The woman had been busy all day.
Now, she was longing for a cup of coffee.
So, she went to the nearest coffee shop,
where she ordered a coffee and a muffin.
Then sat by herself at a little table by the window.
It was almost closing time.
Suddenly a young person in her late teens was standing beside her.
She was wearing a heavy university jacket.
“May I sit down with you?”
“Yes, please do.”
“You don't remember me, do you?”
“You look familiar, but I can't remember your name.”
“I used to play with Helen when we were only 3 or 4.”
“Oh, yes, of course. Now I know who you are.”
Then began a long conversation.
It included the latest on Helen, on her boyfriend,
on her work in Toronto and some shared memories.
And, some confi dential concerns about her life.
Where it might or might not be going.
Confi dential conversations are easier at night.
It has always been that way.
During the day
there is a busy routine that keeps a person going.
Perhaps one drives or walks to work.
All day long the telephone rings, the fax machine clicks away.
Soon it is 5 o'clock.
The day is gone.
Back home. Then supper.
More work or reading.
Then bed-time. Lights out. Time for sleep.
Yet on this night long ago, and for some time before it,
sleep had been a elusive partner for one person in particular.
Nicodemus, one of the most prominent people in Jerusalem
lay awake these nights.
He knew there was something missing in his life.
Nicodemus starts off with a compliment to Jesus:
“We know you are a Teacher come from God,
for no one could do these signs that you do,
unless God was with him.”
Jesus had seen him coming, in more ways than one!
“That is not why you are here, Nicodemus.
Let's get right to the heart of your problem.
Except a person is born again,
he or she cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus had always been a religious person.
A brilliant, highly respected person in the Church.
He had answered Jesus as religious persons often do.
He enjoyed a little chuckle at the same time.
“How can a person be born when he is old?
Can one enter a second time into this mother's womb
and be born all over again?”
Ha! Ha! That was funny.
Jesus wasn't to be thrown off by this response.
He knew exactly what the man was doing.
“You can discuss it forever if you wish.
And that will be as far as it will go.”
A discussion,
no matter how much fun,
or how interesting,
or how informative,
always remains just a discussion.
“Dodge the issue if you want to, Nicodemus,”
Jesus said “that is up to you,
but at least know what the issue is.
Don't be surprised when I tell you
that you must be born again.”
There is a silence in the conversation.
In the silence both men notice the wind for the first time.
It bent the tree branches. It tugged at their cloaks.
It rattled the window shutters.
“Listen to the wind,” said Jesus.
“You can see what it does, you can hear it.
But you can't see where it is coming from.
Nor where it is going. Not really.
So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit of God.”
Now then, is that good news?
Is that an encouraging word
Does it all depend on God?
Is that what Jesus is saying?
That all we can do is wait?
Wait for the Spirit of God to come to us?
Does it mean that fellowship with God depends on something
over which, like the wind, we have no control?
Is that good news? I don't think so!
Just as we cannot reach out and grasp the wind,
so we cannot reach out and grasp the Spirit of God.
Yet without them both we cannot live. Not really live!
By now Nicodemus wished he had stayed in bed!
He wished this conversation had never taken place.
Jesus is the guarantee
that the winds of God are all around you.
That the spirit of God is within you,
loving and protecting you.
You and I were promised that at our baptism!
This means that God has been with us from the beginning,
individually and as a community of Christian people.
The Spirit of God brought us together this morning.
As we speak and think, the Spirit of God is present with us.
By the way, when did we say this conversation took place?
Was it two thousand years ago between Jesus and Nicodemus?
Yes, no doubt it was.
Did it also take place later on,
between the Church and Synagogue in John's day?
Yes, that is what we believe.
Has it been taking place ever since
within the Church as a Christian community
wherever we happen to be?
Yes, of course. We know that to be true.
Not only within the Christian community in general,
but also within particular persons in the community:
John and Mary, Bill and Susan, anywhere and everywhere.
It takes place whenever and wherever it is
We have our own dark nights of the soul!
Amen
