1 March - Second Sunday in Lent – Year A

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The Faith Action Programme would like to thank Sally Fraser, a student at New College, Edinburgh, for her thoughts on the second Sunday in Lent.

Introduction

Having worked in ecumenical settings, and pastoral settings outside of the church, I am aware that there can be an awful lot of ‘baggage' attached to the idea of being "Born Again" as we find in the gospel today. People who have had a bad experience of church might have felt pressure to understand themselves as born again, or to say those words, possibly before they really felt or understood them. In some more traditional, or less vocal traditions, I have heard the opposite: people have a sense of being born again but don't feel they can express it because it's not the done thing.

Using this week's gospel reading with young families in baptism preparations, I have found it is somewhat inaccessible. For these reasons, I have provided a pastoral response as the sermon idea, offering a suggestion of understanding the call to be born again in terms which might be more relatable.

Genesis 12:1-4a

God's call to Abraham at the start of this passage is nerve-wracking for all of us – the call to move away from the familiar and leave things behind. It is all-encompassing, covering place, family and home. The reference to "Father's house" sounds like a rather strange patriarchal term to our ears, perhaps we can understand it better as ‘all we have been brought up with', or even ‘everything we thought we knew or valued'. If our family of origins involves difficult relationships, perhaps it is a call to leave those behind too, letting go of negativity we might have felt in difficult family relationships in favour of the unconditional love of our Father in heaven.

As reward for doing so, Abraham is promised he will be made a great nation, a great name, and be a blessing. It is difficult for us to understand what the promise of nationhood might have felt like to a nomadic people, but we imagine it must have felt like security was on offer if Abraham was willing to let go of certainty. A new identity in God, rather than the social world of his earthly father's house was promised too. And perhaps most importantly, Abraham is not so much blessed, as he is a blessing. How much of a blessing might we be to others if we are prepared to step out in uncertainty and do what God asks of us?

Psalm 121

Psalm 121 gives us the encouragement to step out into the new territory we have heard about in the Genesis reading. Great change and bold journeys can only be undertaken by looking upward to the mountains. Not just any mountain, more likely Sinai or Horeb – mountains where God is close and gives information or can be perceived. Perhaps all high places were thought closer to God.

Certainly, the psalmist is clear: help comes from God. Deeply reassuring words – God does not sleep or slumber but watches over us in everything, in all our comings and goings, and protects us from falling, or from the sun that is too bright. We are reminded that God does this in part because He is the Creator of heaven and earth. The psalmist does not want us to think about other gods - either those of the ancient world which did not have our best interests at heart, or the other gods of our lives today - those other things we give priority too, rather than let our Creator take care of us.

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

This reading gives us Paul at his most complicated; and can sometimes provoke theological arguments. But what is relevant in it to our lives today? At its most basic, these verses are a reminder that nothing we do effects how much God loves us, and that we are adopted and loved unconditionally, there is nothing transactional in our relationship with God.

Abraham was not blessed for following laws and procedures, rather these things are outward signs. Faith and belief are all that is required to share in the blessing. This is the inclusive, all-encompassing love of God that we are all invited to step into with confidence, even when that feels challenging. The challenge might be what we leave behind, as in the Genesis reading, or it may be how we are called to be, as in the John reading. It is scarier to accept that we might be loved and blessed in our weakness and new territory, than to rely on our knowledge and those frameworks which are familiar to us.

John 3:1-17

This passage opens with a reminder of Nicodemus status as a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews. He addresses Jesus as "Rabbi", believing him to be a teacher. What follows is an exchange that does not seem to make any sense. Nicodemus makes a statement showing he really believes that God is somehow at work in Jesus' actions. Then we are told Jesus that answers him when there has not really been a question. The "answer" is a mysterious statement about the need to be born again.

Nicodemus responds literally, with a visceral question about re-entering the womb evoking the bodily nature of the incarnation: Jesus Himself, having come from God, was born from a woman's womb too.

Jesus' answer is a call to see a different kind of birth, not only physical but spiritual. This has often been interpreted in dualistic terms, but the next lines (about being blown by the wind, and hearing it) shows that there is encounter between the physical and the spiritual, as mysterious as that might be. Jesus ethereal language adds to the sense of confusion, but there is then a challenge - Nicodemus as a teacher should understand these things.

Then comes a further mystery, Jesus seems to be playing with a timeframe in suggesting He has already both descended from and ascended to heaven. The overall effect of this fragmented, ambiguous passage is that we, like Nicodemus, realise ourselves to be child-like and unknowing in our relationship with Jesus and His teaching: we hear and see with new ears and eyes.

Sermon ideas

My suggestion for approaching the gospel is to start by addressing any preconceptions people might have about the term Born Again. Perhaps if your congregation is of a mind to be open to getting involved you could ask for responses, or for people to turn and discuss it with their neighbours. Or share some of your own associations with the term, for example to me it is a phrase I remember my granny using to describe Cliff Richard. "Born Again Christians" were a bit of an alien species in my non-religious family in 1990's Yorkshire.

I then suggest inviting people to think about an actual birth. Perhaps they have given birth or attended a birth, or maybe they like to watch Call the Midwife on television. Is being born a serene, wholesome experience? Or is it messy, challenging, and painful? Do we happily say goodbye to womb-like safety, security and provision or are we literally dragged kicking and screaming into new life?

Next invite people to think about an actual baby. If you have one in your community to look at that might be good, or you could perhaps bring a photo to share. Think about what you observe about the baby. For example: they don't do much. They spend a lot of time resting, and more importantly perhaps, absorbing love and being embraced. Moreover, they can't do much. They are almost entirely helpless and powerless. They depend completely on someone else to have all their needs met. They have no resources which are not given to them by another. They also want quite simple things and communicate very simply and clearly to get them, crying out for what they need.

All of these things are challenging and counter-cultural for us. We seek to be independent and in control, we do anything to avoid feeling powerless, and sometimes we can't even identify our deepest needs to ourselves, let alone ask for them to be met. Yet, over and over again in scripture, this is what God demands for us.

In the Hebrew Bible, to not understand who provides for you is idolatrous; to be faithful is to know that everything comes from God. And when Jesus says we need to be born again, this is the total vulnerability that is required to really follow Him and truly accept God's love. We need to be prepared to be still and just accept love. We need to acknowledge that we are powerless. And we need to cry out, with confidence that we will be heard in our need. Because that what is being born in the Spirit is, as it is the Spirit that enables us to call out Abba Father.

Prayers

Call to worship
Loving God,
You have always led Your people to places where they can hear Your voice,
speak Lord, and help us to listen.

Loving God,
You ask nothing of us, but faith and openness to You,
help us to follow You in trust.

Lord Jesus,
You came that we could live in friendship and fellowship with You,
be near us Lord, and help us to receive You.

Confession and absolution.
For all the times we fail to listen to Your voice and Your call,
for the faith we lack and the blessings we ignore or refuse,
and for all the pain we cause to others by disowning our vulnerability,
we are sorry Lord.
Knowing that You are a God who loves us,
who knows our hearts and calls us to new beginnings,
we celebrate Your forgiveness today.
Amen

Prayers for others
The response to the line "we lift our eyes to you" is "our helper and our strength".

Heavenly Father, Your spirit moves in us,
causing us to cry out Abba Father to You.
Hear the prayers that come from our hearts,
our fears and vulnerabilities, and our hopes,
knowing that our help comes from You.

We pray for the church in all its forms.
May we hear the lessons of vulnerability, and the call to rebirth,
to be constantly renewed
and be prepared to remain helpless and nourished by You,
so that we can truly embody what the world needs us to be,
and be a sign of Your love

We lift our eyes to You,
Our helper and our strength

We pray for our leaders, and leaders across the world,
that they will be humble and selfless,
and willing to work together for the common good.
Fill them with Your spirit Lord,
so that we might be communities that welcome the stranger and protect the vulnerable.

We lift our eyes to You,
Our helper and our strength

We pray for our beautiful earth,
for protection of fragile ecosystems, and just and wise use of resources,
so that generations to come might be safe and blessed.
We pray to learn to be advocates and care for Your creation,

We lift our eyes to You,
Our helper and our strength

We pray for peace in all those parts of the world where there is conflict.
We ask You to hear the cries of all those who are suffering in war,
and let peace and justice flow.
We pray that we may be filled with compassion and not despair,
and wisdom and generosity to know how to help those in need.

We lift our eyes to You,
Our helper and our strength

We pause to reflect on where we need God's help in our own lives,
or a person or situation on our own hearts at this time:

We Lift our eyes to You,
Our helper and our strength.

Musical suggestions

God Welcomes All (GWA) is the new supplement to Church Hymnary Fourth Edition. This exciting new collection features over 200 hymns and songs in a wide range of styles by writers from Scotland and around the world.

The full music and words-only versions are now available; and digital resources, including the expansion of the existing Church of Scotland music website, will be published in due course, with streaming functions and further information on each song; backing tracks; and lyric videos. God Welcomes All is available to order from here

Our online music resource is on the Church of Scotland website; you can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship. You will also find playlists for this week and liturgical seasons and themes on the Weekly Worship and Inspire Me tabs.

You can find further musical suggestions for this week in a range of styles on the Songs for Sunday blog from Trinity College Glasgow.

  • GWA 128 – " As the wind song through the trees" – reflection on the passage from John
  • GWA 165 – " We till the earth, we tend the ground" – reflection on the passage from John
  • GWA 24 – "Your labour is not in vain" – faithfulness to God
  • GWA 27 – "My soul rejoices in the Lord" – faithfulness to God
  • GWA 64 – " Woza nomthwalo wakho (Come, bring your burdens to God)" – faithfulness to God
  • GWA 87 – " The Lord bless you and keep you" – faithfulness to God
  • CH4 485 – "Dear Lord and Father of mankind" - includes the idea of ‘simple trust' which fits with the readings.
  • CH4 636 – "Baptised in water" - a nice opportunity to reflect on shared baptism together in song
  • Ancient and Modern 328 – "Behold, behold, I make all thinks new" - captures a lot about new beginnings in Jesus and the Spirit.
  • Songs of Praise 338 – "O Lord, I know you are near" - an encouraging, uplifting hymn which evokes memories of the Abraham text, ‘even if I could count them, they number as the stars' reminds us of God's words of blessing, and the whole hymn shows how recalling God's closeness in all things gives us courage.

Reflecting on our worship practice

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the way we worship has changed and we need to reflect on the changing or newly established patterns that emerged and continue to emerge as a result of the disruption.

We can facilitate worship for all by exploring imaginative approaches to inclusion, participation and our use of technologies in ways that suit our contexts. This is not an exhaustive list, but some things we could consider are:

  • Framing various parts of the worship service in accessible language to help worshippers understand the character and purpose of each part. This is essential for creating worship for all (intergenerational worship) that reflects your community of faith.
  • Holding spaces for reflection and encouraging prayer to be articulated in verbal and non-verbal ways, individually and in online breakout rooms.
  • In online formats the effective use of the chat function and microphone settings encourages active participation in prayer, e.g. saying the Lord's Prayer together unmuted, in a moment of ‘holy chaos'.
  • While singing in our congregations is still restricted, we can worship corporately by using antiphonal psalm readings, creeds and participative prayers.
  • Using music and the arts as part of the worship encourages the use of imagination in place of sung or spoken words.
  • Use of silence, sensory and kinaesthetic practices allow for experience and expression beyond regular audio and visual mediums.

The following questions might help you develop a habit of reflecting on how we create and deliver content and its effectiveness and impact, and then applying what we learn to develop our practice.

  • How inclusive was the worship?
    Could the worship delivery and content be described as worship for all/ intergenerational?
    Was it sensitive to different "Spiritual Styles"?
  • How was the balance between passive and active participation?
  • How were people empowered to connect with or encounter God?
    What helped this?
    What hindered this?
  • How cohesive was the worship?
    Did it function well as a whole?
    How effective was each of the individual elements in fulfilling its purpose?
  • How balanced was the worship?
    What themes/topics/doctrines/areas of Christian life were included?
  • How did the worship connect with your context/contemporary issues?
    Was it relevant in the everyday lives of those attending and in the wider parish/ community?
    How well did the worship connect with local and national issues?
    How well did the worship connect with world events/issues?
  • What have I learned that can help me next time I plan and deliver worship?

You can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship in our online hymnary.

You are free to download, project, print and circulate multiple copies of any of this material for use in worship services, bible studies, parish magazines, etc., but reproduction for commercial purposes is not permitted.

Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.