Christ Confronts Nicodemus - The new birth
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series V, Cycle A
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 12:1--4a (C, RC); Genesis 12:1--8 (E, L)
God appears to a man by the name of Abram in what today would be Iraq, about 1800 B.C., and orders him to leave his homeland and travel to a land that God would show him. God promises to bless Abram and make of him a great nation. In fact, God's promises make Abraham a means of blessing or curse for others. The amazing aspect of this is that Abram was already 75 years of age. Humanly speaking, it didn't seem likely he would see the fulfillment of God's promise but Abraham was a man of faith.
Lesson 2: Romans 4:1--5, 13--17 (C, L); Romans 4:1--5 (6--12) 13--17 (E)
Paul points out that Abraham was accepted by God as righteous not because of good works but by faith. The law had not even been given. This righteousness is given not only to the Jews but to all those who, like Abraham, trust in God and obey his promptings.
Lesson 2: 2 Timothy 1:8b--10 (RC)
Paul urges his readers to join him in his suffering for the gospel (he is in prison). We are not saved by anything that we have done but by the grace of God.
Gospel: John 3:1--17 (C, E)
Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, comes to Jesus at night, so as not to be noticed by his friends, to explore some issues. He lets Jesus know of his regard for him but Jesus sees this as a smokescreen and cuts right to the quick. ''I tell you the truth, no one can inherit the kingdom of God unless he is born again'' (v. 3). Nicodemus doesn't get it and interprets Jesus' remarks literally. Jesus then compares himself to the bronze serpent that Moses set up over the camp of the Israelites. All who were bitten by the fiery serpents (the punishment for disobedience) and looked upon the bronze serpent were saved. So too, those who are stung by the bite of sin, and look to Jesus in faith, will also be saved.
Gospel: Matthew 17:1--9 (RC) (See Transfiguration Sunday)
Gospel: John 4:5--26 (27--30, 39--42) (L)
The story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman by the well. (See Lent 3)
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 121 (C) - ''My help comes from the Lord'' (v. 20).
Psalm 33:18--22 (RC) - ''Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him'' (v. 18).
Psalm 33:12--22 (E) - ''Happy is the nation where God is the Lord'' (v. 12).
Psalm 105:4--11 (L) - ''He is mindful of his covenant forever'' (v. 8a).
Prayer Of The Day
O God of our birth, our baptism and all our beginnings, empower us to fully submit our lives to you, that we might experience the joy of being born anew. In Jesus' name. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 12:1--8
Faith journey. God told Abram to leave his home, his family and his country for a land that God would show him. We characterize this move as a faith journey because, as yet, the destination was known only to God. In a sense, we are all called to engage in a faith journey. None of us have seen the promised land, nor are we cognizant of the exact course that we must take to get there. This journey only requires that we stay close to the Lord and follow his leading.
Life begins at 75. Abram embarked on his faith journey at the age of 75. He might have thought that his life was nearly over but God had other ideas. The best was yet to come. We sometimes fail to forge ahead because of human limitations, such as age, but God loves to use people that don't seem to fit the mold. God's power is manifest in our limitations and weaknesses. This passage has much to say to a society such as ours, where the age pyramid is increasingly becoming inverted. God calls senior citizens as well as younger folks to embark on a faith journey. God has something more significant for them to do than shuffleboard or SkipBo. They are now free to follow the Lord into a new avenue of service. One elderly woman I know spends a good deal of her time tutoring elementary school youngsters and serves as a foster--grandmother for kids from broken homes. Generativity need not be related to age, as this passage makes clear.
Moving from the particular to the universal. God called Abram, a specific person, at a particular time and place, to embark on a mission. Yet, God has something much greater in mind than showering his favor on one man or nation. God deigned to bless all the peoples of the earth through him. God works from the small to the large, the particular to the universal, from the single scene to the big picture. If life were compared to a movie, God would be the director and each person an actor playing out parts great and small. It's our responsibility to learn our script and perform our role to the utmost of our ability. It is God's role to bring all the parts together in such a way that the plot is powerfully coherent and delivers a blessing to the entire cast. The divine drama is different than a movie, however, because there is no audience, except perhaps the saints in light. Let us play out our parts with passion until that day when we behold the Big Picture.
Lesson 2: Romans 4:1--5 (6--12) 13--17
The divine ledger. Paul states that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. He was accounted righteous because his faith demonstrated obedience. Picture God placing a deposit in Abraham's account, which canceled whatever debt due to sin that he previously owed. In a similar manner, God put a deposit in our account because of Christ. This deposit was not a wage - something earned - but a gift. If we accept that deposit in our account through faith, God cancels the debt of our sin and declares that we are in good standing with the Almighty (justified). Our account has been paid through the generosity of God in Christ.
Gospel: John 3:1--17
Come from the night into the light. The account says that Nicodemus came to Jesus from the cover of the night. He didn't want to be embarrassed by being seen by his friends in the Sanhedrin socializing with Jesus. Night or darkness also describes the condition of his soul. Yet he was beginning to perceive some glimmers of light through the miracles of Jesus. There were things he didn't understand, which didn't fit in with his theological framework, and that is why he came to the Lord. The entire conversation with Jesus revealed a profound confusion of
mind and soul. He was looking for intellectual enlightenment but what he received was a challenge to put aside all the baggage and enter into a relationship of profound trust with God, to become as a child. Nicodemus came for a discussion but Christ called for a commitment, inviting Nicodemus to enter the light rather than merely analyzing the light from afar.
''How can a man be born when he is old?'' Nicodemus asks. Good question. As we get older, there can be a tendency to get set in our ways. The emphasis for many is preservation rather than generativity. All the more argument for the need to be born anew. Look at our first lesson: Abraham was born anew at the age of 75, when God took him aside and promised that he was going to make a great nation of him. When he showed his faith in God through obedience, God's Spirit entered him and gave him a new life. From his being born anew, a new nation, God's own people, were born. Believe God, trust in his promises, follow in faith and you will be born anew no matter what your age.
Cure for snakebite. Jesus illustrates his saving mission with the story of the bronze serpent. The Israelites bitten by the fiery serpents, sent as a punishment for rebellion, were instructed to look up to the bronze serpent, which was set on a pole in the midst of the camp. The snake on the pole served as an antidote for the snakes in the grass, neutralizing their deadly poison. Similarly, those who were to look up to the One elevated on the cross would secure release from the effect of sin's deadly fangs. Of course, this point would have been lost on Nicodemus, for he had not yet witnessed the Christ crucified, but it makes perfect sense to those of us who look to Christ for salvation. Note John's theology of the cross. The cross is not the symbol of ignominy and shame but of glory and power. The cross is, in effect, Jesus' throne.
''For God so loved the world ...'' Personal salvation is not the goal of Christianity. God desires to save the whole world. Much the same point was made in the first lesson, the call of Abram. God planned to bless all the peoples of the world through him. We must always keep two great truths in balance - God loves me but he also loves the neighbor. The personal realization of the momentous truth that ''God loves me'' is the prerequisite for the new birth, but that new birth can become aborted (a stillbirth) if we don't embrace the truth that God loves the world through me and people like me.
PREACHING APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 12:1--8
Sermon Title: Faith Journey
Sermon Angle: God called Abram to depart from the realm of the ordinary and embark on a journey into the misty unknown with only a promise. The destination was not known, nor was it important; the journey was all that mattered. So, too, in our baptism we are summoned to a faith--journey. That is, our entire existence as Christians is a journey with Jesus.
Outline:
1. God called Abram to leave his country and kindred
- first, he gave a promise of blessing
- then, he issued the summons to follow
2. Abram trusted God and followed
3. We too are called to journey in faith like Abraham (Second Lesson)
4. Let us follow in faith
Sermon Title: Sunset / Sunrise
Sermon Angle: We usually speak of sunrise and then sunset but why? A sunset is always followed by a sunrise. Abram was called by God to engage on a journey to who--knows--where during the sunset years of his life. The end of one life was the starting point for another. People sometimes feel, when they reach the end of some phase in their life, that life is over, that there is nothing more to look forward to. Not so for the person of faith. Every sunset is met by a corresponding sunrise.
Outline:
1. God called Abram to venture forth at age 75
2. The sunset years yielded to the rising of the glorious new day
3. You may be reaching some terminus point in your life
4. Discover the journey to which God is calling you and faithfully follow
Lesson 2: Romans 4:1--5 (6--12) 13--17
Sermon Title: The Gospel's Bottom Line
Sermon Angle: The language of this lesson is borrowed from the economic sphere. Paul speaks of credits and wages and freebies. Because Abraham believed God, God forgave his debt and credited the treasure of eternal life in each person's account. All we need to do to collect is to follow Christ in faith. As the apostle declares, the person is blessed whose sins are not counted against him.
Gospel: John 3:1--17
Sermon Title: Come From The Night Into The Light
Sermon Angle: Nicodemus came under the cover of darkness to seek enlightenment. He came to discover who Jesus was but ended up finding out who he needed to become - a new man, born from above. The enlightenment of the mind would issue from a new spiritual birth from on high and not the other way around.
Outline:
1. Nicodemus was in the dark about Jesus
2. He was also in the dark about spiritual reality
3. Jesus appealed to his heart and will - not his mind
4. Spiritual faith is discovered experientially
5. Take the leap of faith
Sermon Title: Cure For Snakebite
Sermon Angle: See Theological Reflection On The Lessons
Outline:
1. The snake has long been a symbol of temptation and evil
2. When the Israelites were bitten, they looked to the bronze serpent for salvation
3. We can overcome sin's deadly sting by looking to the crucified Christ
4. God doesn't want to condemn us but save us (vv. 16--17)
William James, in his book, The Varieties Of Religious Experience, distinguishes between the once born and twice born believer. His purpose is to bring out the fact that some Christians experience their faith as a process of growth over the entire span of their lives, while others undergo a sudden transformation, which leaves a vivid impression on their psyche. I know a dear Christian lady who declared that she could not recall a time in her life when she was not aware of God's redeeming presence. Most people who feel this way were brought up in a strong Christian environment, where the faith was not only taught, it was caught. Unfortunately, many of the twice born Christians seem to feel that the manner in which they have encountered God is not only normative but the only way. They place great emphasis on their decision to follow Jesus. So doing, they seem to undermine the concept of grace which underlies this passage. When Jesus tells Nicodemus, ''You must be born again'' (anew, from above), he is not telling him that there is something that he must do in order to be born again. Quite to the contrary, the image of birth preludes the idea of works--righteousness. We don't decide to be born; birth is given to us. There is a heresy prevalent in our culture, which says that we are acceptable because of what we accomplish. This is the basis of workaholicism and perfectionism. Nicodemus was an accomplished and respected member of his community, at the pinnacle of power and piety. It's this knowledge that makes Jesus' words so radical and offensive. Jesus was telling this
righteous, accomplished man that he needed a new spiritual center. He must abandon his prideful notion of self--righteousness and let God start from scratch with him. It was a hard pill to swallow. No wonder he didn't get it.
Those experienced in Christian life know that we are not only born again, but again and again and again. The most excellent movie, Shadowlands, illustrates this point from the life of the English writer and Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis. The movie tells of the story of Lewis' brief love affair and marriage to an American woman by the name of Joy. Joy was a fan of Lewis' writings, which led to written correspondence and, eventually, to their meeting. They became friends but the relationship was not equal. Joy became attached to Lewis emotionally but he kept himself aloof from intimacy, ensconced in the safe shelter of books and ideas. Joy boldly confronted Lewis, just like Christ confronted Nicodemus, with his need to abandon his no--risk mode of relating to persons.
Joy moved to England with her son to be near Lewis. One day, she asked him for a favor. Would he marry her so that she could remain in the country? Lewis agreed to a secret marriage of convenience. They continued to live apart. Lewis hoped to live his life as before, untouched by human intimacy and commitment, but Joy becomes terminally ill with bone cancer. Lewis sees the shallowness of his soul and begins to look at Joy through different eyes. He proposes and they marry before God and the whole world. Love is born of sorrow and during Joy's brief remission from cancer their life becomes a love--feast. Unfortunately, their joy is tinged with the knowledge that their relationship must be so brief. Joy dies and Lewis is plunged into despair and doubt. He used to teach concerning the meaning of pain and sorrow, acting as if he had all the answers. Now, in his grief, he knows that he doesn't. The old aloof Lewis, loath to lose himself in love because he feared the pain of love lost, dies and is reborn.
Gospel: Matthew 17:1--9 (See Transfiguration Sunday)
Gospel: John 4:5--26 (27--30, 39--42) (See Lent 3)
Lesson 1: Genesis 12:1--4a (C, RC); Genesis 12:1--8 (E, L)
God appears to a man by the name of Abram in what today would be Iraq, about 1800 B.C., and orders him to leave his homeland and travel to a land that God would show him. God promises to bless Abram and make of him a great nation. In fact, God's promises make Abraham a means of blessing or curse for others. The amazing aspect of this is that Abram was already 75 years of age. Humanly speaking, it didn't seem likely he would see the fulfillment of God's promise but Abraham was a man of faith.
Lesson 2: Romans 4:1--5, 13--17 (C, L); Romans 4:1--5 (6--12) 13--17 (E)
Paul points out that Abraham was accepted by God as righteous not because of good works but by faith. The law had not even been given. This righteousness is given not only to the Jews but to all those who, like Abraham, trust in God and obey his promptings.
Lesson 2: 2 Timothy 1:8b--10 (RC)
Paul urges his readers to join him in his suffering for the gospel (he is in prison). We are not saved by anything that we have done but by the grace of God.
Gospel: John 3:1--17 (C, E)
Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, comes to Jesus at night, so as not to be noticed by his friends, to explore some issues. He lets Jesus know of his regard for him but Jesus sees this as a smokescreen and cuts right to the quick. ''I tell you the truth, no one can inherit the kingdom of God unless he is born again'' (v. 3). Nicodemus doesn't get it and interprets Jesus' remarks literally. Jesus then compares himself to the bronze serpent that Moses set up over the camp of the Israelites. All who were bitten by the fiery serpents (the punishment for disobedience) and looked upon the bronze serpent were saved. So too, those who are stung by the bite of sin, and look to Jesus in faith, will also be saved.
Gospel: Matthew 17:1--9 (RC) (See Transfiguration Sunday)
Gospel: John 4:5--26 (27--30, 39--42) (L)
The story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman by the well. (See Lent 3)
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 121 (C) - ''My help comes from the Lord'' (v. 20).
Psalm 33:18--22 (RC) - ''Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him'' (v. 18).
Psalm 33:12--22 (E) - ''Happy is the nation where God is the Lord'' (v. 12).
Psalm 105:4--11 (L) - ''He is mindful of his covenant forever'' (v. 8a).
Prayer Of The Day
O God of our birth, our baptism and all our beginnings, empower us to fully submit our lives to you, that we might experience the joy of being born anew. In Jesus' name. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 12:1--8
Faith journey. God told Abram to leave his home, his family and his country for a land that God would show him. We characterize this move as a faith journey because, as yet, the destination was known only to God. In a sense, we are all called to engage in a faith journey. None of us have seen the promised land, nor are we cognizant of the exact course that we must take to get there. This journey only requires that we stay close to the Lord and follow his leading.
Life begins at 75. Abram embarked on his faith journey at the age of 75. He might have thought that his life was nearly over but God had other ideas. The best was yet to come. We sometimes fail to forge ahead because of human limitations, such as age, but God loves to use people that don't seem to fit the mold. God's power is manifest in our limitations and weaknesses. This passage has much to say to a society such as ours, where the age pyramid is increasingly becoming inverted. God calls senior citizens as well as younger folks to embark on a faith journey. God has something more significant for them to do than shuffleboard or SkipBo. They are now free to follow the Lord into a new avenue of service. One elderly woman I know spends a good deal of her time tutoring elementary school youngsters and serves as a foster--grandmother for kids from broken homes. Generativity need not be related to age, as this passage makes clear.
Moving from the particular to the universal. God called Abram, a specific person, at a particular time and place, to embark on a mission. Yet, God has something much greater in mind than showering his favor on one man or nation. God deigned to bless all the peoples of the earth through him. God works from the small to the large, the particular to the universal, from the single scene to the big picture. If life were compared to a movie, God would be the director and each person an actor playing out parts great and small. It's our responsibility to learn our script and perform our role to the utmost of our ability. It is God's role to bring all the parts together in such a way that the plot is powerfully coherent and delivers a blessing to the entire cast. The divine drama is different than a movie, however, because there is no audience, except perhaps the saints in light. Let us play out our parts with passion until that day when we behold the Big Picture.
Lesson 2: Romans 4:1--5 (6--12) 13--17
The divine ledger. Paul states that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. He was accounted righteous because his faith demonstrated obedience. Picture God placing a deposit in Abraham's account, which canceled whatever debt due to sin that he previously owed. In a similar manner, God put a deposit in our account because of Christ. This deposit was not a wage - something earned - but a gift. If we accept that deposit in our account through faith, God cancels the debt of our sin and declares that we are in good standing with the Almighty (justified). Our account has been paid through the generosity of God in Christ.
Gospel: John 3:1--17
Come from the night into the light. The account says that Nicodemus came to Jesus from the cover of the night. He didn't want to be embarrassed by being seen by his friends in the Sanhedrin socializing with Jesus. Night or darkness also describes the condition of his soul. Yet he was beginning to perceive some glimmers of light through the miracles of Jesus. There were things he didn't understand, which didn't fit in with his theological framework, and that is why he came to the Lord. The entire conversation with Jesus revealed a profound confusion of
mind and soul. He was looking for intellectual enlightenment but what he received was a challenge to put aside all the baggage and enter into a relationship of profound trust with God, to become as a child. Nicodemus came for a discussion but Christ called for a commitment, inviting Nicodemus to enter the light rather than merely analyzing the light from afar.
''How can a man be born when he is old?'' Nicodemus asks. Good question. As we get older, there can be a tendency to get set in our ways. The emphasis for many is preservation rather than generativity. All the more argument for the need to be born anew. Look at our first lesson: Abraham was born anew at the age of 75, when God took him aside and promised that he was going to make a great nation of him. When he showed his faith in God through obedience, God's Spirit entered him and gave him a new life. From his being born anew, a new nation, God's own people, were born. Believe God, trust in his promises, follow in faith and you will be born anew no matter what your age.
Cure for snakebite. Jesus illustrates his saving mission with the story of the bronze serpent. The Israelites bitten by the fiery serpents, sent as a punishment for rebellion, were instructed to look up to the bronze serpent, which was set on a pole in the midst of the camp. The snake on the pole served as an antidote for the snakes in the grass, neutralizing their deadly poison. Similarly, those who were to look up to the One elevated on the cross would secure release from the effect of sin's deadly fangs. Of course, this point would have been lost on Nicodemus, for he had not yet witnessed the Christ crucified, but it makes perfect sense to those of us who look to Christ for salvation. Note John's theology of the cross. The cross is not the symbol of ignominy and shame but of glory and power. The cross is, in effect, Jesus' throne.
''For God so loved the world ...'' Personal salvation is not the goal of Christianity. God desires to save the whole world. Much the same point was made in the first lesson, the call of Abram. God planned to bless all the peoples of the world through him. We must always keep two great truths in balance - God loves me but he also loves the neighbor. The personal realization of the momentous truth that ''God loves me'' is the prerequisite for the new birth, but that new birth can become aborted (a stillbirth) if we don't embrace the truth that God loves the world through me and people like me.
PREACHING APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: Genesis 12:1--8
Sermon Title: Faith Journey
Sermon Angle: God called Abram to depart from the realm of the ordinary and embark on a journey into the misty unknown with only a promise. The destination was not known, nor was it important; the journey was all that mattered. So, too, in our baptism we are summoned to a faith--journey. That is, our entire existence as Christians is a journey with Jesus.
Outline:
1. God called Abram to leave his country and kindred
- first, he gave a promise of blessing
- then, he issued the summons to follow
2. Abram trusted God and followed
3. We too are called to journey in faith like Abraham (Second Lesson)
4. Let us follow in faith
Sermon Title: Sunset / Sunrise
Sermon Angle: We usually speak of sunrise and then sunset but why? A sunset is always followed by a sunrise. Abram was called by God to engage on a journey to who--knows--where during the sunset years of his life. The end of one life was the starting point for another. People sometimes feel, when they reach the end of some phase in their life, that life is over, that there is nothing more to look forward to. Not so for the person of faith. Every sunset is met by a corresponding sunrise.
Outline:
1. God called Abram to venture forth at age 75
2. The sunset years yielded to the rising of the glorious new day
3. You may be reaching some terminus point in your life
4. Discover the journey to which God is calling you and faithfully follow
Lesson 2: Romans 4:1--5 (6--12) 13--17
Sermon Title: The Gospel's Bottom Line
Sermon Angle: The language of this lesson is borrowed from the economic sphere. Paul speaks of credits and wages and freebies. Because Abraham believed God, God forgave his debt and credited the treasure of eternal life in each person's account. All we need to do to collect is to follow Christ in faith. As the apostle declares, the person is blessed whose sins are not counted against him.
Gospel: John 3:1--17
Sermon Title: Come From The Night Into The Light
Sermon Angle: Nicodemus came under the cover of darkness to seek enlightenment. He came to discover who Jesus was but ended up finding out who he needed to become - a new man, born from above. The enlightenment of the mind would issue from a new spiritual birth from on high and not the other way around.
Outline:
1. Nicodemus was in the dark about Jesus
2. He was also in the dark about spiritual reality
3. Jesus appealed to his heart and will - not his mind
4. Spiritual faith is discovered experientially
5. Take the leap of faith
Sermon Title: Cure For Snakebite
Sermon Angle: See Theological Reflection On The Lessons
Outline:
1. The snake has long been a symbol of temptation and evil
2. When the Israelites were bitten, they looked to the bronze serpent for salvation
3. We can overcome sin's deadly sting by looking to the crucified Christ
4. God doesn't want to condemn us but save us (vv. 16--17)
William James, in his book, The Varieties Of Religious Experience, distinguishes between the once born and twice born believer. His purpose is to bring out the fact that some Christians experience their faith as a process of growth over the entire span of their lives, while others undergo a sudden transformation, which leaves a vivid impression on their psyche. I know a dear Christian lady who declared that she could not recall a time in her life when she was not aware of God's redeeming presence. Most people who feel this way were brought up in a strong Christian environment, where the faith was not only taught, it was caught. Unfortunately, many of the twice born Christians seem to feel that the manner in which they have encountered God is not only normative but the only way. They place great emphasis on their decision to follow Jesus. So doing, they seem to undermine the concept of grace which underlies this passage. When Jesus tells Nicodemus, ''You must be born again'' (anew, from above), he is not telling him that there is something that he must do in order to be born again. Quite to the contrary, the image of birth preludes the idea of works--righteousness. We don't decide to be born; birth is given to us. There is a heresy prevalent in our culture, which says that we are acceptable because of what we accomplish. This is the basis of workaholicism and perfectionism. Nicodemus was an accomplished and respected member of his community, at the pinnacle of power and piety. It's this knowledge that makes Jesus' words so radical and offensive. Jesus was telling this
righteous, accomplished man that he needed a new spiritual center. He must abandon his prideful notion of self--righteousness and let God start from scratch with him. It was a hard pill to swallow. No wonder he didn't get it.
Those experienced in Christian life know that we are not only born again, but again and again and again. The most excellent movie, Shadowlands, illustrates this point from the life of the English writer and Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis. The movie tells of the story of Lewis' brief love affair and marriage to an American woman by the name of Joy. Joy was a fan of Lewis' writings, which led to written correspondence and, eventually, to their meeting. They became friends but the relationship was not equal. Joy became attached to Lewis emotionally but he kept himself aloof from intimacy, ensconced in the safe shelter of books and ideas. Joy boldly confronted Lewis, just like Christ confronted Nicodemus, with his need to abandon his no--risk mode of relating to persons.
Joy moved to England with her son to be near Lewis. One day, she asked him for a favor. Would he marry her so that she could remain in the country? Lewis agreed to a secret marriage of convenience. They continued to live apart. Lewis hoped to live his life as before, untouched by human intimacy and commitment, but Joy becomes terminally ill with bone cancer. Lewis sees the shallowness of his soul and begins to look at Joy through different eyes. He proposes and they marry before God and the whole world. Love is born of sorrow and during Joy's brief remission from cancer their life becomes a love--feast. Unfortunately, their joy is tinged with the knowledge that their relationship must be so brief. Joy dies and Lewis is plunged into despair and doubt. He used to teach concerning the meaning of pain and sorrow, acting as if he had all the answers. Now, in his grief, he knows that he doesn't. The old aloof Lewis, loath to lose himself in love because he feared the pain of love lost, dies and is reborn.
Gospel: Matthew 17:1--9 (See Transfiguration Sunday)
Gospel: John 4:5--26 (27--30, 39--42) (See Lent 3)
