"Another Way of Seeing"

Pastor Ray
02/20/2005

Another way of seeing
It’s that time of year when we occasionally catch a glimpse of spring-time promises of warmer days and outdoor fun. Several days ago was one of those warm days full of bright sunshine, so Cameron and I took advantage of the weather and raked up some leaves and put out our post-winter application of fertilizer to make the grass grow. Being such a good teacher I showed him how to apply half the fertilizer going in one direction going up and down the lawn, and then how to put down the other half going back and forth. He gave me a strange look, but I quickly explained that by doing it this way, he wouldn’t miss big spots. Come spring, the whole yard will be filled with beautiful green grass. And he smiled as it all made sense to him…. I think.
Then while Cameron continued fertilizing to make the grass grow tall and green, I went on over to the flower bed and started to spray some weeds with Roundup. “Hey Dad, whatcha doing?” “OH, just killing weeds.” “Weeds?”, he asked. “Looks like the same grass you’re trying to make grow over here.” And, you know, he was right. Desireable grass or dreadful weed… it’s all in how you choose to see it. He’s was right, if you were to pick a blade from the yard and a blade from the garden, it would sure look the same.
When I think back a number of years to when Cameron was much, much younger, he saw something I just couldn’t see. As I grabbed the weed killer to zap all the dandelions, he was busy at play saving every dandelion he could. When I looked at a patch of dandelions, I saw a bunch of weeds that are trying to take over my yard. My son saw flowers for Mom, and blowing white fluff you could play with and chase over the yard. It’s all about what you see and how you see it.
Unfortunately, the older I get, the more likely I am to grab the roundup and shoot the weed… my, how I’ve forgotten the childhood summers of chasing dandelions and filling the air with their downy blossoms.
Or perhaps you can relate to another situation: “When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pushing me back when I walk. Children tend to close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.” How would you see it? Do you view the wind? Have we lost sight of something important? We say our nearsightedness has something to do with our demanding careers and busy lifestyle. We become so ‘refined’ that we forget how to dream of dandelion games and rolling in the grass. We get so myoptic that we overlook the most basic of facts… Lent—the forty day journey that prepares us for Easter, is a time for us to look inward, to reevaluate our priorities, and examine the perspective from which we view the most precious of all gifts given to us – new life.
So, today, God reminds us --- we encounter Nicodemus, a highly placed religious leader of that day. A leader of the Jews, he lived by the Law and was probably very faithful to God’s way of Holy living. Nicodemus seemed to understand a lot about Jesus… that he was a righteous man, a teacher who had come from God. Apparently Nicodemus had witnessed Jesus performing miracles… and believed… because no one except by the power and approval of God could work such wonders.
Yet… Nicodemus didn’t understand who Jesus really was. He couldn’t see that it was God standing before him. Nicodemus simply couldn’t see the meaning of new life. Lord, “How can anyone be born after having grown old?” Forgetting how to play with dandelions, he saw weeds. Lord, do you mean we re-enter our mother’s womb? Jesus was patient with Nicodemus. You have been born of flesh and bone…. Now you may be born of water and Spirit.
The flesh and bone part, we understand. We know all about the birds and the bees. We know how to care for our bodies and watch out for one another… keeping our loved ones safe. We know that we have decisions to make… choices to ponder and that some decisions and choices are better than others. We smugly think that we have everything under control.
But Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born from above. The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it goes.” Being a very learned man, I imagine Nicodemus caught the humor in Jesus’ choice of words -- that the word for ‘wind’ and the word for ‘spirit’ is the same word in Greek. So, it actually makes sense as Jesus continues, “So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” …Seeing life in a whole new way.
I’m afraid that as the winter comes to an end, we’ve locked ourselves up inside our homes, inside our offices, inside our busy schedules and have forgotten about summer days and dandelions. But that’s what this Lenten season is about… awakening us from our hibernation and our misguided priorities… and reminding us of the joy that comes from feeling the spring-time wind blowing in our lives. By God’s grace, as we turn to our Lord, we begin to feel anew the joy and splendor of the wind… God’s Holy Spirit blowing in our lives. It’s about being born not just of flesh and bone, but also of Spirit and soul. It’s about what some denominations call, being born-again. It’s about what we as Lutherans call, living out your Baptism.
In Holy Baptism, God claimed you, marked you and sealed you with His Holy Spirit. In Holy Baptism, the shortcomings we have in the flesh are overcome by the power of the wind blowing in our lives in holier and more righteous ways. If only we will daily die to the old and sinful self, and then daily rise in the power and the up-lifting breeze of God’s Holy Spirit.
It is so very tempting to think that we now understand…. that we are still in control of our lives… but the wind blows wherever it wishes. You’re never quite sure where it comes from or where it goes… but you feel its presence. At least we know where the Spirit is from… a gift from God and a sign of His Holy presence in our lives. The reality of Lent is simply this… you are NOT in control, for if you are truly faithful to God’s calling, you are willing to go where the wind, the Holy Spirit, directs you.
I’ll be honest and admit that sometimes that concerns me. I like to be in control. But here’s the truth: God’s Holy Spirit has brought me thus far…. And I have to believe that God knows best. For the God who created me and birthed me… is the same God who daily seeks to re-birth me… making me to be a new creation in His own image.
Fortunately, when our God looks at us, He sees a child…… whose faith makes him look very, very clean. That very miracle is the joy of the Lenten journey… realizing that we have weeds in our lives…. But that our faith in the resurrected Savior makes us look very, very perfect to our God.
That’s what the Bible means when it says, “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” We have muddy feet…. But that’s okay, because we have God’s Holy Spirit blowing in us …. We’re not sure from day to day or from place to place where we may be led or what we may face, but of this, we are most certain positive…….. the Spirit will lead us to God’s eternal Kingdom.
The next time you want to think that you are in charge of life, even of your own life, remember, there is another way of seeing… a better way to look at life. When you think you know the difference between grass and weeds, take a moment to look again…. in the same way God now looks at you. Amen.