Carol and I have been discussing where we'll take our summer vacation.  Several years ago we went to Branson, MO, with another pastoral couple to attend a conference for pastors and their wives.  Gary Smalley and H.B. London of Focus on the Family had some great wisdom and we found there's a lot of good, clean fun in Branson-- and a lot of traffic too.  Comedian Jim Stafford said the word "Branson" is an old Indian word meaning "bumper to bumper".  If that's so, then "Interstate 25" must be an old Indian word meaning "speeding cars."

          We discovered a lot of truths while there - important truths!  Like the fact that most people don't really go on a trip to rest or sightsee -- they go to shop the new factory outlets.  And we learned the important truth that Lutheran pastors like sitting in the back of the church.  We four sat clear in the very back row so the other 1200 couples couldn't see that we didn't raise our hands during the singing.  The couple next to us was Lutherans, too.  And we learned that 1200 pastors and their 1200 wives from 50 denominations in 38 states made a really loud noise singing!

          Important truths -- Now there's something we're never too old to learn.  That's what Nicodemus discovered in our text.  He was a Pharisee, a leader of his people.  He was a learned man with wisdom and experience.  He knew a lot about the Old Testament, but he didn't understand its real message, that God would send a Messiah to bring people back to God.  Nicodemus came to Jesus one night and, like us, was seeking understanding.  He was the original "Nick at Night" who came looking for something new in life.  His Pharisee associates had all the learning they needed.  They had no need for anything new -- the old was good enough for them.

          There is a joke about how many people from different religions it takes to change a light bulb, and when it gets around to Lutherans, we find it takes ten:  one to change the light bulb and 9 to talk about how good the old one was.  For some of us, the old is always good enough.  But if you're searching for something new, you'll look till you find it.  That's our society today.  "What's new out there and how can I get it?"  "Newer" means "better" and so the search is on.

          Many search aimlessly, unsure of what they're looking for.  And more and more searchers are getting lost, or else they're finding all sorts of evil disguised as good.  John Walker Lindh found that out in his search for meaning with the Taliban.  People are looking and searching, but if they head down the wrong road, there's trouble ahead!  If you're looking for something new, you'd better stop and ask for directions.  And, by the way, I do ask for directions.  Trouble is, whenever I do, those I ask don't know any more than I do.  Murphy's Law for Asking Directions is:  "Whomever you ask has never been there before."

          Nicodemus came to Jesus one night looking for directions and said, "Lord, you must be from God because no one else can do the things you do."  Jesus responded with something Nick must have found to be very new:  "Unless you're born again, you can't see the Kingdom of God."  Born again means "born from above," born by God, not by humans.  For the Christian, every day is a new rebirth in Jesus.  Luther said when we repent each day, we have a new start with God.

          But Nicodemus was puzzled.  "What do you mean?  A man can't be born from his mother a second time."  That's logical.  You can't do that again.  Nicodemus was looking for something new, but he couldn't see past the old.  He needed a "paradigm shift", a new way of looking at things, and in many ways he represents the church.  If the church can't find new ways of sharing the old message, it becomes irrelevant.  Much of the struggle in the Lutheran Church today is because some refuse to put the old message of Christ into a new package.  If you don't think so, just try to change the wording of the Lord's Prayer.

          Jesus takes Nicodemus in a new direction.  "You must be born of God, Nick, and then all things will be new.  It happens by the Spirit, and like the wind, the Spirit moves wherever He wants."  That really stumped Nicodemus.  "How can that be?" he asked.  Jesus' words have stumped people of every generation.  God doesn't always make everything plain.  He wants us to think, because when everything is spoon fed to us, we'll consider it unimportant.  If you're seeking something new, you must be ready to listen and ponder a little.  Nicodemus, like many of us, would have said, "Huh?"  And sadly, many people have quit asking.  They're weary of learning.  If it's not spoonfed to them, they don't want to take the effort.

          At this point Jesus challenged Nicodemus.  "Is this so hard to grasp?" He asked.  As believers you and I might as well know God isn't going to hand everything to us in its simplest form.  People often ask why is the Bible so complex, and why didn't God make it more simple.  But if He had, would we learn it any better?  Simplicity has never kept people from changing the Bible to suit their needs.  You and I need to use this wonderful mind God's given us or it will dry up!  And we need to use it to learn eternal truths, not modern fickle facts.

          Becoming a Christian is not complex.  It's just a matter of turning to Christ in faith and receiving Him as our Savior.  Salvation is free -- completely free.  It costs us nothing.  It cost Christ His life, but it costs us nothing.  Becoming a Christian requires no more effort than receiving the precious gift God hands to us.  Justification is easy and totally free.

          But sanctification -- growing in our faith -- is a different matter.  That takes effort.  It takes reading God's Word and it takes regular worship and it takes prayer and commitment to the Lord.  It takes worshipping Him and serving Him through serving others.

          Growing in our faith takes time and work.  If only we would devote a quarter as much time to growing in our faith as we give to our hobbies or polishing our toys or making ourselves look good -- how Christ and His church would then be blessed!  Nothing worthwhile comes without work.  Even the best gift requires some maintenance.  That's true of our marriage and it's true of our job and it's true of growing in our faith.  If it's worth anything at all, it'll take our time and effort.

          Jesus then gave Nicodemus a history lesson.  "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life."  In Numbers 21 the people of Israel had been wandering in the desert for months.  Though finally free, they were grumbling about the sand and heat and lack of fresh water and the same old manna food every day.  They griped until God got angry and sent poisonous snakes among them.  Snakes were everywhere, slithering, crawling, biting, killing hundreds.  It was horrible, but the people caught on.  They saw God's judgment in the snakes, so they begged Moses for help.  God told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole.  Anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake was instantly healed.  But even that blessing was corrupted, because later good King Hezekiah had to destroy that bronze snake because the people had begun to worship it.

          The snake on a pole was a shadow of a future day when the Son of God would be lifted up.  Like gazing on the snake healed the dying, anyone who looks on Christ in faith escapes eternal death.  I wonder if Nicodemus remembered that when he saw Jesus later on the cross.  I wonder if he remembered that Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life."  Nicodemus became a believer.  Nicodemus was the man who came to Jesus seeking something new.

          What kinds of new things are you seeking these days?  What kinds of things are weighing you down, making life miserable?  Maybe you feel the snakes biting and you're wishing they'd stop.  If so, then look up to Jesus and be forgiven.  Look to Him and be saved.  Let go of the things that pull you down and let God lift you up.  Let go and let God, and find something new and wonderful!

          In his search for something new, Nicodemus wasn't satisfied by a new gadget or a toy, but by a relationship with Jesus Christ.  You and I need that relationship, first and foremost.  And we need relationships with other people.

          In many ways Epiphany is something new.  Every week new faces show up in the audience, faces belonging to people looking for something new.  Maybe it's a new friend, maybe it's a new church, or maybe a new start with God.  Maybe you're here because of your children or spouse -- and that's just fine.  We all come for different reasons.  I just pray you will all find the newness of God's love and mercy here to be such a refreshing blessing that you'll not only return, you'll bring someone with you.

          I know not all new things are good, but new friends are always good.  And a new start with God is always good.  He gives us a new beginning each day with repentance and joy, and that's good.  Every day we're born again and surprised by His goodness.  May our wonderful God give you something wonderful and new -- today.  Amen!

Copyright © 2002 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.