Born Again
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"Born Again" by John Fitzgerald
Born Again
by John Fitzgerald
John 3:1-17
A story from the Zen Buddhist tradition speaks to us. A Zen master had several students under his care. In order to teach his class a lesson the master requested that a little bit of tea be brought forth from one of his students for filling his cup. The student obeyed this request, and his teacher went on to command more tea to be placed in his cup.
After a few times of having more tea placed in his cup there remained no more room. The student said to his master, "No more tea will go into your cup." The master responded with, "To be filled I must first empty my cup."
The meaning of this story is we often fill our cup of life to the brim with one thing after another. The secret to finding space is by emptying your cup. Only as our cup becomes less full can we have a clearer focus on the things which occupy space.
The Christian faith offers us an opportunity for us to examine those things which fill our cup. The 40 day season of Lent affords a deeper, more complete walk with Jesus as we concentrate upon our cup of life. Jesus teaches us to have a hidden life of prayer, Bible reading, and sacrifice during this time as we contemplate the meaning of a daily walk with him.
It is not easy to have a hidden life with God. Our life becomes filled with obligations, commitments, and demands. There is little space for quiet time and reflection. The soul needs nourishment just like our physical body. But do we know the inward prayer life shared with Jesus? We are good at moving rapidly from one place to another without a break. But is this life of constant churning balanced by a disciplined devotional time?
In our scripture reading from John's Gospel we see a similar challenge of bringing balance between the outward and inward spiritual life. Nicodemus knew about a spiritual life being a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council. He studied scripture for many years and realized requirements for entering God's kingdom. Nicodemus realized in Jesus a person sent from God. But when the Lord challenged him to be "born again" Nicodemus did not understand what he meant.
Nicodemus thought of "born again" referring literally to a child born from his mother. Jesus intended for Nicodemus to have a spiritual birth instead of anything physical. The key verses are 6-7 where our Lord shares with Nicodemus, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at me saying, "You must be born again." To understand what being born again requires is the journey of Lent. Each one of us has a personal call from God. The inward life is fueled by a rebirth with Jesus. During Lent we take on the Cross of Christ in an individual fashion. We renounce sin and ask for the grace and saving power of Jesus to be raised up in our hearts. Lent and Easter will mean nothing until we have had a rebirth or "born again" experience with the Living Lord.
Our scripture passage closes with a description of why Jesus came into this world. It is good to hear once again these words from our Lord to us as recorded in John 3:16-17: "For God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
John Fitzgerald lives in Leesburg, Ohio, with his wife Carolyn and has served as pastor at the Leesburg Friends Meeting for the past 27 years. Cornfield Cathedral (Fairway Press, 2013) is the second book authored by Pastor Fitzgerald. John has earned a Master's of Ministry Degree from the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana.
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StoryShare, March 12, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Born Again" by John Fitzgerald
Born Again
by John Fitzgerald
John 3:1-17
A story from the Zen Buddhist tradition speaks to us. A Zen master had several students under his care. In order to teach his class a lesson the master requested that a little bit of tea be brought forth from one of his students for filling his cup. The student obeyed this request, and his teacher went on to command more tea to be placed in his cup.
After a few times of having more tea placed in his cup there remained no more room. The student said to his master, "No more tea will go into your cup." The master responded with, "To be filled I must first empty my cup."
The meaning of this story is we often fill our cup of life to the brim with one thing after another. The secret to finding space is by emptying your cup. Only as our cup becomes less full can we have a clearer focus on the things which occupy space.
The Christian faith offers us an opportunity for us to examine those things which fill our cup. The 40 day season of Lent affords a deeper, more complete walk with Jesus as we concentrate upon our cup of life. Jesus teaches us to have a hidden life of prayer, Bible reading, and sacrifice during this time as we contemplate the meaning of a daily walk with him.
It is not easy to have a hidden life with God. Our life becomes filled with obligations, commitments, and demands. There is little space for quiet time and reflection. The soul needs nourishment just like our physical body. But do we know the inward prayer life shared with Jesus? We are good at moving rapidly from one place to another without a break. But is this life of constant churning balanced by a disciplined devotional time?
In our scripture reading from John's Gospel we see a similar challenge of bringing balance between the outward and inward spiritual life. Nicodemus knew about a spiritual life being a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council. He studied scripture for many years and realized requirements for entering God's kingdom. Nicodemus realized in Jesus a person sent from God. But when the Lord challenged him to be "born again" Nicodemus did not understand what he meant.
Nicodemus thought of "born again" referring literally to a child born from his mother. Jesus intended for Nicodemus to have a spiritual birth instead of anything physical. The key verses are 6-7 where our Lord shares with Nicodemus, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at me saying, "You must be born again." To understand what being born again requires is the journey of Lent. Each one of us has a personal call from God. The inward life is fueled by a rebirth with Jesus. During Lent we take on the Cross of Christ in an individual fashion. We renounce sin and ask for the grace and saving power of Jesus to be raised up in our hearts. Lent and Easter will mean nothing until we have had a rebirth or "born again" experience with the Living Lord.
Our scripture passage closes with a description of why Jesus came into this world. It is good to hear once again these words from our Lord to us as recorded in John 3:16-17: "For God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
John Fitzgerald lives in Leesburg, Ohio, with his wife Carolyn and has served as pastor at the Leesburg Friends Meeting for the past 27 years. Cornfield Cathedral (Fairway Press, 2013) is the second book authored by Pastor Fitzgerald. John has earned a Master's of Ministry Degree from the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana.
*****************************************
StoryShare, March 12, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
