TRUST THE WIND

 JUNE 9, 2022

 

JOHN 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 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.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

In this encounter with Nicodemus Jesus is pointing to the gift of the Spirit, the gift from above, from outside ourselves, from some other source. "What is born of the flesh is flesh," Jesus says, "and what is born of the Spirit is spirit." A word of caution here, it seems that when we hear that word flesh in the Bible, we often understand it as something negative. In these verses above, Jesus didn't say, "What is born of the flesh is bad." After all, remember John 1 where we read "The Word became flesh and lived among us." Jesus is simply saying, "What is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit is spirit."

Spirit, "Pneuma" is the word in Greek as in our word pneumonia, affecting the lungs, or a pneumatic tire filled with air. The Greek word can mean wind or breath or spirit. Jesus uses these meanings to try to reach Nicodemus and give him understanding. "The wind blows where it chooses and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." You see, Jesus’ message is not that the flesh is awful, it's just that we cannot learn everything through our fleshly, human selves. Yes, we can learn many things through our flesh, the difference between hot and cold, for example. We can learn to speak, to add and subtract even. Let us be honest we cannot learn of the things of God the same way we learn to read.

So, Jesus says do you want to know the things of God then "Trust the wind,” Nicodemus. You must be born from above." Jesus repeats these words a second time, but this time something changes. When Jesus says, "You must be born from above.” Like Nicodemus, You and I must trust the wind. Learning the things of God cannot be done with our minds alone.

Though we cannot see the Spirit, we can see where the Spirit has been. Jesus is the sign of God's wind blowing. Jesus moved in certain directions and not others, directed by the Spirit that came upon him from above. This Spirit isn't for Jesus alone, but for Nicodemus and each of us. This becomes clear at the end of John's gospel when Jesus and his disciples gathered for their last meal. It was then that Jesus gave them this promise: "I will not leave you orphaned.... The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you."

Perhaps you have known the Spirit's power in your own life. People have talked and written about their own experience of the Spirit's presence: a dark room suddenly filled with unexplainable light, a feeling of being comforted at a time of aching despair, a deep silence that wasn't empty but held a connection with the source of all life, a voice that assured, "You are not alone, I am with you." Others speak of times when the Spirit gave them new understanding of a familiar Psalm or a Bible story. The Spirit blows where it will; you can't pin the Spirit down or set it within a particular boundary. What Jesus is teaching Nicodemus, and you and me, is that God is active, and always on the move through the Holy Spirit.

Trust the wind. Look at the life of Jesus to see where the Spirit has been, then still upon the tree, the cross, nailed down, crucified. The story didn't end on that lifeless tree, did it. Just like in the beginning of creation, God breathed and brought Jesus out of the tomb. When the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples, he said to them, "Peace be with you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Listen for the sound of the wind. Listen for God's Spirit bearing witness with your spirit.

The wind blows where it will. You cannot pin it down or explain its coming. God is always at work, the ceaseless action of Spirit teaches us that. "I will not leave you orphaned," said Jesus. Rest today in that promise. And may the God’s Spirit catch us unexpectedly and surprise us.



As you look forward to your Day be reminded that you are not alone, that going with you is

The God who REJOICES over you with DELIGHT!!

The God who is your PROVIDER!!

The GOD who IS FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES!!

And

the God who is ALWAYS ON THE MOVE with ceaseless action so "Trust the Wind".