John 3:1-17

I want to begin with a question this morning…, a serious question, “Are you saved?”  This is a question that I received from time to time from absolute strangers.   Has anyone asked the same question to you?  What would be your answer?  How would you respond?  A couple of years ago, I answered the door bell and as soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by Jehovah’s Witness friends.   The question they had for me was “Are you saved?”  Instead of saying “yes,” I said, “I am a pastor.   Thank you very much,” suggesting that I did not need to have this conversation and closed the door.   But, over the years, from time to time, I have been visited by these persistent friends.  They know now I am a pastor, but that doesn’t matter to them.   They are not backing down.   Several months ago, I was visited by a young Korean couple with a baby.  At first, I thought they need a help or something.  But, I soon found out that they belonged to the same group.  Honestly speaking, I admire their efforts.  I don’t know for sure but probably they researched about me and sent a Korean couple.  Wow! 

Anyway, the question they have for me nowadays is: “Are you born again?” instead of “Are you saved?”   It is not just a question anymore; it is a challenge, don’t you think?   It seemed to me that they were saying it doesn’t matter if you are a pastor or DS or even a bishop, the real matter is IF you are born again or not.   Has anyone ever asked this question to you?  Or, are you wondering if you are born again?  Or, what does it mean?

I remember another incident when I was challenged with the same question.  I was on my trip to Korea to teach pastors who enrolled a Doctor of Ministry program.  I had to make that trip twice a year at least at that time.  I was sitting in a plane waiting for take-off.  The woman next to me was very nice and friendly.  As soon as the plane took off, though, the way she talked and even the posture she took became very serious.  I wondered what she was going to say.  Can you guess what she said?  Yes, she had the same question that my Jehovah’s Witness friends have: “Are you saved?”

When Jehovah’s Witness friends come, I usually have a very brief conversation.  But, now I had to sit with this very serious Christian lady for almost 20 hours.  There was no escape!  Wow!  Quick as a wink, I said, “YES!”  That was a true answer but my intention was to let her know that I did not want to talk with her on this subject.    Clearly this lady was used to hearing that answer many times – because she started asking me other questions in a way that showed she doubted if I had understood her.   “When were you saved”, she asked, “And how were you saved?  Did you receive the Holy Spirit?   Do you believe in the forgiveness of sin and the life everlasting??”  And “Did you invite Jesus into your heart?”

I admire her faith.  I believe that she was there to obey God’s command and to compel people to repent and receive the Holy Spirit.  It’s such a great thing to be able to tell someone with confidence in your heart that “Yes, I am saved.   By the grace of God I have been reborn.”  But, it is ABSOLUTELY not right to judge or, sometimes, even curse OTHERS only because the way they believe is different from the way YOU believe.

When I served the Vail’s Gate UMC, in Vail’s Gate, NY, I visited a lady in the hospital.   Her name is Naoma.   I talked about her and her ministry several times in my sermons over the years.  She was very troubled that day about a visit she had from a hospital chaplain.  He had asked her if she had been “saved” or if she had ever been “born again.”  This lady was very prim and proper, a devout Christian who would rarely miss worship.  She read her Bible, taught a Sunday School class and had been active in her church her entire life.  The man’s question puzzled her.   She couldn’t recall a particular event in her life where she truly had a “born again experience.”  She grew up in the church and as far back as she could remember she had always been a person of faith.

There are numerous churches where it is a common practice to talk about their “born again” experiences.  Many encourage it.   In fact, for some it is a rite of passage.  If it works for some and helps to build the kingdom of God, fine.  But, for those of us who grew up in one of the mainline denominations, it is not part of our tradition.  Quite honestly, it has been my experience that we don’t even attempt to understand it.

Nicodemus didn’t understand either.  The idea of a spiritual rebirth was completely foreign to his understanding of the faith.  All he knew was to play by the rules, be faithful and observe his religious laws.  Of course he misunderstood what Jesus meant.  Jesus wasn’t talking about a physical rebirth.  He was speaking of a spiritual rebirth.  One must be born of the “water and the spirit.”  But then, Jesus goes on to say, “don’t get all excited about this, because it is not something you can explain.”

So if Jesus said it’s not something we can explain or something we should worry about why is it so important to some to know the exact hour and place they were “born again” or “saved?”  We have to remember that Jesus doesn’t focus on experiences.   Jesus focuses on our fruit.  After Jesus says “that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), he goes on to say that “he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.” (John 3:21).  It seems to me that “believing” and “deeds” are inseparable.

I believe Jesus is saying that the process of being born again is not something to be explained, nor do you know just how and when it happens.  By using the metaphor of the wind (“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes from or where it goes.”), Jesus says it just comes out of nowhere.  The new life Jesus promises doesn’t compute with the structured world of Nicodemus.  He is very skeptical of the whole concept.  So, he asks, “How can this be?”

How can this be?  It can’t, especially when we are unwilling to be sensitive to the creative spirit of God who can shape, form, move, intervene and transform us at anytime from any direction like wind.  Rebirth, newness or change can come in a variety of ways.

For example, a couple of week ago, I was picking up some branches on the ground that fell last night.  It was a very windy night.  Even one of the patio chairs was blown away.   I took it back where it belong and sat on it for a while.  And suddenly, a feeling of calm and peace came over me.  I felt gentle, warm breeze on my face.  And suddenly, I felt closer to God at that moment.  It was a brief moment.  But, the length of time is not important when you experience God or the Holy Spirit, because it’s God’s time, not ours.  You cannot measure this moment, because it’s Kairos, not Chronos.  It is not a common, everyday experience, but I have those special moments from time to time, for which I am very grateful.  It is not dramatic, nor can I fully explain it.  But one thing I know is that the moments like these have been shaped not only my faith in God, but also my life…, who I am as a person and as a Christian.  Because of these moments, because of the Kairos Moment that I experience, I can be a better person, a better Christian and a better pastor.

Recently I worked hard all week long on a sermon.  It was all written, organized and accurately reflected what I wanted to say.  But, when Saturday evening came I still wasn’t satisfied with how to present it.  I believed every word but I wasn’t sure it would connect with you (my congregation).  I decided to “sleep on it.”  In the middle of the night some ideas came to me.  I was so motivated by the ideas that I awoke, went to my desk and wrote some notes.  Twenty minutes later I went back to bed and awoke at my regular time.  Somehow, in the middle of the night it came to me.  My sermon was “reborn.”

We are “born again” when we put our trust in God instead of our own resources.  We are “born again” when we are open to the possibility that the spirit of God can come at any moment.  We are born again when instead of fearing the wind we embrace it and allow ourselves to be moved by it.

Naoma, the lady in the hospital was very ill, but she could sleep in peace because she had kairos moments in her life and put her trust in God.  She wasn’t afraid.  She didn’t have to respond to the man’s question as to whether or not she was “born again.”  Through her faithfulness over the years she was prepared to face whatever storm she faced.  The wind of God had directed and moved her life in the past and it would continue to give her new life in the present.

“Truly, truly, I say to you – no one can see the kingdom of God unless [s/]he is born again,” Jesus says.  This being born again is a process; it is not one-time event.   It is journey:

– a journey of faith that leads us to places we have not been before

– a journey that calls us away like Abraham from our old and familiar world and

leads us into a great adventure

The journey of faith – the kind of journey that Abraham made and which tradition tells us that Nicodemus also made is a tremendous journey

– a journey that we should be glad we are on

– a journey that we need to be on.

It is a journey that gives us new life – which causes us to be reborn –  and it begins – and it ends –  in saying  “I believe Lord, and I will follow.”

So, if any person asks if you are born again, don’t hesitate to say “YES,” because you believe Lord, and you will follow him.   Amen.