Today we have a Pharisee, Nicodemus sneaking over to
see Jesus in the cover of the night. But who were the Pharisees. Besides the accounts in Mathew when Jesus
throws at them the seven woes, as Christians, we do not hear much about them.
Matt 23:31-33 "Therefore you are witnesses
against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill
up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How
can you escape the condemnation of hell?"
Matt 23:13
"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you
allow those who are entering to go in."
So, who were these Pharisees?
Per that font of wisdom Wikipedia; “The Pharisees
/ˈfærəˌsiːz/ were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a
school of thought in the Holy Land during the time of Second Temple Judaism.
After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs became
the foundational, liturgical and ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism.”[1]
There were conflicts between the Pharisees and the Sadducees
one, the Sadducees were more Hellenistic or Greek allowing only for the written
law with Greek philosophy while the Pharisees honored Oral history of the Torah,
the prophets and the writings as well as they supported the resurrection of the
dead.
“During the start of His ministry the body of
Pharisees would have been interested to hear what Jesus had to say. They were
interested to hear what any teacher in Israel had to say. The problem that they
had with Jesus was His monumental claims and the authority in which He spoke.
No man had ever spoken like this man, and no man had ever won the favor of the
masses so quickly and so thoroughly. He even went so far as to claim that He
was the very reason for Torah and the fulfillment of it. Their opposition against
him grew to the point that they had plotted His death. When Jesus was to be arrested,
the Pharisees were among those that came to take Him away:”[2]
John 18:2-3 "Then Judas, having received a
detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came
there with lanterns, torches, and weapons"
So why Let this Pharisee in? Why have an audience with him? Well for one we know Jesus believed in the
teachings of the Pharisees.
Matt 23:1-4 "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes
and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses'
seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do
not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.”
Jesus’ problem with the Pharisees is that they were
hypocrites however, as in any group, not all were hypocrites and some were very
good men.
“It is also important to note that all of the
Pharisees were not like those described in Matthew 23. The gospels contain
references to Pharisees who were admirable men. Nicodemus is an excellent
example of what a Pharisee ought to have been. He was genuinely a seeker of
truth (John 3:1 ff.) (Todays reading), spoke out for justice on behalf of Jesus
(John 7:50) [i.e. Here Nicodemus ask the others to hear Jesus out before
condemning him], and remained a follower of Jesus even after the disciples had
fallen away (John 19:39) [i.e. when Nicodemus brings herbs and aloe to the tomb].
Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sanhedrin and
he looked for the kingdom of God (Mark 15:43), he was almost certainly a
Pharisee, he also did not consent to the decision to do away with Jesus (Luke
23:51) [i.e. in Luke he disagrees with the Pharisees decision]. He was a
disciple of Jesus "secretly, for fear of the Jews" (John 19:38) and
he made final provisions for the body of Jesus.
There were no doubt many such Pharisees who believed
in Jesus, yet probably secretly. Even those who were not necessarily believers
could display admirable traits: Gamaliel argued for open-mindedness (Acts 5:34
ff.); others warned Jesus of an attempt on His life: Luke 13:30-31 "On
that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from
here, for Herod wants to kill You."[3]
In Luke, there are at least three separate occasions
ion which Jesus dines at a Pharisees home.
So, in this conversation we hear Jesus tell Nicodemus
that he must be born form above or anew.
The issue here is Jesus seems to be saying one thing and Nicodemus is
understanding another thing. But the Greek
word used in the line has two meanings.
Even in our language today being born “anew” would not make us jump to
the conclusion that one means for us to be being physically born again. But this confusion and this statement may be
part of Johns intent.
And then, according to the seven times Journal;
“Jesus' reply seems unrelated to Nicodemus' statement. Why did He respond in
this way?
According to some commentators, Jesus' response was to
Nicodemus' inability to "see" beyond a certain point. The Pharisee
was willing to acknowledge that Jesus was "a teacher come from God,"
but was not willing to accept Him as the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the
Son of God. Thus, Nicodemus was unable to "see," or experience, the
operation of the Kingdom. He had only seen a visible sign, but was unable to
"see," with spiritual perception, the invisible Kingdom of God.”[4]
I believe Jesus is trying to get the Pharisee,
Nicodemus, to move beyond his tradition to move past a practical theology and
into a spiritual, more esoteric way of viewing life. A new way of being in the
world.
I like the way Jesus explains it in the message Bible;
“5-6 Jesus said, “You’re not listening. Let me say it
again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the
‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a
baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look
at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who
takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the
Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.”[5]
“We are spiritual beings having a human experience” I
am sure you may have heard this said before.
Dr. Wayne dryer likes to quote it and attribute it to de Chardin but
there is no proof that Chardin ever actually said it. But that is beside the point. The point is we are spiritual beings and we
must renew ourselves make ourselves a new by spirit.
So how does one go about making oneself anew to be
born from above? Prayer and
practice! Just look at Christ’s ministry
it is all prayer and practice. If he is not teaching us how to be in the world
if he is not leading either by example or parable then he is teaching us to
pray or going off to pray.
Richard Rohr reminds us that “Jesus’s own style of
teaching in stories, parables, and enigmatic sayings was undoubtedly learned in
his own prayer practices. He clearly
operated from a consciousness different from that of the masses and even that
of the religious leaders who largely fought him. Most seemed to misunderstand him, or even
ignore him, despite what seem to be astounding healing and miracles.”[6] Even Nicodemus who sought out the teacher
still confused what Jesus was trying to say so that Jesus had to explain it
again.
We often tend to focus on Jesus’ miracles but Jesus
had a strong prayer life. “Jesus himself seemed to prefer a prayer of quiet,
something more than social, liturgical, or verbal prayer, which is mentioned
only a very few times. What we do hear
are frequent references such as ‘In the morning, long before dawn, he got up
and left the house and went off to a lonely place to pray.’ (Mark 1:35; also in
Matthew 14:23 and Mark 1:12-13) Luke describes him as praying privately before
almost all major events. There are the forty days alone in the desert, which
means he must have missed the family-based Sabbath observances and the public
temple services. And of course, there is
his final prayer alone in the Garden of Gethsemane.”[7]
Richard Rohr Points out that Jesus taught us “You
should go to your private room, shut the door, and pray to your Creator who is
in that secret place.” (Matthew 6:6)
This is again rather explicit and also intimately invitational,
especially because most homes of his people would have had no such thing as a
private room.”[3]
But some people Caught what Jesus was teaching, he was
teaching of seeking a quiet place. This
quiet private space does not need to be physical. It can be spiritual, it can be done in group
much as it is done here today.
“We need no wings to go in search of
God, but have only to find a place where we
can be alone and look upon Him present
within us.” These words were written by St.
Teresa of Avila in her book The Way of
Perfection”[8]
One way to look upon God present within us is to sit
quietly, breathe slowly and focus on a word or phrase from the Bible. Allow whatever calls to you maybe in the
daily reading or through the ancient practice of Bible roulette. Sit with the phrase or word for just 5
minutes in the morning, do it again 5 minutes somewhere in your lunch hour and
again at the end of the day. This is one
way you stay connected to the spirit of God.
You stay washed anew from above.
Maybe you’re a person who needs something more
concrete more rigorous. There is the
liturgy of the hours.
“The Liturgy of the hours consists of;
Matins (during the night, at midnight with some); also
called Vigils or Nocturns or, in monastic usage, the Night Office
Lauds or Dawn Prayer (at Dawn, or 3 a.m.)
Prime or Early Morning Prayer (First Hour =
approximately 6 a.m.)
Terce or Mid-Morning Prayer (Third Hour =
approximately 9 a.m.)
Sext or Midday Prayer (Sixth Hour = approximately 12
noon)
None or Mid-Afternoon Prayer (Ninth Hour =
approximately 3 p.m.)
Vespers or Evening Prayer ("at the lighting of
the lamps", generally at 6 p.m.)
Compline or Night Prayer (before retiring, generally
at 9 p.m.)
This arrangement of the Liturgy of the Hours is
attributed to Saint Benedict. However, it is found in Saint John Cassian's
Institutes and Conferences,[12] which describe the monastic practices of the
Desert Fathers of Egypt.
You can see if you are living a monastic life in
community with this schedule Christ and God are always in your heart and on
your mind. For the average me, I mean
the average Joe this is a bit umm shall we say tight.
But there are lighter versions around such as the
divine hours as interpreted by Phyllis Tickle there are four books for each of
the seasons and a special book for Christmas time. They consist of prayers listed day by day
with morning, midday, and vespers, now if you are really disciplined there is
an order to be recited right before bed.
The concept for those who practice the hours is that
all over the world there are Christians everywhere praying all the time the
same psalms and songs and prayers. There
is the universal connection to the other and each other. The problem still is this is a
much-disciplined practice and very difficult for those who live normal everyday
first world lives.”[9]
There are many many ways to keep yourself refreshed
and anew. There are many ways to seek
out the connection from above. You are
called to do so. We as Christians are
called to do so. We are called to take
time on the Sabbath, we are called to walk the path, the way of Christ and in
that way we are called to be born anew in the spirit daily.
For some that may mean a walk on a quite path, for
others that may mean doing something artistic creative and yet highly
focused. For others, it may be chanting
or meditating. Still for others it may
be dancing.
I would encourage any and all to seek out a retreat
for yourself some quiet time that is just between you and God. Perhaps you need to journey with someone to
talk out your spiritual needs? I also
strongly support the concept of having a spiritual companion, friend, spiritual
director. This si a person
professionally trained to walk with someone on their spiritual journey. They are there to help you notice the all the
richness of the path you are on.
I encourage you to seek out a spiritual practice that
works for you. The season of lent is always a great time to do this. Instead of giving something up one can take
on a spiritual practice. It is a way to seek to be born anew, form above,
everyday. May God continue to bless us as we continue our spiritual journey
amen!
[1] wikipedia, The
Pharisees, February 27, 2017, accessed March 6, 2017,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees.
[2] Bible History
Online, Jesus and the Pharisees, 2016, accessed March 6, 2017,
http://www.bible-history.com/pharisees/PHARISEESJesus_and_the_Pharisees.htm.
[3] Bible History
Online, Jesus and the Pharisees, 2016, accessed March 6, 2017,
http://www.bible-history.com/pharisees/PHARISEESJesus_and_the_Pharisees.htm.
[4] Vance A. Stinson,
"Born From Above" ... Or ... "Born Again?,” 2012, accessed March
7, 2017, http://7times.org/newsletter/bornagain.shtml.
[6] Richard Rohr, The
Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See (New York: Crossroad Pub.,
2009).
[8] Joseph
Shore-Goss, The Persistent Widow's call to us...Pray Constantly, October 24,
2016, accessed March 7, 2017, http://revjoeshore.blogspot.com/search?q=prayer.
[9] Joseph
Shore-Goss, They will produce Much fruit, May 10, 2015, accessed March 7, 2017,
http://revjoeshore.blogspot.com/2015/05/john-15-1-8-then-you-will-produce-much_10.html.
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