Sermon on Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17
Originally given 05 March 2023 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry
When I worked in a High School in Washington, D.C., I remember one of my students had a tattoo on his arm that said ‘self made’. It wasn’t the first time I had come across the term ‘self made’, but I remember seeing it inked on a 16-year-old arm and being so very taken aback. Not because of the tattoo, but because of the message. I get the general idea of what it means to be self-made, but I can’t help but question whether anyone truly is self-made. Of course there are plenty of people with the so-called rags-to-riches stories. I myself come from a lower-class background, but now live quite comfortably in what would be considered middle-class comfort. But I believe these kinds of stories actually illustrate the opposite of self-made. I’m not in the position I’m in today based solely on my own actions, but rather on the actions of others and the faith they put in me. My brother, who is only four years older than me, made sure I was fed and ready for school every morning because my parents were working. My grandmother, Annie, who was not related to me by blood, but loved me like her own and taught me the value of love when I didn’t see it at home. My teachers, Mrs. Shook and Mrs. Roberts, who believed in me, my abilities, and my potential when nobody else did. All these people before I was 10-years-old showed they had faith in me. All these people contributed, although not explicitly, to my journey of faith. And above all, my journey was not made by me, but by God.
I believe God puts people along your path who work to facilitate the Gospel message of love in your life. People through whose outworkings you are able to journey closer to God. In Paul’s letter to the Romans that we heard today, he makes clear that we are not justified by works, but by faith. I am blessed to be in my position today because of other people’s faith in me, not because of my work ethic. If success was based on how hard someone worked, then I suspect it would be the politicians lined up at the food banks instead of the so-called ‘unskilled’ workers, whose backs are broken and whose hearts are weary from work. But Paul tells us it’s not about work, rather it’s about trusting in God. It’s not following all the laws of the Torah, but having faith in God’s covenantal promise to Abraham. And when we take that faith, and bring it out into the world, to the people we encounter in everyday life, then we are able to help them be transformed. We do not make them, nor are they self-made, but the reflection of God in our own faith can shine through onto them, allowing them to become more full in their own faith, and so more full in their life.
Thinking about what faith looks like, brings me to the Gospel passage. Nicodemus is a Pharisee, someone who is to translate the Jewish law into a set of rules for every situation so that the ordinary people can follow them. Nicodemus wants to understand the actions that need to be undertaken for salvation. But Jesus, although he performs many actions, is of the Spirit. Jesus says to Nicodemus, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.’ For obvious reasons, I’ve been thinking about giving birth a lot lately. Birth of the fleshy sort. All being well, at some point in the next three months the baby growing inside of me will come into the world. But I’ve also been thinking about spiritual birth. Next week during our service, we’ll have the privilege of welcoming Oheneba into our church family through water and the Holy Spirit. It takes such a huge leap of faith to trust that the Holy Spirit is indeed filling us as we enter the waters of baptism, or have our children baptised.
This past week in our Lenten Bible Study, a question was asked about when it’s better to keep faith hidden and when you should have it out in the open. Nicodemus had much to lose and so his faith was kept hidden in the darkness of night until he felt sure through his conversations with Jesus what kind of faith he had. Later in John’s Gospel, we see Nicodemus once again, this time in the light of day, helping Joseph of Arimathea prepare the body of Jesus Christ for burial. So in his story arc we see the faith of Nicodemus both in darkness and in light. We see when he finds it prudent to keep his faith secret and when he publicly proclaims his faith. Last year I preached on this same passage and posed the question ‘What Would Nicodemus Do?’ because all of us are likely to see at least part of ourselves in the story of Nicodemus. There are times in our life when we will keep silent about our faith and other times when we will let the world know we believe in the Gospel of Christ Jesus. There are times when we may feel we have much to lose in revealing our faith and times we openly proclaim ourselves as beloved children of God. But regardless of how we may feel in any given situation, we are always the beloved children of God. And as God’s beloved children, we are in a position to reflect God’s love for others, God’s faith in others, in all that we do.
In going forward with faith in all that we do, we will reflect God in our actions. And in that reflection, people will see in us God’s love for them. People will see that they are not self-made, they are not fully themselves through their own actions. By living in faith, we model for others that they are fully worthy of God’s freely given, and unearned love for them. So others will see God has made them and God loves them. Just as God loves you.
Reflections of a Christian 