he says\u2026 Rabbi\u2026 we know that you are a teacher who has come from God\u2026 for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God\u2026 he has a mindset which focuses on externals\u2026 like seats of honor at banquets\u2026 being seen praying on street corners\u2026 having beautifully made robes\u2026 and drinking out of polished cups\u2026 in fact\u2026 he is so focused on externals\u2026 that looking within\u2026 being introspective\u2026 may be difficult if not just plain impossible for him\u2026 Theologian John Shea writes\u2026 seeing the signs\u2026 is the domain of physical sight\u2026 because the signs are manifestations on the physical level\u2026 of truths available on the spiritual level\u2026 and it is the external which has attracted Nicodemus\u2026 When Jesus says he must be born from above\u2026 Nicodemus gets caught on the idea of a physical birth\u2026 he becomes mired in the physical\u2026 stuck on the least refined level of blood\u2026 even though John wrote in the first chapter of this Gospel\u2026 but to all who believed in his name\u2026 he gave power to become children of God\u2026 who were born\u2026 not of blood\u2026 Jesus parries\u2026 he tries to explain to Nicodemus that no one can enter the Kingdom without being born of water and Spirit\u2026 that\u2019s why Jesus refers to the wind\u2026 how it blows where it chooses\u2026 and how we don\u2019t know where it comes from\u2026 or where it goes\u2026 Shea adds\u2026 to be born of God is to experience God\u2019s being sustaining your own being\u2026 and at the same time\u2026 like the wind\u2026 you realize you cannot control this life\u2026 its origin\u2026 and its destiny\u2026 just like we cannot control the wind\u2026 When Jesus says\u2026 we speak of what we know\u2026 and testify to what we have seen\u2026 he\u2019s referring to those around him\u2026 who are also open to Spirit\u2026 Nicodemus is not\u2026 Jesus knows that flesh can understand only flesh\u2026 but that Spirit can understand Spirit\u2026 Nicodemus came to Jesus at night\u2026 Nicodemus came to the Light of the World\u2026 at night\u2026 and however we determine or describe how much darkness or light we\u2019re in\u2026 there is always more light\u2026 and it\u2019s that light to which we\u2019re drawn\u2026 Our reading from Genesis reminds us that\u2026 Abram went\u2026 and Lot went\u2026 and Sarai\u2026 and the persons they had acquired in Haran\u2026 they all went\u2026 they ventured out from the place they knew\u2026 into an unknown place\u2026 sometimes the place we inhabit is dark\u2026 like slavery\u2026 and the place to which we travel is brighter\u2026 like freedom\u2026 sometimes it doesn\u2019t seem too dark where we are\u2026 like in Haran\u2026 and the place to which we\u2019re called only seems darker\u2026 like Canaan\u2026 so we can also ask\u2026 how did Abram come out\u2026 of the place he knew\u2026 how did he do it\u2026 and one answer\u2026 is that he too was drawn to God\u2019s light\u2026 ] We all know\u2026 that at many public events\u2026 like football and baseball games\u2026 someone almost invariably has a sign that says: John 3:16\u2026 for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son\u2026 so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life\u2026 now I have it on good authority\u2026 that a lot of people focus way too much 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