The Second Sunday in Lent

March 5, 2023

John 3:1-17

It makes me uncomfortable when people corner me and tell me all the ways they have been “BORN AGAIN.” I grew up with a mother and grandmother who were very strict about their privacy of faith…. I still have trouble passing Peace during Sunday morning services without flinching.

But being born again is exactly what Jesus says we must do to enter the kingdom of Heaven.  When asked by Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, how a grown man can be born again, he is told that unless he is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

We must be born of water and spirit – a form of rebirth or being “born again” in today’s vernacular. Rebirth is like the wind, says Jesus, you can’t see it, but you see its affect and you believe. No one has ascended into Heaven except those who descended from Heaven, preaches Jesus.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life,” Jesus tells Nicodemus. John 3:16 is a verse that many of us learned in Sunday School and one you see printed on plaques in home stores and on pillows and greeting cards.

Lent is a period of rebirth. We fast and deny ourselves of our favorite chocolate or Starbucks coffee as a way to prepare ourselves for the glory that is Easter.

A few years ago, I decided to take on a project for Lent instead of giving up something I enjoy, and I became more involved with the Pastoral Care Committee and Debbie Schremser and I rewrote the Policies and Procedures handbook for the Episcopal Church Women. I still gave up my afternoon coffee, but I dropped the money into my Mite Box and was faithful in my daily readings.

By Easter, I felt like I had actually experienced Lent in a way I had not before. It’s not all about giving up something but allowing ourselves to be reborn into the Spirit of God.

Elizabeth Via Brown