“Peace with Justice”

(John 3:1-17) 

 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.  He came to Jesus by 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 is chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it come from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  Nicodemus said to 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 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.”

            On our trip through the southeastern US a couple of weeks ago we visited the World War II Museum in New Orleans, and we were reminded of things we already knew about that period of time.  But, also, we learned a lot about the lead-up to the War, especially the toll that the German war-making had taken on Britain and western Europe before the United States entered the war in 1941. 

In a week and a half our nation will observe the 80th anniversary of D-Day, June 6^th, 1944.  We will be reminded of the incredibly courageous soldiers who participated in the invasion that landed on the northern coast of France.  This strategy was inevitable since Hitler had been invading and taking over country after country in Europe.  It was what the Allies had to do in order to stop Hitler’s advances. 

Thousands died and many more were wounded in this invasion, but this was one of the turning points of World War II, the war that was foolishly thought to end all wars.  

            Eighty years later we’re still struggling with war across the globe, but we continue, foolishly perhaps, to hold out a deep and abiding hope for peace.  We pray for a world at peace that would keep all our sons and daughters out of harm’s way.  Yet, we know good and well that a world without justice cannot be a world at peace, that people’s basic rights must be protected and their fundamental needs must be met in order for us all to live in peace.  

            Today we are observing Peace with Justice Sunday.  It is a day on the United Methodist calendar when we can give an offering that will go toward providing programs that move us toward a just and peaceful world. 

             The United Methodist Church has a historic commitment to peace and justice.  Our General Board of Church and Society holds a non-governmental, consultative status with the United Nations. 

            We’re gonna be giving a little money that will be designated toward the Peace with Justice work that the denomination does on our behalf.  We do that because we believe that, if we work together, it’s possible to resolve disputes among nations, among all people through peaceful means.  Feel free to also make that offering, but if you’re not prepared this day or this year, I’m hoping to make this Peace with Justice collection a regular thing for our church on each Memorial Day weekend.  I’ll do a better job of preparing you next year. 

             …I know that you don’t need reminded that the terrible conflict in Gaza just demonstrates to us that we are a long way from achieving this peace with justice that we long for.  But, observing Memorial Day and D-Day while keeping our active duty soldiers in prayer are reminders that justice for all people is a dream not yet realized. 

Even though hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of soldiers have given their lives for freedom and justice and the dream of peace, we are still working toward and praying for the day when justice will roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

            …In today’s text a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who is a leader of the Jews, came to see Jesus.  He’s attracted to Jesus because he knows he is of God.  Nicodemus said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”  

            Jesus answered him in such a way that reminds us that the signs and the actions, the miracles and the healings are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the ways God acts in our world and in our lives. 

Jesus wanted to talk about faith and connection to God, but Nicodemus is no different from the rest of us.  He has trouble understanding things that he cannot see and touch and manage himself. 

Jesus talked about being born of water and the spirit, familiar language to us Christians, but it didn’t make any sense to Nicodemus.  He asked Jesus how anyone who is an adult can be born again.  “We can’t re-enter our mother’s wombs, for cryin’ out loud,” he argued. 

Nicodemus listened to all that Jesus has to say, all the things that we “experienced Christians” hear Sunday after Sunday.  But, truth be told, WE may not totally understand these things ourselves.  No surprise that Nicodemus ended up asking, “How can these things be?”

Last week on Pentecost we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives as Christians; we sang Happy Birthday to the church; we talked about how Jesus left the Advocate, the Spirit, with his followers, so that she could show us how to continue Jesus’ work here on Earth. 

You may recall that the story from the book of Acts was pretty crazy with a mighty wind blowing and the flames of fire behind each of the disciples’ heads.  And, then, to top it off, all the people who were gathered heard their own native languages spoken.  It really was something!  Some might ask, “How could this be?”  Just like Nicodemus….

Next week we will be participating in our Lord’s Supper.  There are those who look at our Christian traditions and rituals who say, “Ooh, you’re talking about eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ?  That’s just weird.”  We say no, let us explain it to you.  We talk about it in a way that gives Jesus’ life and death meaning for us as a symbol for how he gave himself for us.  Some of those listeners might still shake their heads and say, “That sounds pretty crazy.” 

When we insist on existing only in the literal world like Nicodemus, we will find ourselves having trouble understanding much of what is God; we will be insisting upon proof for everything and a religion that can only be discussed logically and rationally.  And we will miss out on the world of the Spirit, the mystical, that which cannot be explained in a sentence or two or three. 

We could miss out on having a heart-strangely-warmed experience in the presence of the Spirit of God (just like John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, had).  We could miss out on the power of what it means to be made brand new by baptism and the Holy Spirit; we could miss out on believing that we can start all over again as if we were new, innocent, pure children.  We could miss out on thinking of ourselves as different parts of the body of Christ, you a hand, you the eyes, you the ears, you the foot.  We could miss out because we would be scratching our heads, like Nicodemus, asking, “How can this be?”

Now, the beauty comes when we let go of our need to understand and be in control of the information and the experience–and simply give ourselves to it.  “For,” as it says in the text, “God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”  Goodness, there’s no proof for this, and there’s no way to understand eternity with our limited minds that struggle to really and truly go beyond our own life spans. 

 But this verse, (John 3:16) is Truth for us with a capital T.  For God so loved the world that he gave Christ for us.  Eternal life is the gift that goes beyond what we can even imagine in this life.  We could ask, “How can this be?”  Like Nicodemus….  

Finally, let’s wrap it up with Nicodemus’ words at the outset, “Jesus, no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”  We could say, “Duh!  We know that without God, our lives cannot be transformed.  Being born from above and of the Spirit are just empty words without God.”  AND we know on this Peace with Justice Sunday that no one can make peace without God’s help.  What seems unbelievable to the world is our business and purpose. 

We Christians stand for the unlikely.  We give ourselves to the illogical and even irrational because we belong to God, because we are born again of the water and the spirit, and because we have the hope of eternal life through the one who is in the business of saving the world, not condemning it. 

Peace with Justice is a concept that can only be approached with God in the midst of it.  We ourselves cannot do it.  Like being saved, it’s an act of God.  But we can participate, we can be deputy peacemakers; we can be doing an internship in living justly because, like Nicodemus, we may struggle with believing any of it is true, that any of it can happen.  But with God, all things…well, you know…all things are possible.  Even Peace with Justice.  May it be so.  Amen.