Born of the Spirit.

 

This summer my wife and I are going on a pilgrimage. We are going to Scotland on our vacation. As part of our vacation we are going to visit the island of Iona. Iona is home to the monastery founded by Saint Columba in the year 563. It was one of the most important religious sites in Western Europe. The roots of Celtic Christianity run very deep on Iona.

 

There is something very profound about going on a pilgrimage. For every Muslim, it is a life-long dream to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. For devout Jews, a trip to the holy city of Jerusalem is a mountain top experience. Even for Roman Catholics, a trip to the Vatican in Rome can be an inspiring spiritual moment. But what about us Protestants?

 

If truth be told, we Protestants don’t have a sense of sacred place. Most Protestants haven’t heard about Iona. Our foundations are more in a set of ideas than in a specific geographic place. Our roots lie in a way of reading the Bible rather than with a specific cultural ethnic group. As a result we Protestants are a very diverse group, spanning many languages, cultures and continents. We are a people of the Spirit. We are not a people of a certain land.

 

In the Bible we are reminded that Jesus was a homeless preacher, travelling from town to town. Our Messiah was a wanderer. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as being an unpredictable force, blowing where it will like the wind. In fact, the word Jesus used for wind and spirit were one and the same. So we could translate his words as saying, “The wind blows where it chooses. So it is with everyone who is born of the wind.”

 

Nicodemus looked for certain signs and wonders before he approached Jesus. He wanted certain proofs that God was at work in Jesus before he would seek to get closer. Jesus responds to his request by pointing to the mysterious qualities of the spirit, which blows like the wind. Nicodemus was confused by this, for he was taught to seek facts. Proofs. Certainty. He didn’t know how to be someone born of the wind, let alone be born of the spirit.

 

So Jesus persists, trying to open Nicodemus up. Jesus points Nicodemus to that which is essential in life. He tries to evoke an awareness of what is of eternal significance in life. He wants Nicodemus to be freed from those rigid beliefs which blind him to the true realities of this world.

 

Back in the 1960's and 70's there was a move by people to reject all forms of spirituality. They wanted to prove they were free. This freedom was expressed by everyone doing whatever they wanted, regardless of the impact it had on others. Even today people see freedom as the ability to transgress all laws without impunity. Since it’s all been done before, they must do ever more shocking things in order to prove they are someone. Many people are wounded by such acts of freedom. Some of it is what others did to them, and some is by what we did to ourselves. Despite the wounds we carry, people today are rediscovering an awareness of their spirit. Like never before there is a searching, a desire to nurture the soul. The difference today is people do not want their spiritual journey to be controlled by others or be silenced by another’s authority over them. In today’s world, the questions of ‘what matters’ are dealt with by the individual, who is afraid to trust others with their very soul.

 

They also want their spirituality to speak to the reality of their life. Many people today live complex lives which we in the church have failed to address. We are so out of touch with people’s lives we can’t even imagine a way to even admit such situations are possible. And then we wonder why no one wants to come to church. As a result, many turn to New Age groups or movements such as Wicca for answers. They want the tools they need to explore their spirit, without anyone telling them what they can or can not do. Others turn to the occult, to nurture their awareness of the mysteries of life.

 

 

Jesus came to set us free from all that kills the Spirit. His time in the wilderness helped him to let go of all the temptations which prevent a person from reaching their fullest potential. He rejected the lure of money, power and fame, each of which can thwart our deepest desires. In his wilderness journey he discovered the depths of his connection to God, which transcended all the beliefs he was taught as a child. God was bigger than his original understanding. Much bigger. And now Jesus has caught a glimpse of just how big God was. And so Jesus begins to live his life, demonstrating in a convincing way what a difference it can make when you live your life answering to the Spirit. By his life and death he demonstrated how the power of money, fame, material possessions or power does not have an ultimate grip on our souls.

 

In January of this year, many of us made promises to ourselves. We promised we’d eat better. We’d get off the couch and exercise more. We’d take that class we always dreamed about. We’d do something different this year. We’d change. How many of you are still sticking to your New Year’s resolutions? It’s hard. Systematic change is difficult to make. Most of our problems were formed over years of small habits being repeated into a very deep pattern. At the time those patterns provided us with comfort, and a way to cope. As the years roll on, such patterns can prove to be a danger to our health or our attitudes. Changing them overnight is a huge challenge. Instantaneous changes are hard to sustain.