Prayer: Holy One, we have worshiped you with music, we have been inspired by your word, we have been moved by your presence in our prayers. Please continue to bless us as we seek to understand your word more deeply. Amen.

A few weeks ago, on Super Tuesday, as a matter of fact, there were several tornadoes down south. One man, James Kruger, was at home watching the election results when a warning message appeared on his screen saying that a tornado was headed toward Lafayette, Tennessee. As soon as he read those words, the lights went out. He grabbed a flashlight, “and then I heard this noise,” Kruger said. He headed for a door, “and all of a sudden I heard the glass breaking, and it was sucking,” he said. “When I tried to shut the door, [it] seemed like the door was lifting up. So I just dove and I lay flat on the floor.” Lying there, time stood still as everything in the house flew over him, scraping and banging his back. Then the chaos stopped. He said, “I was lying in the dirt. There was no floor. No nothing.” The house was gone. But Kruger says he thinks he understands why he survived. “I think God was holding my leg, teaching me that I hadn’t been doing everything God wanted me to do,” he said (Sermon Resources for February 17, illustrations@Clergy.net, retrieved February 12, 2008).

It’s interesting, isn’t it? In the midst of the crisis, in the midst of the storm, in the middle of the moment when time seems to stand still, one can have a powerful awareness of God, of truths beyond earth’s domain, truths regarding heavenly things.

That is exactly what Jesus is teaching Nicodemus—that there are truths both about earth and truths about heaven. Nicodemus, this powerful Pharisee who serves on the Sanhedrin Council, the highest authority in Jesus’ day, knows earthly language. He points out that Jesus has done all fantastic these things on earth. Anyone doing these things must have God with them. Jesus, however, points out that anyone could see those things if they were born from above. What Jesus means is that in addition to the fact that there are truths for both earth and heaven, you can choose which truth is to have the most influence upon you. If you choose to have truths about God’s realm to be the most influential in your life, you will easily see the works of God in the earthly realm.

This is an important truth for us to comprehend. What Jesus teaches, what Paul teaches, what the prophets of ancient day have taught is that God is to have has the most influence over us and over our inner lives. No matter how powerful one might be in the earthly domain, truths about God’s presence and power are to dominate our thinking. Our faith, belief, trust, and confidence in God is to be premier as we live our lives, even in adversity. Like Abraham’s faith. Paul says that Abraham is a premier role model of faith.

How about the faith of this woman that Will Willamon tells about? She began to attend his church. He visited her and found out that she had a very difficult previous year. Her husband had just died. Her only son was put in jail after a sleazy bank deal went bad. She had now taken in her two little grandchildren as her sole responsibility. Yet she, expressing faith born no doubt out of years of struggle and pain said, “I know God will make a way for us. I’ve found that when I’ve reached out, God was there. Not always when I wanted, but always when I absolutely needed God. I’ll make it, with God’s help, yes I will.” Without thinking, Willamon, ever the pragmatist said, “How can this be? You’ve got two children, huge financial problems, health which isn’t that great.” He was basically saying, “C’mon, old lady, you’ve got to face facts, be realistic.” But, how did he know? How could he be so sure that the woman’s calm, confident trust, a trust affirmed in so many places in scripture, was erroneous stupidity? Maybe she WAS right. Maybe truths about heavenly things are more critical than truths about what our minds see and comprehend about earthly things (Sermon Resources, February 17, Illustrations@Clergy.net, retrieved February 12, 2008).

This is a truth that Jesus invites all people to comprehend. The trouble is that it is difficult to let heavenly truths dominate us. Is it because we are so independent? Is it because we have so much capability? Nicodemus was having trouble comprehending—Jesus said to him, “You are a teacher of Israel, and you do not know these things? If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” Was it because Nicodemus was so powerful?

It’s true that with more power, with more independency, more capability to do things on our own, we rely on God less and less. I think a very important part of our faith development and our faith journey is for people who are powerful to learn how to let God’s presence and power influence us the most.

So, who is powerful? Of course, our minds go right away to those who are lawmakers. Politicians have power. Government officials, judges and lawyers have power. They are the deciders of certain things in our lives. Those whose approval of us have power, or approval of whatever we are doing. My Supervisory Committee for my doctorate project has power—they can tell me what I need to do. They can pass me, or not. People in whom we place our trust have power. Doctors have power, pastors have power, teachers have power. The head of any organization or business has power. CEO’s, Presidents, VP’s, Moderators, all have power. Church Council members have power. Some fathers have power, some mothers, even brothers and sisters, too. Some people try to force power over others, usually with some instrument available like a weapon, or like an interest rates. Don’t kid yourself, credit card companies, mortgage companies, banks all have power.

In short, all of us have power to a certain degree. All of us are powerful in some measure. So all of us are at risk of not letting God’s ways dominate our ways. All of us are at risk of not letting our lives be governed by the truths of God’s realm.

So, this is what I think the powerful need to keep learning—to be governed by the truths of God’s realm means to let God within our inner lives and make decisions based on what God desires. I think we are to move with the flow of what God values. God values justice where there is injustice. God values release of oppression where oppression exists. God values fairness where unfairness dominates.

Did you hear what happened at a high school basketball game near Topeka, Kansas, this past week? A woman by the name of Michelle Campbell was scheduled to be the referee for a St. Mary’s Academy basketball game. But, as she was preparing to officiate, a school official insisted that Campbell could not call the game. The reason given, according to the referees was that Campbell, as a woman, could not be put in a position of authority over boys because of the academy’s beliefs. I was astonished! Campbell then walked off the court along with Darin Putthoff, the referee who was to work the game with her. Putthoff said “If Michelle has to leave, then I’m leaving with her” (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/highschool/02/13/female.official.ap/index.html?cnn=yes, retrieved February 16, 2008 ). Amazing, isn’t it? Perhaps God values non-discriminatory practice where discrimination exists.

When we put what God has desired into the practice of our faith, I think we begin to align ourselves with the heavenly truths. I think we start to recognize the value of every human being. We deepen our understanding of what it means to be God’s servant. We serve God by serving others without making them dependant on us. In actuality, we serve God by serving others so that they are empowered enough to serve God by serving others. This I believe is the truth for the powerful. We share that power with another, so they can share it with another, and another, and the cycle continues.

Evidently, Nicodemus began to have a deeper respect for Jesus’ wisdom because according to the gospel of John, Nicodemus stood up for Jesus at the Sanhedrin Council (John 7:50), and later, he along with Joseph of Arimathea, helped get Jesus down from the cross and prepared him for burial in Joseph’s tomb (John 19:39). Most scholars suggest that he eventually became a disciple of Christ. Perhaps the powerful truths of God’s domain became his reality on the earthly domain. May it be so for us. Amen.