Wednesday, March 16

Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18

Thought for the Day: Two Families

In turning to the truth about ourselves, we return to the first humans: Adam and Eve. The sin of Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was that they chose to be self-reliant, rejecting God’s guidance.

In Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams’ character teaches literature at a boy’s school. He tries to mold his pupils into self-thinking, independent young minds by exposing them to literature outside of the school’s classical education. One poem he has them memorize is by William Ernest Henley with the infamous line—I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. The irony is that while he thinks he is liberating them from society and its expectations, he actually poisons them with the idea of living independently from their families and their families’ values. The movie ends in tragedy as one young man takes his own life, literally believing he is the master of his fate and the captain of his soul, and that no one can redeem his life or rescue him from his hopelessness. Without God, who is the source of all truth, he could not see or find truth, for there is no truth apart from God’s truth.

While this young man had a difficult, demanding father, Adam and Eve had a loving parent. Yet they had the same desire to be independent, so God let them be the master of their own fates. Outside of his presence in the garden, they were forced to be self-reliant. God gave them what they wanted. Instead of being with a God who provided for their needs, they were left to provide for themselves—to work the ground and struggle in their relationship with one another and battle with Satan and his evil influence. 

Cut off from God, we humans rely on our own intelligence and flawed understanding of truth about the created order. We think we have the capacity to make godly choices, even choosing to follow God himself by our own determination. Scripture, however, explains that our thinking is so polluted by sin that we cannot. Ironically, Adam and Eve and their offspring no longer have that original freedom of will. Our wills are so tainted by sin that they have to have divine help to choose what is good.

At the top of each of our family trees is Adam, the first human being, who was a type, a head, from whom we follow. The Bible says we cannot help but sin like Adam. Romans 5:12-14 explains it this way:

Therefore, just as sin came into the world though one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

Paul makes the case that sin entered the human world through Adam and death became part of the human predicament as a result. Even though God had yet to give his law, setting the boundary markers for what is and is not sin, the repercussions of sin were in effect. Adam was an imperfect type of the perfect type who was to come, namely Jesus. Our problem is that we fall under the wrong family tree. The head of our tree is Adam while Jesus heads another family tree into which we need to be adopted. The good news for us who follow Jesus is that for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). Those who proceed from the family of Adam will all die. Those who are brought into a new family, whose head is Jesus, will be made alive. This is another way of saying will be born again. (Today’s reading in John 3 covers Jesus’ teaching on being born again.)

In redeeming us in Jesus, God brings us into a new relationship with him, into a new family as his children and as co-heirs of his Son. Even though we are still sinners, we have a new status as forgiven sinners, his children who are waiting for the fullness of our inheritance that is to come.

Self-examination, repentance, prayer, and worship:

Before you pray, take some time to reflect on the most important human relationships in your life. Perhaps there is one in particular that is troubled and about which you are concerned. Ask the Lord to assist in correcting/reconciling that relationship, and then pray a prayer like the following:

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by unhappy divisions in our relationships in life, especially those in your Church; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Spend time in worship before studying the Gospel of John below.

Study: John 3:1-21, You Must Be Born Again

 ¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ²This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." ³Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." ⁴Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?" ⁵Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

 ⁹Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" ¹⁰Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

 ¹⁶"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ²¹But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

Reflection Questions:

1)  When Jesus speaks about being born of water and the Spirit, he is not talking about baptism but instead is referring to Ezekiel 36:25. Can you think of another time in John’s Gospel where Jesus cleans his followers with water? (Hint: Chapter 13) What do these passages on cleansing tell us we need to be cleansed from by Jesus?

2)  According to Jesus, how does one come to believe in him?