“Born from Above”
Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott
March 14th, 2011 – Monmouth College Chapel Service
A couple of weeks ago I remember our family had a particularly bad, cranky morning. Maybe it was one of those mornings when our daughter Ella woke us all up at 5am, I’m not sure. But we were all tired and too short with each other and at the end of our collective-family rope. So in the midst of this cranky, terrible morning, as I am driving the kids to daycare, as I am trying to will myself to be more patient and to be less cranky, Isaac, our 3-year-old, blurts out from the back seat, “Mommy, can we just start over today?” And I said, “Yes. Yes, honey. That’s a very good idea. Let’s just start over.”
Sometimes you just need to start over. Sometimes you just need another chance, another shot to do better and be better. How often in life do we think to ourselves, “You know if I could only start over, if I could only do that again, I could do it so much better, I could be so much better.” Then, if by some act of grace, you do get a second chance, that second chance is SO appreciated. When Isaac (in all his 3-year-old wisdom) asked me if we could start over that morning, I was so grateful. I was so grateful to be given another chance.
I imagine this may have been how Nicodemus felt at the end of his conversation with Jesus. Because Jesus, in our scripture passage today, speaks about giving Nicodemus and us another chance; he speaks about starting over. But this chance offered by Jesus is more than just another shot at a bad, cranky morning. Jesus offers another chance at life. Jesus offers a whole new life, a whole new beginning, a whole new birth, a birth from above.
You must be born from above, Jesus says. You must be born of water and the Spirit. Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.
I find it really interesting that Jesus chooses birth as a metaphor for salvation here. Because birth is far from any easy understanding of salvation, it’s far from any easy prayer formula where all you have to do is say, “yes,” on bended knee. Birth isn’t easy. Birth requires extraordinary effort, it’s painful, it’s full of potential complications, and it’s dangerous for both mother and baby.
When both of our children were being born complications arose that made Dan and I very afraid…that made our hearts stop with fear. But we were fortunate to have a whole team of skilled nurses and doctors to help us and our babies. Everything turned out fine in the end, but the whole experience reminded us of how dangerous and chancy the birthing process can be.
So again, isn’t it interesting that Jesus has chosen giving birth as an image for salvation? The image suggests that God, as our Divine Mother, labors over us, takes great pain for us, sacrifices for us, endures dangerous complications for us, and takes a chance on us.
The image also suggests that the baby being born, the one being birthed, takes a chance as well as that baby is pushed, pulled, hurled even, out of the comfort and closeness of the mother’s womb, out of a place of security and softness, out of the darkness and into the light…into the bright light of brand new world and a brand new life.
Giving birth is dangerous, it’s complicated, it’s chancy….but God takes that chance in order to give us another chance.
God takes that chance in order to give us another chance…to leave the darkness behind and embrace the marvelous light.
God takes that chance in order to give us another chance…to leave our old life behind and embrace a new life in Christ.
God takes that chance in order to give us another chance…to love others as we have been loved, to love our enemies, to love even when it hurts.
God takes that chance in order to give us another chance…to do what is right, to do what is righteous, even when that righteousness costs us something.
God takes that chance in order to give us another chance… to seek justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.
God takes that chance in order to give us another chance… to take the chance ourselves, to take the chance on God, and to live in gratitude for it.
God takes the chance of birth. God takes the chance in order to give us another chance.
This is our first chapel service in the season of Lent. The season of Lent was created by the church as a season of repentance, and of reflection and of remembrance of all that God has given us in Jesus Christ. The season of Lent, then, is a chance for us to remember the chance God took on us, the second chances God so generously offers us, and the chance we have every day to be born from above…to be born into a new life…to be born out of our places of darkness and into God’s marvelous light.
For this chance may we all be so grateful. May we all be so grateful for the chance to be born from above.
Now to our God who offers us this chance, be all honor and glory, thanksgiving and power, now and forevermore. Amen.
Dan
Teri
Wow! This is such a wonderful analogy! I’m a teacher, and I can’t wait to use your ideas and imagery to help our students take more from this reading. Thank you!