Nicodemus

Now, I'm not very good at standing still, so I'm not going to stand still over here.

I shall wander around and I hope that that's okay and that you can still see me.

Well, in that passage, we heard Jesus talking to Nicodemus.

And as we heard right at the beginning, he's a Pharisee.

He's a member of the Jewish council.

He should not be seen speaking to Jesus.

And so, he comes at night.

He hides in the darkness.

Coming to speak with Jesus was him living a bit dangerously, really.

But curiosity about Jesus had got the better of him.

He calls Jesus Rabbi.

He recognizes that Jesus is a teacher.

As many others did at that time who had heard him, heard his teaching as he taught remarkable things with remarkable stories in remarkable ways.

But because he's also seen the things that Jesus has done, he wants to know more.

He's recognizing that God is here amongst them in a new way.

And he wants to understand.

And Jesus challenges him to come into the light, to be born again, to come out of the shadows and into the light.

There's loads of references in the Bible about light.

It's one of those things you'll read of over and over again.

Right there, right at the beginning in Genesis.

Let there be light.

And in the New Testament, we hear lots of images, lots of words about light.

John's gospel speaks about the light shining in the darkness and the light that gives life to everyone.

Paul talks about a kingdom of light.

And Peter talks of the followers of Jesus as being called into God's light.

Moving from a place of darkness.

Moving into God's light.

With God's understanding.

With God's spirit.

Being born again.

Jesus, of course, also used light to talk about himself, didn't he?

He said, I am the light of the world.

And just as he did with Nicodemus, he tells his followers to be light and to reflect his light.

The light of life that gives life to all people.

And of course, the same is true with us.

When we recognize Jesus as for who he is,

when we grab hold of his hand and recognize who he is and all he did for us,

and we step into that light, we too can be born again.

The Son of God.

He challenges Nicodemus and he challenges us to step out into that light.

So what?

What does that look like?

What does it mean for us to live as disciples in the light?

First of all, of course, we need to be seen.

I think we might have a slide that, there we go, we need to be seen.

I'm sure you'll recognize those as sparklers.

And there's a story told of a little girl who was shivering her way along the main street one winter's evening.

And she saw a church with the lights pouring out and she could hear music.

And as she was cold, she went into the church to warm herself for a little while.

And as she listened to the preacher, she heard him say,

I am the light of the world.

So at the end of the service, as she was coming out and the preacher was stood at the door,

as preachers often do.

And she said, did you say that you were the light of the world?

No, said the preacher.

Jesus is the light of the world.

Those of us that believe in him are like little lights.

And the little girl looked at him for a moment and said,

Well, I wish you'd come down here and shine in my alley

because it's cold and it's dark down there.

I think it packs quite a punch, that story about how we be God's light,

where we go, how we show, how we be God's people in the world,

reminding us that we need to live out the faith that we proclaim.

And yes, that can be a little overwhelming to think that day by day,

minute by minute, we're living out as God's disciples.

It can be hugely challenging.

Because I don't know about you, but not long after I've had my breakfast,

I kind of mess up.

Living each and every day is hard work, isn't it?

And what if we mess up and someone sees us?

Have you ever had anyone say to you,

I thought you were a Christian?

Anyone ever had that said to them?

I know I have.

Maybe sometimes if I get a bit impatient at the supermarket

or I'm sitting in a traffic jam,

I'm not very good at sitting in traffic.

Particularly if two lorries are driving side by side,

you know, one in the inside lane and one in the middle lane

and neither's overtaking the other,

I get quite frustrated.

There's a whole list of things that I could tell you about times

when I am not always patient

and struggle sometimes to live as a disciple.

But when I was younger,

can we have the next picture?

I had one of these.

In fact, I still got it in my drawer upstairs,

in the bedroom upstairs.

Has anyone ever had one of these?

A what would Jesus do bracelet

to remind us to do what Jesus would do.

So if we're having a, you know,

what on earth do I do?

Well, what would Jesus do?

To remind us to live out the life

that he has called to us.

Although, to be honest,

what would Jesus do on the M5 sometimes?

Sometimes it's hard, isn't it?

Yes, people watch us.

Of course they watch us.

They wait quite excited about the fact

that we might actually make a mistake

and then they can pull us up and say,

ha ha, I thought you were a Christian.

And it might mean that sometimes

we feel that we better wait a while.

We stay in the shadows for a little bit

until we're better at being Christians.

You know, until we're perfect

and we've got it all sussed.

And then, when we're better,

we can step out of the shadows

because now we're better Christians than we were.

We're more proficient.

We make fewer mistakes.

But actually, the mistakes that we make

are actually part and parcel

of living as a light in God's world.

Because it's not about the mistake.

It's about how you deal with the mistakes.

We can never be perfect,

which is quite good news for me.

Can never, ever be perfect.

But that's okay.

Because actually,

when we go to one another and seek forgiveness,

when we've hurt one another,

when we've done what we shouldn't do

and we come before God asking for forgiveness

in need of his grace,

people see that too.

I thought you were a Christian

and yes, I've done that wrong.

But actually, I know that.

And I've come before God to say sorry

and to hear about and to receive his grace.

We don't have to wait

until we're perfect Christians.

Thank heavens, literally, for that.

We need to step out of the shadows,

trusting in God's grace

for what he calls us to do.

I always think of God's grace

as a kind of safety net.

It's there for us.

It catches us if we fall.

We can draw strength on him,

from him, once again.

His grace holds us

and keeps us

as we come to him.

And that's good news, isn't it?

And so as Christians,

we need to be seen warts and all

because those warts

and how we deal with them

are key to showing others

what it means to walk

in the light of God.

But as disciples,

we need to be seen

and we need to be heard.

We need to be light

in a difficult and dark world,

even when that is hard,

even when that makes us unpopular.

There is no such thing

as a secret disciple

in a world,

in a country

where we are free to gather,

where we are free

to read our Bibles,

where we are free

to live out the faith

that we proclaim.

Our faith is not private.

It shouldn't be private.

Personal, yes.

but private, no.

For our faith

is what we live out

in the everyday world.

Free to read our Bibles,

free to step out of the shadows

and into the light.

And not for our own sake.

We're not born again.

We don't receive God's Spirit.

We don't step into that light

for our own sake.

And we do so

for the sake of the world.

Jesus says,

come into the light

so that others can see

what God is doing.

If we look at Matthew's gospel

and he tells us of Jesus saying,

let your light shine before others.

This little light of mine,

I'm going to let it shine.

I'm sure some of you remember

singing that at school.

I certainly do.

Let it shine before others

so that they may see

your good works

and give glory

to God in heaven.

A light that needs to be seen.

A light that isn't hidden

under a basket.

Not so that people might think

how amazing we are

as Christians,

but so they can glimpse

through our words

and through our actions.

So they can glimpse

just for a moment

that little bit

of God's kingdom.

the love and grace

of God

that is for all people.

Now I remember

at the turn

of the millennium,

does anyone remember

the turn of the millennium?

It's 26 years ago.

How can that be?

It made me feel really old

when I thought about it.

But I can remember

26 years ago

watching the television

as we move

not just into a new year

but into a new millennium.

And I remember it

because Mike and I

decided that we should

wake up the children

so that they saw

this bit of history too.

Because it was really important

they could say

they remember

moving into the new millennium.

Well, Matt was only four

so he doesn't really

remember it at all.

But I remember

when we sat there,

the four of us

as the clock struck midnight

and the new year

and the new millennium

rolled in

beacons were lit

across the UK

and it was a really

powerful moment.

And of course

that happened again

at the late Queen's

Platinum Jubilee celebration.

She lit the first

of those beacons

and beacons were lit

right across the UK.

Really powerful moment

marking a really

important moment.

Beacons

burning brightly.

And to me

it felt like a very

hopeful sign.

And that's

what we are called to be.

When the world

seems hopeless

we are called

to be hope

by burning

brightly.

Beacons

of light

and of hope.

Blazing with the

reflected light

of God.

Just as the moon

reflects the light

of the sun

so we are challenged

to reflect

the light

of Jesus.

To shine

unhampered

without that fear

of getting things wrong

because we have

God's grace

to catch us

without that

embarrassment

that we might feel.

That fear

that actually

someone might

find us out.

To shine

not for our own

glory

but for the

glory of

God.

And when I'm

preparing a

talk or a sermon

or whatever you

want to call it

I always look

at different

translations

of the Bible

to see if they

might help

bring some

new parts

or a new

ones that I'd

not really

picked up

before.

And I read

the message

whilst I was

looking at this

and the Bible

puts it this way

you are here

to be light

bringing out

the colours

in God's

world.

God is not

a secret

to be kept.

I love that

the bringing

out of the

colours

in God's

world.

And they

bring to mind

that picture

there of

a prism

that beam

of light

travelling

through the

prism

and that's

splitting

into the

beautiful

colours

of the

rainbow.

That's what

we are called

to be

as light.

And how

do we do

that?

Well

you might be

familiar with

the Micah

challenge

the prophet

Micah

talks about

how we

do that

how we

live

as

Christians

and

again

I

use

the

message

version

it

says

this

God's

already

made

it

plain

as to

how to

live

and what

to do

what God

is looking

for in

men and

women

is quite

simple

do what

is fair

and just

to your

neighbour

be

compassionate

and loyal

in your

love

don't take

yourself

too

seriously

take

God

seriously

it's a

challenge

that

isn't

it

a

challenge

to do

what is

just

and fair

compassionate

and loyal

to do

what that

little girl

asked

I wish

you could

come down

here and

hang out

in our

alley

because

it's

cold

and it's

dark

down

here

welcoming

the

stranger

feeding

the

hungry

showing

compassion

speaking

out

against

injustice

crossing

the barriers

of race

gender

and class

and all

those

decisive

barriers

that

we

put

in

place

we

can't

proclaim

faith

unless

we

live

it

we

need

to

shine

not

hide

in the

shadows

like

Nicodemus

did

to

step

out

to

know

Jesus

to

seek

his

grace

to

be

forgiven

to

be

filled

with

his

spirit

to

be

born

again

there's

a story

told

about

Saint

Francis

of Assisi

a man

who gave

away

everything

he had

to the

poor

who walked

unarmed

into a

Muslim

camp

in the

holy

land

in the

hope

of

stopping

a

war

who

inspired

millions

of

people

to

love

and

sacrifice

for

others

a man

who

truly

did

step

out

of

the

shadows

and

reflected

the

incredible

love

of

God

a man

who

did

that

this

is a

story

one

day

he

and

a

brother

monk

entered

a

small

village

to

preach

the

gospel

they

began

chatting

with

the

villagers

listening

to

their

stories

of

hardship

and

poverty

they

helped

them

in

the

fields

and

in

the

stables

until

the

day

was

nearly

over

and

it

was

time

to

leave

well

Saint

Francis

companion

was

most

concerned

did

we

not

come

here

to

preach

the

gospel

he

asked

Francis

turned

to

his

brother

monk

and

said

if

these

people

have

not

heard

the

gospel

today

then

reading

the

Bible

will

not

make

any

difference

and

so

they

went

on

their

walk

I was

interested

when we

had our

prayers

earlier

on

and

talked

about

how

actually

sometimes

we

are

the

answer

to

the

prayers

that

we

pray

and

I

remember

Sister

Monica

Joan

from

Call

the

Midwife

any

Call

the

Midwife

fans

in

this

morning

yeah

Sister

Monica

Joan

said

this

sometimes

the

hands

of the

almighty

are

at

the

end

of

our

own

arms

sometimes

the

prayers

we

pray

we

play

a

part

in

answering

in

doing

in

living

in

being

light

Jesus

says

those

who

do

what

is

right

come

into

the

light

so

that

others

can

see

they

are

doing

what

God

wants

so I

wonder

wonder

where you

can be

where you

can bring

God's

colours

God's

God's

light

God's

love

this

week

so

let's

pray

Father

we

step out

from the

darkness

and into

the light

you call

us to

do

that

you

call

us

to

live

out

the

faith

that

we

proclaim

and

we're

sorry

that

so

often

we

forget

so

we

come

to

you

with

open

hearts

and

open

hands

letting

go

of all

the

things

that

hold

us

back

asking

that

you

might

show

us

once

again

your

incredible

grace

and

love

that

once

again

we

might

step

out

into

the

light

and

receive

your

grace

your

love

and

your

spirit

and

we're

just

still

for a

moment

for you

alone

know

where

your

heart

is

with

God

are

you

ready

to

step

out

or

to

just

step

out

once

again

are

you

ready

to

offer

your

heart

to

God

you

are

a

generous

and

almighty

God

and we

offer

our

hearts

and our

lives

to

serve

you

give

us

the

strength

the

courage

the

boldness

the

desire

the

audacity

to

be

your

people

this

week

and

in

the

days

to

come

help

us

to

be

sensitive

to

your

guiding

touch

that

we

might

know

where

to

speak

where

to

be

we

thank

you

for

Jesus

help

us

to

reflect

the

light

that

he

gave

might

we

be

little

lights

burning

so

brightly

for

you

amen

may

may

!

may

may