“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit.”
John 3;5 (NRSV)
This verse was part of the gospel reading at church a couple of Sundays ago . It was part of the story of Nicodemus, a pharisee who visits Jesus in the night because he has questions, but he doesn’t want to be seen speaking to the radical rabbi from Nazareth by the other members of his community. Of course, their conversation becomes one of the bedrock pieces of scripture. Remember, just a few verses down is the one many would argue is the most important in all of Christianity: “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. (John 3:16 NRSV) As I considered this particular verse, I wondered about its meaning, and I came to the conclusion that it offers a lot of hope. There’s hope in being born of water and of spirit!
In many mainline churches, during baptism, the minister pours water or dips the person in water, then speaks phrases such as this example from the Lutheran tradition: “(person’s name), child of God, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” They say these words while they form the cross on the forehead of the newly baptized person. Thinking about that phrase, “…born of water and the spirit” I’m reminded of this important part of baptism. What does it mean to be sealed by the Holy Spirit? To me it implies permanence. To be sealed means to be protected so carefully, so securely, that nothing can penetrate the seal to get to the precious ingredients inside. Why would God want to protect us so carefully, so securely, unless God loved us? We are God’s children, right? While we are out in the world, we have the Holy Spirit sealed in our hearts. We are walking with Jesus everywhere we go. How cool is that! We have hope in whatever comes because we are not alone. God is with us through his Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Always.
What about the “marked with the cross of Christ forever” part? I think it means you are now a part of God’s kingdom on earth and you have the hope of heaven to look forward to. No one else may be able to see it, but you know it’s there. It’s like when your parent kissed your forehead when you were little and sent you on your way. You know the echo of the kiss is there, and it makes you feel ready and prepared to face whatever dangers are lurking out there in the big wide world, even if no one else knows it’s there. And I think that’s the point. We belong to God and God has gathered us up in a warm embrace forever, regardless of the trouble we find ourselves in, or even if we drift away from the good and true. That means God’s not done with us yet. Goodness knows, we’ve got a lot of sins to account for. I know I do, but God isn’t giving up on us. God loves us so much that he sacrificed his only Son to show us how much we are loved.
One of the best parts of this story, to me, is the ending where Jesus says, “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. See? God’s not done with us yet! Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for your hope-giving promise to keep me close and never give up on me. Amen.
Faithful Conversations 