Sunday, March 1, 2026 – Lent 2
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
John 3:1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesusby night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 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.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.
+++
When I was seven years old, my parents sent me away for a week of summer church camp. They did this against my will, as I really, really did not want to go. But this was long before family negotiations were a thing. And so, on the appointed day, off I went.
In some ways, this church camp was a lot like other summer camps. There was horseback riding and boating, softballs and crafts, campfires and camaraderie. But there was also a very heavy dose of fundamentalist religion scattered throughout each day.
We had morning devotionals and afternoon Bible studies and evening worship services. They even had a high-powered preacher whose job it was to convince us elementary school students, that we were hopeless sinners. Well, I was actually a pretty good kid, and so I resisted this messaging for as long as I could. But by the end of the week, I could resist no more.
When the evening service rolled around, an invitation was given for us to come forward and give our hearts to Jesus. And that’s what I did. I asked Jesus to forgive me and to come into my heart. I still remember that sense of euphoria as the counselors told me that I had been born again.
When my parents came to take me home, I couldn’t wait to tell them what had happened to me. And they were as pleased as pleased could be. And soon thereafter my father presided over my baptism.
This remains a foundational spiritual experience for me. But I don’t tell this story very often. I don’t tell it because I cannot condone the emotional manipulation of those camp counselors and that charismatic preacher. I don’t tell it because I don’t believe in scaring the hell out of people in order to convert them. And I steer clear of the phrase, “born again” for all kinds of reasons. Mostly because it implies a kind of intellectual certitude that I have come to see as the opposite of faith. And then, of course, in recent years, the phrase “born again” has been co-opted by politicians. To say that one is born again or evangelical is no longer just a religious identity. It’s a political one – and one often associated with the heresy of Christian nationalism. And so, I don’t tell this story very often. And I don’t use the phrase “born again.”
But this phrase, no matter what you think about it, is front and center in the Gospel lesson of the day. The main character is a respectable man named Nicodemus. In addition to being a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, that religious court charged with interpreting and implementing religious law. That made Nicodemus part of the establishment, while Jesus was very firmly part of the anti-establishment.
Despite the differences between them, Nicodemus was intrigued by this charismatic, itinerant rabbi who spoke so eloquently about the Kingdom of God. And so, one day, he screwed up his courage and decided to go see the young rabbi for himself. But he couldn’t do that in the bright light of day. He has his reputation to consider. And so old Nick went under the cover of darkness.
When he met Jesus, Nicodemus was deferential: “Rabbi,” he said, “we know that you are one of God’s teachers because no one could do all things you’ve done without God’s blessing.” Now that was a very nice compliment to come from such a respectable person. But Jesus did not respond to it at all. Instead, he replied: “No one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again.”
And what follows is an almost comedic conversation in which both men seem to talk past each other. Nicodemus took Jesus literally and asked how it was possible for someone to re-enter his mother’s womb and be born twice. Jesus answered in metaphors, making a reference to how the Spirit, by which we are born again, is as wild and unpredictable as the wind.
In the middle of this conversation, both men seem to lose their patience with the other. And the whole story ends without a satisfying conclusion. Jesus can’t get Nick to quite understand what he means by being born again. And Nick leaves as confused as he was when he arrived.
And because of that, throughout church history, Nicodemus has been presented in a rather negative light. We think of him as the man who just didn’t get it, despite all of his impressive credentials. He’s the guy who had a face-to-face with Jesus Christ and walked away unchanged. Or so we say.
But I think that we sell him short. Because there is something very familiar about him. Because just like so many of us, Nicodemus was on a spiritual journey. He was still traveling toward the truth. And that makes Nicodemus the patron saint of the spiritually curious and cautious. He is the father of seekers everywhere. He is so much more than this one encounter with Jesus.
Because his story does not end here. In fact, the Gospel of John tells two more stories about Nicodemus that clearly imply that his journey continued; that he kept on looking for that promise of new life.
The next time we see him is in the 7th chapter of John. Jesus had caused a dust-up by preaching a dramatic sermon in the Temple in which we referred to himself as Water of Life and then invited the people to come and drink. This incensed the Pharisees, who gathered to devise a plan on how to declare Jesus a fraud, and thus to silence him. But Nicodemus, who once was ashamed to come to Jesus in the daylight, now spoke up in support of him, and in front of his intellectual peers. He encouraged his fellow scholars to listen to what Jesus actually said before they passed final judgment.
And then, much later on, in chapter 19, after Jesus had been crucified, it was Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea who took the body of Jesus to give it a proper burial. And John tells us that Nicodemus, in an act of pure devotion, purchased one hundred pounds of spices and perfumes to anoint the dead body of the Lord.
After Nicodemus helped to bury the body of Jesus, John never mentions him again. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t keep on traveling. Is it really such a stretch to imagine that come Sunday morning, Nicodemus was among those who heard the incredible news that the tomb empty?
The late great preacher and author, Frederick Buechner put it like this: “When (Nicodemus) heard the next day that some of the disciples had seen Jesus alive, he wept like a newborn child.”
Nicodemus simply couldn’t handle Jesus all at once. And frankly, I don’t think anyone can. We take our Jesus in small doses, because that is precisely how enlightenment happens.
The word Nicodemus actually means “the people’s victory.” Isn’t that marvelous? That means that his quest is our quest. His faith is our faith. His victory is our victory. Because no matter how we come to trust in Jesus, or how long it takes us to get there, eventually we all end up at the same place: a new beginning, a fresh start, an empty tomb. And we are born again.
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
John 3:1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesusby night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 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.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.
+++
When I was seven years old, my parents sent me away for a week of summer church camp. They did this against my will, as I really, really did not want to go. But this was long before family negotiations were a thing. And so, on the appointed day, off I went.
In some ways, this church camp was a lot like other summer camps. There was horseback riding and boating, softballs and crafts, campfires and camaraderie. But there was also a very heavy dose of fundamentalist religion scattered throughout each day.
We had morning devotionals and afternoon Bible studies and evening worship services. They even had a high-powered preacher whose job it was to convince us elementary school students, that we were hopeless sinners. Well, I was actually a pretty good kid, and so I resisted this messaging for as long as I could. But by the end of the week, I could resist no more.
When the evening service rolled around, an invitation was given for us to come forward and give our hearts to Jesus. And that’s what I did. I asked Jesus to forgive me and to come into my heart. I still remember that sense of euphoria as the counselors told me that I had been born again.
When my parents came to take me home, I couldn’t wait to tell them what had happened to me. And they were as pleased as pleased could be. And soon thereafter my father presided over my baptism.
This remains a foundational spiritual experience for me. But I don’t tell this story very often. I don’t tell it because I cannot condone the emotional manipulation of those camp counselors and that charismatic preacher. I don’t tell it because I don’t believe in scaring the hell out of people in order to convert them. And I steer clear of the phrase, “born again” for all kinds of reasons. Mostly because it implies a kind of intellectual certitude that I have come to see as the opposite of faith. And then, of course, in recent years, the phrase “born again” has been co-opted by politicians. To say that one is born again or evangelical is no longer just a religious identity. It’s a political one – and one often associated with the heresy of Christian nationalism. And so, I don’t tell this story very often. And I don’t use the phrase “born again.”
But this phrase, no matter what you think about it, is front and center in the Gospel lesson of the day. The main character is a respectable man named Nicodemus. In addition to being a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, that religious court charged with interpreting and implementing religious law. That made Nicodemus part of the establishment, while Jesus was very firmly part of the anti-establishment.
Despite the differences between them, Nicodemus was intrigued by this charismatic, itinerant rabbi who spoke so eloquently about the Kingdom of God. And so, one day, he screwed up his courage and decided to go see the young rabbi for himself. But he couldn’t do that in the bright light of day. He has his reputation to consider. And so old Nick went under the cover of darkness.
When he met Jesus, Nicodemus was deferential: “Rabbi,” he said, “we know that you are one of God’s teachers because no one could do all things you’ve done without God’s blessing.” Now that was a very nice compliment to come from such a respectable person. But Jesus did not respond to it at all. Instead, he replied: “No one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again.”
And what follows is an almost comedic conversation in which both men seem to talk past each other. Nicodemus took Jesus literally and asked how it was possible for someone to re-enter his mother’s womb and be born twice. Jesus answered in metaphors, making a reference to how the Spirit, by which we are born again, is as wild and unpredictable as the wind.
In the middle of this conversation, both men seem to lose their patience with the other. And the whole story ends without a satisfying conclusion. Jesus can’t get Nick to quite understand what he means by being born again. And Nick leaves as confused as he was when he arrived.
And because of that, throughout church history, Nicodemus has been presented in a rather negative light. We think of him as the man who just didn’t get it, despite all of his impressive credentials. He’s the guy who had a face-to-face with Jesus Christ and walked away unchanged. Or so we say.
But I think that we sell him short. Because there is something very familiar about him. Because just like so many of us, Nicodemus was on a spiritual journey. He was still traveling toward the truth. And that makes Nicodemus the patron saint of the spiritually curious and cautious. He is the father of seekers everywhere. He is so much more than this one encounter with Jesus.
Because his story does not end here. In fact, the Gospel of John tells two more stories about Nicodemus that clearly imply that his journey continued; that he kept on looking for that promise of new life.
The next time we see him is in the 7th chapter of John. Jesus had caused a dust-up by preaching a dramatic sermon in the Temple in which we referred to himself as Water of Life and then invited the people to come and drink. This incensed the Pharisees, who gathered to devise a plan on how to declare Jesus a fraud, and thus to silence him. But Nicodemus, who once was ashamed to come to Jesus in the daylight, now spoke up in support of him, and in front of his intellectual peers. He encouraged his fellow scholars to listen to what Jesus actually said before they passed final judgment.
And then, much later on, in chapter 19, after Jesus had been crucified, it was Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea who took the body of Jesus to give it a proper burial. And John tells us that Nicodemus, in an act of pure devotion, purchased one hundred pounds of spices and perfumes to anoint the dead body of the Lord.
After Nicodemus helped to bury the body of Jesus, John never mentions him again. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t keep on traveling. Is it really such a stretch to imagine that come Sunday morning, Nicodemus was among those who heard the incredible news that the tomb empty?
The late great preacher and author, Frederick Buechner put it like this: “When (Nicodemus) heard the next day that some of the disciples had seen Jesus alive, he wept like a newborn child.”
Nicodemus simply couldn’t handle Jesus all at once. And frankly, I don’t think anyone can. We take our Jesus in small doses, because that is precisely how enlightenment happens.
The word Nicodemus actually means “the people’s victory.” Isn’t that marvelous? That means that his quest is our quest. His faith is our faith. His victory is our victory. Because no matter how we come to trust in Jesus, or how long it takes us to get there, eventually we all end up at the same place: a new beginning, a fresh start, an empty tomb. And we are born again.
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