Gordon E. Ellis
February 20, 2005
SAME QUESTION, DIFFERENT ANSWERS
WHAT must I DO to enter the Kingdom of God? Or, WHAT must I DO to have eternal LIFE? 3 times that I can THINK of in the gospels, Jesus is asked that SAME question. And 3 times in the gospels, Jesus gives a DIFFERENT answer. ONE time is in TODAY’S Scripture Lesson. Nicodemus is a religious and political leader, who has HEARD about Jesus and the MIRACLES that He is performing. BUT, he ALSO knows that Jesus is a CONTROVERSIAL figure amongst the JEWS. SO, he decides to meet with Jesus in SECRET, at night. He has some QUESTIONS to ask. Now, we don’t know EXACTLY what questions Nicodemus ASKED of Jesus. But we CAN tell what his PRIMARY question was simply by looking at the ANSWER that Jesus GIVES him. Nicodemus asked Jesus something like: WHAT must I DO to enter the Kingdom of God? Or, WHAT must I DO to have eternal life? And we KNOW that because Jesus replies: Unless one is BORN from ABOVE, or BORN AGAIN, one cannot SEE the Kingdom of God. Now at FIRST, Nicodemus doesn’t understand that Jesus is talking about a SPIRITUAL rebirth, not a PHYSICAL one. SO, Jesus explains it FURTHER, and tells Nicodemus that he must receive of SPIRIT of God in order to enter the KINGDOM of God.
The SECOND time this question is asked of Jesus is in LUKE 10. It tells us that, one day, a LAWYER asks Jesus: What shall I DO to inherit eternal life? And JESUS asks ANOTHER question in reply: What is written in the LAW? The lawyer answers: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with ALL your mind; AND you shall love your neighbor AS yourself.
You have answered RIGHT, Jesus replies. Do THIS and you will LIVE.
But WHO is my NEIGHBOR, asks the lawyer? And Jesus goes ON to tell him about the Good Samaritan, pointing out that one’s NEIGHBOR is ANYONE in NEED, even people we don’t LIKE. SO, here we have the SAME question, but Jesus gives a DIFFERENT answer.
The Gospel of Luke ALSO tells us that, one day, a rich young RULER asks Jesus the very SAME question: Good Teacher, WHAT must I DO to inherit eternal LIFE? And Jesus says to him: YOU know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not KILL, do not STEAL, do not bear false WITNESS, HONOR your father and mother. And the young ruler replies: ALL these I have observed since my YOUTH. And THEN Jesus says: One thing you still LACK. Sell ALL that you have and give the money to the POOR, and you will have treasure in HEAVEN. Then COME, follow ME. BUT, when the young man HEARS this, he goes away SAD, for he is VERY rich. And Jesus says to His disciples: How HARD it IS for THOSE who have RICHES to ENTER the Kingdom of Heaven.
SO you see: it’s the SAME question, but EACH time it’s ASKED, Jesus offers a DIFFERENT response. Well, WHY does Jesus give a DIFFERENT answer EACH time? Well, I believe that He TAILORS His ANSWER to the NEEDS of the person asking the QUESTION. I believe that He LOOKS at that person and He asks Himself: What IS it that keeps THIS person from experiencing God’s LOVE and receiving God’s SPIRIT, which of course, is what the Kingdom of God is all ABOUT? What IS it that keeps THIS person from having an INTIMATE relationship with God? Now, in the case of Nicodemus, he is just SO TIED to the OLD ways of seeing the world and imaging God, that he is BLIND to experiencing the kingdom of God in the HERE and NOW, and that kingdom is, indeed, PRESENT with Him in the person of Jesus Christ. In the case of the LAWYER, HIS block is that he is NOT willing to be a NEIGHBOR to anyone he doesn’t LIKE, OR to people who are DIFFERENT. He is FILLED with racial PREJUDICE. SO, Jesus tells him the story of the Good Samaritan in order to SHOW him what HAS to be done. He HAS to love his NEIGHBOR, and respond to the NEEDS of his neighbor, REGARDLESS of WHO that neighbor IS. And finally, in the case of the rich young RULER, his WEALTH is HIS barrier to GOD. UNTIL he can let GO of his wealth, he can NEVER really FEEL God’s love, or RECEIVE God’s SPIRIT, OR learn to TRUST and depend upon GOD. So you see: JESUS looks at EACH and every PERSON as an individual, and SEES what is standing in the WAY of that person experiencing God’s love, receiving God’s SPIRIT, and having an INTIMATE relationship with God.
SO friends, the question IS: what IS it that keeps US, you and me, from experiencing God’s LOVE and receiving God’s SPIRIT? What IS it that keeps US, you and me, from an INTIMATE relationship with God? It MAY be one of the SAME blocks that we see in the gospels. BUT, MAYBE it’s not ANY of those. Jesus MIGHT say to SOME of us: You really need to QUIT your JOB, because your JOB has become your god. You’ve made your JOB into the thing that gives your life its MEANING. And friends, WHATEVER gives your life its MEANING is your GOD. And therefore, IT is a BARRIER, IT is a WALL, that KEEPS you from having an INTIMATE relationship with the one TRUE God, and that KEEPS you from fully experiencing God’s LOVE and receiving God’s SPIRIT. OR, Jesus might say to SOME of us: YOU need to LET GO of your ANGER, OR, YOU need to STOP having an AFFAIR, OR, YOU need to quit DRINKING, OR, YOU need to give up GOLF, OR, you need to put your CHILDREN, or your SPOUSE, in PERSPECTIVE because THEY’VE become your MEANING-GIVER in life. You see: whatever it IS that BLOCKS us from experiencing the LOVE of God and receiving the SPIRIT of God; whatever it IS that BLOCKS us from having an INTIMATE relationship with God, THAT is what we NEED to CHANGE, and very OFTEN, get RID of. THAT is what we need to DIE to, and to let GO of. And friends, we ALL have these BARRIERS and BLOCKS! We ALL have BIG and little CORNERS of our lives, where we just DON’T want God’s SPIRIT to enter. And EACH and every ONE of us is DIFFERENT. And so, we NEED to expect DIFFERENT answers when we ask that question, WHAT must I DO to enter the Kingdom of God? Or, WHAT must I DO to have eternal life? And I would urge ALL of us to PRAY that question, and to REALLY do some SOUL-SEARCHING in the process. And when I say that we need to PRAY that question, I mean ASKING God that question, and then shutting up and LISTENING for God’s REPLY.
Now MOST of us, when we start to PRAY, WE start TALKING. Well, IF you’re TALKING, either verbally or in your MIND, any MORE than 10% of your prayer time, then you’re NOT really PRAYING. You’re just lifting up your WISH LIST to some cosmic SANTA Claus somewhere. PRAYER, on the other hand, is LISTENING to God. It’s EMPTYING ourselves so that the WORD of God, or the VOICE of God, or the SPIRIT of God (WHATEVER you wish to CALL it) might FILL us UP. And when it DOES fill us up, it feel like we’re receiving a TASTE, or a GLIMPSE, of God’s Kingdom. It feels like we’re receiving a TASTE, or a GLIMPSE, of eternal life.
You know: the Prayer of St. Francis says it SO beautifully. It ENDS with the most BEAUTIFUL line. It says: And it is in DYING that we are BORN to ETERNAL life. You see, friends: St. Francis UNDERSTOOD what JESUS was trying to TELL us by ALL these different ANSWERS to the SAME question. He UNDERSTOOD that Jesus was telling us that WHEN we let GO of, when we DIE to, the BLOCKS and the BARRIERS that KEEP us from having an INTIMATE relationship with the one TRUE God, and that KEEP us from fully experiencing God’s LOVE and receiving God’s SPIRIT, it’s like we have been born AGAIN! It’s like we have been born ANEW, born from ABOVE! It’s like we have been BORN to ETERNAL LIFE.
So, what IS it that blocks YOU from experiencing God’s LOVE and receiving God’s SPIRIT? What IS that keeps YOU from having an INTIMATE relationship with God? What IS it that Jesus would tell YOU that you must DIE to? Yes, what IS it that YOU must do to have ETERNAL life? Friends, that’s a GREAT question for ALL of us to struggle with, especially during this HOLY season of LENT. And I hope each and every ONE of us WILL struggle with it, PRAY about it, and LISTEN for the VOICE of God in reply, that we might, indeed, be BORN to eternal life, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.