3.2 Whispers in the Night
To hear the audio version of the segment, press the play button below:
The explanation for and the introduction to this series is located here - 1.0 When Faith Becomes Collateral Damage. All previous sections are available on my personal blog page.
Before we jump into today's section, I'd like to preface it with a quick video on the Overview Effect from Lauren Nicole Johnson, former Mental Conditioning Coordinator for the NY Yankees.
Lauren Nicole Johnson is an advisor and coach to elite athletes, executives, and organizations. www.laurennicolejohnsonandco.com
Strangers in the Night
In the previous section, we watched Nicodemus approach Jesus "by night” to ease his confusion and seal the “crack in his consciousness.” For him, things didn’t add up. He was a career man of God, a life-long “letter of the law” man with a clean heart and clean hands. God should be with him. In his eyes, Jesus was a vagabond evangelist from the backwater, a tent preacher without a tent. He had no credentials or pedigree, yet God was with him, performing miracles through his calloused, carpenter hands. That had to hurt. Tactfully, Nicodemus said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” In this section, we will explore Jesus’ response and their discussion.
Up until now, I had perceived this conversation as a bit confrontational, with Jesus correcting this arrogant Pharisee. I must have been projecting my self-righteous self onto Jesus, letting him walk a mile in my sandals. Heaven forbid. But as I learn more about Jesus’ teaching method, I can see that his intention is not to be hostile to any seeker but to help everyone comprehend his message and see what he sees. (“Whosoever.”)
Let’s step inside the scene rather than look through the window. It takes place late at night in a room dark, except for candlelight.
Settle into it and let your eyes adjust. Every gesture the two men make casts a dancing shadow on the wall and is accompanied by the rhythmic hum of men sleeping and the lingering smell of incense from earlier in the evening. The men are talking in hushed tones, almost whispering, so as not to wake the others.
And I'm sure it was a much longer discussion than what we have recorded here. In my imagination, Jesus let the end of Nicodemus’ comment hang in the dark for an awkward moment to allow both men to contemplate what he had just admitted, “unless God is with that person.” An almost imperceptible smile curled the corners of his mouth as he paused before he spoke.
3:3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.Have You Ever Been Baffled?
In verses 1 and 2 in the previous segment, we saw that Jesus had taught with his actions, allowing the ripples to implant questions in the minds of others, including Nicodemus. We now see Jesus teach with his words, using "shocking" hyperbole and confusing questions. He is a genius with it! You might ask, “Why doesn't Jesus speak plainly to him?" My response would be, "he wants the answer to bubble up from within Nicodemus, not from without.” Good teachers know this method is the most effective, and Jesus is history’s preeminent teacher. You've got to give him that. No matter where you come down on the religious side of things, you have to admit that Jesus is a genius of a teacher.
Jesus' message is conveyed in just two verses - 3 and 5. Indeed, verse 5 alone has the power to ignite a lifelong journey of enlightenment, leading to an abundant life, an eternal life now. “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” However, I can’t hear it or read it once and understand it. I must take it deep inside the dim, candle-lit room of my flickering imagination and contemplate it repeatedly. But first, there are two preconditions: I must (1) set aside the idea that this is about going to heaven when I die and focus on my life now," thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth” (2) and come to a modern-day understanding of the word Kingdom.
Thy Kingdom Come
I must come to a modern-day understanding of the word Kingdom, but I have difficulty with the concept of a kingdom because I have never lived in one.
I struggle with the kingdom concept because I have never lived in one. Let’s think it through. Dallas Willard teaches that a kingdom is merely an "area of influence” where influential individuals make the rules. For example, mayors have this influence within their city but not in other cities. It would be impossible for a mayor to make rules for another town since they have no influence there. Why? It is not in their "Kingdom." Dallas also explains that every individual has their kingdom, which is the area where they have direct influence through their words and actions. This can include a father or mother with their children, a teacher in their classroom, or an individual with a group of friends. The area where I have direct influence is my kingdom. Hold that thought.
“Now God’s own ‘kingdom,’ or ‘rule,’ is the range of his effective will, where what he wants done is done. The person of God himself and the action of his will are the organizing principles of his kingdom, but everything that obeys those principles, whether by nature of by choice is within his kingdom.”
The creator has a kingdom, an area of influence, which we see throughout creation in its natural laws; when it comes to humans, God’s area of influence is spiritual, invisible except to those who become aware of it. Even then, we can only see the ripples, the results of its inhabitants’ actions, who are voluntarily operating by its spiritual laws or principles. Nicodemus had seen the ripples in Jesus’ actions and said, “No one can do these signs.”
Hindsight is Always 20-20
Looking back, I can see the ripples during Millie's treatment and after her passing. People who knew about her sent cards with money, well wishes, food, toys, and so much more from their generous hearts. At the time, I was too busy looking for Jesus to walk across the water, get in our boat, and calm the storm by healing her. I didn’t recognize these gentle ripples of love making this random, unexplainable journey more bearable. To see the kingdom of God, the area of his influence, I must know what to look for - acts of grace and love emanating from those around me.
Jesus was correct when he said, “born from above” and “born of water and spirit,” because seeing this way requires a birth - the birth of a spiritual idea deep inside the soul’s once-barren womb. It’s an awakening of sorts, an awakening to the almost incomprehensible thought that something unseen is at work within you - and within others. During its gestation period, this prenatal idea will cause a bit of morning sickness as former beliefs come up and fall away. That’s often followed by the dark night, soul-deep movements that no one else in the world feels. At last, this newborn awareness will burst forth in the consciousness, crying out, "Why didn’t I see this before?"
But move slowly here; the infant eyes of this awareness will still need to be trained to see beyond the shadowy forms of light and dark and perceive the infrared rays of love.
Could This Be ENLIGHTENMENT?
Is this enlightenment, the way, nirvana, baptism of the holy spirit, or a form of all of them? I’m unsure, but I'm no longer sure that the words matter. If this has happened within you, you understand what Jesus is trying to explain to Nicodemus. You also know that is as difficult to explain to someone else as a virgin birth. Lao Tzu said, “The Way that can be explained is not the eternal Way.” If it hasn’t happened within you, spend some quiet time with this thought, "As there is a code written into my body (DNA), there is also a code written into my being by the creator of the universe, and it is my true operating system.”
"As there is a code written into my body (DNA), there is also a code written into my being by the creator of the universe, and it is my true operating system.”
Learning to live from this new operating system, seeing, hearing, and acting from a new source, also comes with its "crawl before walking" stage. There's a bit of falling down and then getting back up while moving from physical to spiritual consciousness, from self-preservation to self-sacrifice. Thomas E. Kelly said that “lapses and forgetting are so frequent. Our surroundings grow so exciting. Our occupations are so exacting. But when you catch yourself again, lose no time in self-recriminations, but breathe a silent prayer for forgiveness and begin again, just where you are.” This “toddling stage” is a natural part of entering the kingdom, which Jesus said required “being born of water and Spirit,” which is the constant awareness of our dual origin - the water birth from one’s mother and the spiritual birth from one’s soul.
“Lapses and forgetting are so frequent. Our surroundings grow so exciting. Our occupations are so exacting. But when you catch yourself again, lose no time in self-recriminations, but breathe a silent prayer for forgiveness and begin again, just where you are.”
Is There a Takeaway Here?
First, I must set aside much of my previous religious understanding of these verses and this encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. I'll have to remember that John was not writing scripture but telling his story about Jesus, how he lived, and how he taught him to live. That isn't easy.
It helps that I am sitting in the studio, and the sun is shining through the window on my face. It reminds me that the same energy within that sun is within my body. It's also within the trees that I see and the plants growing in my garden. Each of these components of the universe, including me, has an operating system within it. However, unlike the others, I can choose to operate by this system or usurp it with my own free will.
So, I sit with my eyes closed, breathing deeply, feeling the sun's warmth on my face, and listening for thoughts and ideas more closely aligned with this original operating system. By doing so, I come face-to-face with the realization that while my source for being human is from below (water), the source of my being is from above (spirit). That's what it means to fully be a human being. That's what Jesus wants Nicodemus, you, and me to know.
In our next segment, we will continue this discussion between Nicodemus and Jesus, looking for ways to apply its truth to our lives.
