You Must Be Born From Above

Dear Friends in Christ:

On Trinity Sunday I preached on the story of Jesus’ late night conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:1-7), the story in which two Greek words are translated as either “born again” or “born from above.” One member asked if I would be able to put in writing some of the main points of the sermon and I have decided to honor that request here in The Apostle.

I prefer the translation “born from above,” because, although the words imply a new birth, they focus our attention on the character of that new birth. It is from above, from God. It is the new birth that is promised in the first chapter of the Gospel according to John, ^“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13) To be born from above is to receive our new life, as Jesus received his life, as a gift from the Father. To be born from above is to live, not grasping at life, not in endless competition to get the most, but in thankful openness to the gift of abundant life.

When we live as Jesus lived, receiving life as a gift from the Father, we become agents of transformation in the world. As we live lives of generosity, loving as Jesus loves, those with whom we live and work see the possibility of a new way of living. By the witness of our lives, we proclaim the Good News of the God who, in Christ, loves us and laid down his life for us on the cross. By the witness of our lives, we invite others to live as Jesus lived. Saint Paul understood that our living of this new life would have an impact on the world. In the Letter to the Romans, he wrote, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God.” (Romans 8:19) The English scholar J.B. Phillips has translated this verse in a way that makes the point even more dramatically: “The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.”

We are born from above, “born of water and Spirit” (John 3:5), not for our sake alone, but for the sake of the world, a world that is broken and suffering. The Fourth Bishop of Western New York, the Rt. Revd Charles Henry Brent, understood this when he wrote a prayer that has been included in the service Morning Prayer in our Book of Common Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace:  So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name.  Amen

Your brother and priest,

Daniel+