Psalm 121; John 3: 1-12 (The Message)
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
March 8, 2020
The Second Sunday in Lent
On any given day, you and I encounter a youth or a young adult who gives us great hope for the church and humanity alike.
Alyssa is a young lady in her teens. When she walks into a room, she shines a radiance that is undeniable. Alyssa has a unique was of seeing the seeing the world. She has been blind since her birth.
There was a time that Alyssa was angry about being blind. Like many girls, she became interested in make-up and wanted to look her best. She really wanted to look in the mirror and see what she looked like. But she could not.
Alyssa said: The Lord spoke to me and told me that I am beautiful on the inside and that I do not have to worry about what I look like on the outside. God is the only one who can tell me what I look like. The mirror can’t.
If I could see, I don’t think my faith would be as strong. Because for a blind person you have to rely on the Lord. It’s like your faith becomes more real because you’re used to not seeing things. You are used to believing in someone you cannot see.
For example, my mom. I cannot see her, but I know she is there. For me I think it is easier to understand that though I cannot see God, he is really there. I think it has a lot to do with walking by faith and not by sight.
I have this desire to help people, but I feel like being blind sort of limits me as to what I can do. But the reality is that God has given me a gift of singing for him and leading worship. And I feel like that’s my way of helping people. And I am grateful.
When Alyssa thinks about the bigger picture of life and faith, her words are profound:
I have so much joy and so much anticipation that the first face I am ever going to see is Jesus. And that means the world to me.
Alyssa’s words truly give me goosebumps. And yet one little sentence she says shines a radiant light into our text today from John’s Gospel: “Faith becomes more real because of the things you cannot see.”
Nicodemus was curious to see Jesus face to face in the middle of the night. Nicodemus set himself apart from his Pharisaic colleagues. He was drawn to talk with the one who did things only God could do. Nicodemus had a hard time understanding everything Jesus was saying. And to be honest – I have a hard time understanding it all too.
Jesus replied to Nicodemus along the same lines as Alyssa but in a much more direct manner, “If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you do not believe me – what use is there in telling you of things you cannot see? (John 3: 18, The Message).
Jesus was revealing that Nicodemus’s ability to walk by sight was an obstacle to his faith becoming more real. Nicodemus’ need to rationalize the life of faith was limiting his ability to behold the things of God.
The Spirit of God is something we cannot see or touch and yet time and again, the Spirit shapes us from within. The Spirit empowers us to see God and God’s coming kingdom in new and unexpected ways. Encountering the things of God completely reorients our lives.
Being reoriented by the Spirit is like being baptized. The water used in baptism is not magic. It is a visible sign of God’s invisible grace. The water trickles down the face of a child or adult as the God’s Spirit is mysteriously at work within us.
The Spirit delivers us from the entrapment of sin and frees us into new life with Jesus Christ.
Like a newborn baby taking its first breaths outside the womb, we breathe in God’s grace and behold God’s possibilities that lie before us. Our spiritual eyes open to see the world through God’s abundant provision, love, and forgiveness in our lives.
Being reoriented by the Spirit is like God calling Abram and Sarai to leave everything familiar and comfortable behind them in order to follow God into the unknown. There will be some bushwhacking through the wilderness, but in the end, it is all worth it to see God’s Promised Land. The journey is an unsettling endeavor but what a spiritual adventure if God is the One leading the way forward.
Being reoriented by the Spirit is like seeing extraordinary moments unfold and noticing that only God could be at work in the midst of it all. The mysterious presence of God’s Spirit deepens our confession that our help truly comes from the Lord the Maker of heaven and earth.
Being reoriented by the Spirit does not make any rational sense apart from wholly trusting God and being dependent upon the Lord for every step we take.
As you and I stand in this particular season of life, what is limiting us from walking by faith and not by sight? What is keeping you and me from closing our eyes, trusting God, and allowing God to lead us by the things we cannot see?
The Church Universal today finds itself in some unique territory. The landscape of faith has been shifting in our Postmodern culture.
Our Small Group Lenten Study notes that the Church Universal is experiences many changes: “The pace of change is exponential. Distrust for organizations is on the rise. We are part of the global [world], therefore we experience more ups and downs than ever before. Spiritual sensitivity and hunger are on the rise while weekly worship attendance is declining. Increasing numbers of Americans do not identify with a faith community. The place of church and clergy are less central to the life of communities”[2].
In her book, “The Great Emergence,” Phyllis Tickle states that shifts in the church are not new. In fact, Phyllis notes that every 500 years there is a major shift in the life of the Church and we just may be in a new shift now.
The way we respond to these changes as people of faith matters. As we work together to reflect upon the landscape of faith in our church and community in this season, there will be things we do not understand. There will be grief for the way life used to seem more predictable and secure.
But Jesus’ words challenge us to trust the movement of the Spirit among us because God just may be doing a new thing. Therefore, we cannot solely rely on what we have known like Nicodemus in order to understand what God is doing today.
Jesus calls us to let go and explore God’s possibilities in the life of faith. But in order to do that we must grow in our ability to walk by faith and not by sight. That means taking a risk to hold God’s hand, to keep in step with the Spirit, and to be willing to allow the things of God to guide our next steps. We cannot allow fear and uncertainty to determine the path ahead.
In fact, it is the things we cannot see that make this gift of faith more real for us as individuals and as a community of faith. The more this gift of faith is realized, the more God is at work through us to transform the world.
May it be so for us as we step into the second week in Lent.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] Deidox Films "Teenager Shows What It Means to Live by Faith"
[2] Mark Tidsworth, “Making the Shift Field Guide” (Chapin: Pinnacle Leadership Press, 2016), p. 43.
