Way back in the beginning, Lent was a season of
preparation for new Christians, who would be baptized on Easter Sunday. The
typical Lenten discipline was the fast.
It was taken very seriously. Usually, fasting was observed Monday through
Saturday, when they were permitted only one meal at the end of the day – a
vegetarian meal. Sundays were
exceptions, because every Sunday is considered a little Easter – a feast day, a
celebration of the resurrection.
It is rare now for Christians to observe such a
strict Lenten discipline. When we think
of a Lenten fast, we might think of giving up sweets or caffeine. We consider it optional. And, very likely, we are not really sure what
the point of it is.
This is probably why many Christians now embrace
the idea of taking something up
rather than giving something up
during Lent – that feels more purposeful, somehow. Yet the Lenten fast is a spiritual practice
that still may have much use for us. We
might just need a new angle. What if
instead of speaking about giving
something up, we rephrased it as letting
something go?
Nicodemus was asked to let go of some
things. He needed to let go of certain
ways of looking at the world – this idea of what it means to be born, for
example. He needed to let go of his
concepts of truth, of certainty. He
needed to let go of the way he understood God’s actions in the world, and even
who he was in relation to God and all of humankind. Nicodemus was being asked to let go of some
really big things.
And Nicodemus, as we see, was not very successful
at it. This conversation we hear between Jesus and Nicodemus is funny, in a
way. Jesus is speaking on a level that Nicodemus doesn’t grasp, his words seem
to fly right over Nicodemus’s head, and Nicodemus responds with questions that
completely miss the mark.
The problem seems to be that Nicodemus wants
answers, but answers that fit into his boxes. And Jesus is handing him a whole
new set of boxes. But Nicodemus can’t deal with it, he’s drowning in his
confusion.
Then Jesus tries to throw him a lifeline: he
tells him about God’s unfathomable love. But, maybe it is just plain
unfathomable to Nicodemus. He doesn’t say anything more, and we might assume he
walked away into the night.
If only he could have recognized the help he
needed. If only he could have accepted the love Jesus offered.
We feel sad for Nicodemus, because we certainly
know what it is like to be utterly confused by something, like he was confused
by Jesus. We understand how it feels to
be losing control of things, the way Nicodemus was losing his grasp on
everything he believed to be true. We might even worry about him. Maybe you
find yourself wondering: whatever became of Old Nic?
I can tell you that Nicodemus made another
appearance in the story in chapter 7.
Jesus is teaching among crowds of people at a religious festival. The Pharisees are about ready to have him
arrested, but Nicodemus is there and he says something to the others to slow
things, calm them down.
Nicodemus makes one final appearance. After Jesus is crucified. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take his
body from the cross to the tomb.
Nicodemus brings the myrrh for his burial.
Is the jury still out on Nicodemus? Possibly.
But there is hope for Nicodemus.
He appears to have stepped out into some new territory; he is letting go
of some things for the sake of being present to the new things.
What is it in your life that you need to let go
of this season? What is standing in the
way of you accepting the help Jesus wants to give you, of receiving the
unfathomable love of God?
Photo by Aamir Suhail on Unsplash
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