irony alert: the term "born again" has been hijacked by the very ones it was meant for...

Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and gives him his approval: "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." He's wanting something, he's hungry, he knows there's something he needs that he doesn't have. There's something different about Jesus.

And Jesus doesn't commend him. He could have said, "Nicodemus! You are a Pharisee! You have studied, you are very knowledgeable..." Instead he confuses him: "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

Relax. I'm not going to preach that phrase. The irony is that it's been hijacked by the very same class of people that Nicodemus represented. Knowledgeable, serious, religious people who really knew the word of God and the "right" thing to do in any cirucumstance.

Jesus goes on..."I tell you truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh and spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, "You must be born again." The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (((BORN OF THE SPIRIT!!!!!)))

Wow, that sounds unpredictable. Not at all like a formula. Not at all like "repeat after me". So what's He saying? Jesus responds to different people in different ways. He did NOT say "You must be born again" to the tax collectors, prostitutes, winebibbers or the woman at the well. Nicodemus was a very educated, respected member of the religious "who's who" at the time. The same people that Jesus in general called a "brood of vipers" and condemned as "blind leading the blind" and said "You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice the son of hell as you are." The last example particularly fitting with the irony of the phrase at hand.... Jesus used this phrase "you must be born again" to the upper caste of people in the religious system of the day. The very people who turn the phrase and preach it to those to whom it was never directed at by Jesus himself.

So what does it mean? I started thinking about it like a dream. What would the allegory be? The word picture of entering a second time into your mother's womb to be born? But Jesus says no, not flesh but Spirit. Starting all over.
Relearning to walk, relearning to talk, (in a new way--by the Spirit--new territory)--going from milk to meat... (incidentally THAT was also directed toward the Hebrews! Those who already knew quite a bit about the law). Nicodemus had the Torah memorized, as well as a whole bunch of added rules and commentary not even required by God, but tradition. What if Jesus was challenging that whole understanding? Saying: Start all over and learn from the Spirit, not from the mind. He challenges him right afterward: "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things?" It seems as though Jesus is saying, "Now, THIS is ironic..."
Jesus was (IS) saying this to "the Church".

It kept echoing: Begin anew. Learn from the Spirit. No more assumptions. No more "American Christian"...where my culture flavors my hearing the Spirit.
That night, I woke up and looked at my digital clock. 1:01. Like "Blown by Spirit 101" Entry level, basic course. Foundational. Starting at the beginning. Learning the alphabet of a new language.
Later that morning, I woke up a second time too early. The clock said 5:23. I was born at 5:23 in the morning. A confirmation just for me. I was on to something here.

The question then: With the "western mindset", "Greek thinking" and plain old indoctrination, being told what to think, etc. Where to begin? There's NO FORMULA! It's a deLIGHTful adventure.
Holy Spirit may be teaching each person a different lesson and if we judge with our minds (trap), we will think the other person is whacked because they aren't learning the same lesson at the same time in the same way that we are.
It echoes what Jesus offers: "If you're tired, weary, burdened...come to me. Take my yoke upon you and LEARN FROM ME and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy and my burden is LIGHT." We are not to be afraid. He's good, he's for us, anything's possible!

It time to hear and see for ourselves by the Spirit. Much of what is taught is worse than just pablum or boring. It is actually keeping people in bondage and limited, just like the people that Nicodemus represented. (I have nothing against Nicodemus, nor do I have anyone specific in mind as I write. I believe Nicodemus was sincere and "got it" as evidenced by the end of the story. And Saul became Paul, and "Nothing is impossible with God".) Jesus said repeatedly, "Those who have ears, let them hear." That's why we must be "born again" by the Spirit. This is for us, is it good, and I can't stress enough that we may be way further behind than we think. So, I might make some grammar mistakes along the way in this new language, I might fall down a few times while learning to walk, but nobody ever tells a baby to give up, it's too hard. We're just encouraged to learn (and keep learning) and hear (and keep hearing).

No one I know uses this phrase anymore, it's become quite offensive as in "Born Again Christian" synonymous with _______. (You fill in the blank). It's taken our voice out of the conversation. We are supposed to have GOOD news, not bad news, or at the least average news. Quite simply "You are loved by the Creator of the universe and he wants to show you things you've only dreamed of, before you quit dreaming. There is a better way. The way of no condemnation, a life-giving way. Shared with the Life-Giver. It's an adventure that never stops and he helps you as you mature into wild new things that he'll constantly reveal if you want." No one uses the phrase anymore, but taken in context, it just might bring a fresh wind of hope and possibility to the people in the institution. So that we don't produce "twice..."


Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his GOOD, pleasing and perfect will".
This was also written to Christians. And Paul was flat out saying they had a problem: their minds were in serious trouble, they were conformed to a worldly pattern.
I can't resist a Greg Boyd paraphrase here: It's like the Matrix. We've been programmed all wrong. That's exactly why we need to start over by the Spirit.

" 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him;'--BUT God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." 1 Cor 2: 9-10.

Okay, the WHOLE chapter! It ends with "But we have the mind of Christ".

Blessings to you, may your spirits be strengthened and encouraged by His,
Sonja

Coming soon:
*Where on the map do we learn this?
and
*PROCESS....