March 1, 2026 – The Second Sunday in Lent
The Rev. Mark Colbert
Have you all ever had a conversation with someone and for some
reason they didn’t hear you or it was just in one ear and out of the other?
I feel like that was how Jesus felt when he was talking with Nicodemus.
The thing is Nicodemus is a really intelligent person, he is the leader of
the Jews so he was definitely intelligent and was of high standards in
society. Nicodemus is a careful man. He knows Scripture. He knows
law. So why does he come and visit Jesus by night? He comes by night,
perhaps to avoid being noticed, or perhaps because he is wrestling with
questions he does not feel safe to ask in daylight. Yet, Nicodemus says,
“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no
one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” So
here we see that Nicodemus acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God.
And what’s so funny to me is that Jesus’s disciples are still trying to
figure out if Jesus is the son of God and Nicodemus is already like yep
this man is true the Son of God. But yet Nicodemus starts to ask these
silly and awkward questions about birth. He is not a simple believer nor
an outright enemy; he is a seeker with anxieties. That is an important
reminder that sometimes faith often begins at night in the dark places of
doubt, fear, or longing. Jesus does not dismiss Nicodemus for asking a
clumsy question. Jesus meets him where he is. If you are full of
questions or have wandered from the church, know that the gospel does
not require staged confidence; it welcomes honest seeking.
So, Nicodemus says to Jesus, “How can anyone be born after
having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb
and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter
the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is
born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. I think
most of us have heard this term or slogan “Born again” or “born from
above.” What I think what those slogans are trying to mean is that it is
an invitation into a new kind of life with God. To be born from above is
to be re-entered into the economy of God a life shaped by God’s life.
Jesus elaborates with two images that pull us deeper. The wind and the
uplifted Son. “The wind blows where it chooses… so it is with everyone
who is born of the Spirit” (v. 8). The Spirit is not a controllable resource;
it is God’s mysterious, life-giving presence. And then Jesus says, “just as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be
lifted up” (v. 14). The cross, in John’s theology, is part of the pattern of
God’s life-making an act that draws us into healing and newness.
And here is where we get into the most used Bible Verse in
Christianity. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so
that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life.” The motive behind this passage is of course love; the means is
giving; the aim is life. When Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, he is not
issuing a moral test but showing the source of true life: God’s gracious
initiative. This is not a transactional religion of earning favor. It is a
relationship in which God reaches out first, inviting us into life that does
not end in despair.
Despair. I wonder how many of us are feeling despair right now.
Despair, sadness, anger, uncertainty. With the state of the world and
within this country and the recent bombing in Iran. It feels like all there
is is despair. It seems like there is no hope in sight, it only seems to be
getting worse. And I will be the first to say that it might. So, how do we
take this Gospel reading from John? How do we take the message of
John 3:16 to claim our hearts and our minds? We need to continue to
have a STRONG faith in God. Nicodemus shows that faith may begin in
darkness. And we too are in some really dark times. But do not hide in
that darkness, do not let that darkness consume you and win. Don’t hide
the nights in your life. Make space to name them in prayer, continue to
have a stronger and loving faith with God and your neighbor. We are in a
time where we need to show love and kindness to each other. People are
scared. People’s anxieties and fears are probably at an all time high. So
let us love each other. Let us continue to believe and have a strong and
loving faith in God. I know I have given yall a lot of lenten practices, but
I think this one is really important. Each evening this week name one
worry or question out loud and place it at Jesus’ feet: “Lord, here is my
fear; here is my doubt and live it all to God.
As we all know the importance of John 3:16 is I think John 3:17 is
just as important if not more. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him.”
As much chaos is going on in the world right now, we have to
remember that this world is not condemned, that Christ will save this
world. But we need to continue to practice good fellowship and continue
to practice a strong prayer life to know that things will get better as hard
as that might seem right now, this will get better. But we cannot lose our
faith and God. Jesus in this Gospel of John points to the lifting up of an
image of both suffering and healing. Christian strength is often found not
in domination but in vulnerability that serves.
We do need to remember that God loves each and every single one
of us, this is at the heart of John 3:16. God sent his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
But if you are full of doubt: you are not disqualified. Bring your
questions to Christ; stay in the conversation. Faith that counts is not
fearless but faithful in the face of fear. If you are confident and sure:
remember Nicodemus. Never assume you are beyond growth. Let the
Spirit refresh your certainty with humility. If you are grieving or broken:
God’s love is not abstract; it is a presence that enters our wounds. Trust
that the life God gives includes companioning in sorrow and promise for
healing. Let us remember that the Holy God so loved the world that God
gave us God’s only Son. Let us meet Jesus with our questions. Go to
Jesus in our nights, that Christ will breathe his Holy Spirit into places we
think are dead. Let Jesus teach us to live as people born from above:
humble, open, and generous, sharing the life you freely give. Through
Jesus Christ, who was lifted up for our healing. Amen.
Year A – Second Sunday in Lent – March 1, 2026 – The Rev. Mark Colbert
