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Home , John 10

Living the Dream

Lent 2 T :1-17; Genesis 12:1-41 T Rev. Petri God will help, as long as you pick the right dream We all know them: people who overcome hardships and are Living the Dream. The stut- terer who became a famous movie star. The southern black girl, raped as a child, who grew up to run a billion dollar media empire.2 Or closer to home: The troubled student who graduates at the top of his class, or the couple that was expected to never last but who now celebrates a 50th Anniversary. They are Living the Dream! But are we? Some may say yes, though it’s hard to think so when hurdles keep leaping up before us. And many are the causes we blame. Some point to dysfunctional parents. Others cite bad luck. Still others blame God. After all, he could intervene. He could drop a winning lottery ticket in our laps, but he doesn’t. Now that may seem ungrateful toward our Maker, but today, instead of scolding those who blame God, let’s see if they could be right! In this text, God does toss a few curve balls at someone who was trying to Live the Dream. Let’s see how. Then maybe we’ll understand why.

[THE WRONG DREAM (1-3)] As we turn to our Gospel we meet a Pharisee, . We could say he had it all: Education. Position. Respect. And notice that he didn’t ask a thing of . He just said, “WE KNOW YOU’RE A TEACHER COME FROM GOD.” But if Nicode- mus thought this Carpenter would be charmed by his candor, he was mistaken. Jesus changed the topic and said, “One must be born again.” Huh? What has that to do with Nicodemus calling Jesus a teacher? Nothing! Whatever the Pharisee’s reasons for show- ing up that night, the Lord threw a curve ball, raising an issue he wanted discussed. Come to think of it, God does that a lot. We pray for our career and God lets a friend- ship fall apart. Or we wrestle with our mortality and the Sunday sermon is about women wearing hats in church. A huge disconnect can stand between ‘what we ask’ and ‘what God answers’. And that’s a warning sign.3 Sin is alive and well. And it need not pounce like a roaring lion eager to do bad things; it can just as effectively sit back, contented, as we do few particularly good things. For example, when we first meet a 75-year old Abram in the city of Haran, his life was good (as far as we know). Like Nicodemus, he was Living the Dream, ‘til God broke in. God said, ‘Leave all of this and go where I lead!’ He may just as well have said, ‘You’re Living the Dream but it’s the wrong dream. Start over! Be born again like a child that has nothing. And this time seek me to find your reward.’4

1 Unless otherwise noted, all passages are from The of the . 2 James Earl Jones and Oprah Winfrey, respectively. 3 Isa 59:2 “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” 4 Hebrews 11:6 “Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” [THE RIGHT DREAM (4-9)] But let’s get back to our Gospel text and Nicodemus. Jesus’ ab- rupt demand that this Pharisee be born again confused the poor fellow. How can one enter a womb and come back out? Jesus explained it as a spiritual rebirth worked by the Holy Spirit. In essence, God imbues a richer, deeper kind of life.5 But Nicodemus simply repeated his doubts.6 Just think: Jesus said, ‘God will do great things’7 and the man retorted, “How can that be expected of me?” Now tell me, is someone not listening? Like maybe us? How many times does God tell us, “I’ll take care of you, don’t fret,”8 yet we respond by fretting? Living the Dream is not explained in a how-to book. We think we understand it, yet the moment things go bad, we moan as if God was just waiting to catch us in a slip-up. We act as though we are the reason for his existence. But does not Jesus’ very imagery of birth suggest that God is the reason for our existence? He gives life, so let’s start over as newborns, and entrust ourselves to his care. St. Paul wrote in Romans 4 that Abram did just this. He left everything behind, but more significantly, his actions flowed from faith in God. Abraham obeyed because he believed.9

[THE ROLE OF FAITH (10-17)] Returning to Nicodemus once more, we see a man still struggling. Can we truly be a part of God’s plan just by believing in him? Can it be this easy? Jesus pointed to Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in the desert. When Israel was bitten by deadly snakes, the people had only to look at it and live. No other act was required. Now, Jesus said, he would carry out this same miracle, only on a much larger scale. Indeed, the offer was no longer for Israel alone, for “GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.” Trust Jesus. He draws the poison out. Trust him and live! This is the good news we have. We all would like to be Living the Dream. But let’s get the dream straight. We are invited to be a part of God’s plan, to live in a reality where we respond to him, and where we share in his joy.10 Only Jesus makes that possible.11 Of course, when he does, then our lives become an adventure full of curve balls. We may pray for a job at one end while God calls us to tend a friendship at another. We may be so sure something is right only to see God prove it wrong. Our days are peppered with unplanned bumps that pull us away from our carefully laid plans. That does not make us failures, or in any way unspiritual. It just means we’re still newborns whose lives are directed by the heavenly Father. But we can trust him as he holds us, feeds us, and loves us. And what’s wrong with that? It’s all a part of Living the Dream. God’s dream. Amen.

5 John 10:10 “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” 6 In both John 3:4 and John 3:9, Nicodemus asked questions beginning with the same word: “How...?” 7 Psalms 126:3 “The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.” 8 Isaiah 46:4 “Even to your old age he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” 9 Romans 4:2-3 “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’” 10 Isaiah 29:19 “The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.” 11 :6 “Jesus said... ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”