February 27: The Rebirth of an Old Man
♫ Music:
Day 6 - Monday, February 27
Title: THE REBIRTH OF AN OLD MAN
Scripture: John 3:1–21
One night Nicodemus, a leading Jew and a Pharisee, came to see Jesus. “Master,” he began, “we realize that you are a teacher who has come from God. Obviously no one could show the signs that you show unless God were with him.”
“Believe me,” returned Jesus, “a man cannot even see the kingdom of God without being born again.”
“And how can a man who’s getting old possibly be born?” replied Nicodemus. “How can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?”
“I assure you,” said Jesus, “that unless a man is born from water and from spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh and spirit gives birth to spirit: you must not be surprised that I told you that all of you must be born again. The wind blows where it likes, you can hear the sound of it but you have no idea where it comes from and where it goes. Nor can you tell how a man is born by the wind of the Spirit.”
“How on earth can things like this happen?” replied Nicodemus.
“So you are a teacher of Israel,” said Jesus, “and you do not recognise such things? I assure you that we are talking about something we really know and we are witnessing to something we have actually observed, yet men like you will not accept our evidence. Yet if I have spoken to you about things which happen on this earth and you will not believe me, what chance is there that you will believe me if I tell you about what happens in Heaven? No one has ever been up to Heaven except the Son of Man who came down from Heaven. The Son of Man must be lifted above the heads of men—as Moses lifted up that serpent in the desert—so that any man who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that every one who believes in him shall not be lost, but should have eternal life. You must understand that God has not sent his Son into the world to pass sentence upon it, but to save it—through him. Any man who believes in him is not judged at all. It is the one who will not believe who stands already condemned, because he will not believe in the character of God’s only Son. This is the judgment—that light has entered the world and men have preferred darkness to light because their deeds are evil. Anybody who does wrong hates the light and keeps away from it, for fear his deeds may be exposed. But anybody who is living by the truth will come to the light to make it plain that all he has done has been done through God.”
Poetry & Poet:
“I’m Too Alone in the World, Yet Not Alone Enough”
by Rainer Maria Rilke
translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy
I'm too alone in the world, yet not alone enough
to make each hour holy.
I'm too small in the world, yet not small enough
to be simply in your presence, like a thing--
just as it is.
I want to know my own will
and to move with it.
And I want, in the hushed moments
when the nameless draws near,
to be among the wise ones--
or alone.
I want to mirror your immensity.
I want never to be too weak or too old
to bear the heavy, lurching image of you.
I want to unfold.
Let no place in me hold itself closed,
for where I am closed, I am false.
I want to stay clear in your sight.
I would describe myself
like a landscape I've studied
at length, in detail;
like a word I'm coming to understand;
like a pitcher I pour from at mealtime;
like my mother's face;
like a ship that carried me
when the waters raged.
THE REBIRTH OF AN OLD MAN
Most nights when I put my kids to sleep, my 4-year-old daughter has many, many theological and philosophical questions that she wants answered. To be honest, at the end of the day I am ready to be ‘done’ for the day. A few nights ago, she was asking me about the Trinity and how Jesus and God could be the same person, but Jesus sleeps (Matthew 8:23-27) and God does not sleep (Psalm 121:3-4). The next day I asked a trusted friend how she might answer these questions, and she responded with this, “You may want to consider the answer that they need to hear, rather than the answer you want to give them.”
As I read the account of Nicodemus, I was struck with a few things: like my daughter, Nicodemus has several late-night questions, and how Jesus gives Nicodemus the answers he needs to hear. Jesus, in His wisdom, gives Nicodemus the verse that is likely memorized most by Christians, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him shall not be lost, but should have eternal life.”
I find myself thinking about all of my questions that I have for Jesus, and how I sometimes feel dissatisfied in His response or lack of response. My questions, and my responses to Jesus’ answers, are reflective of my character and disposition. Similarly, Nicodemus’ questions and responses to Jesus reflect his own character and disposition.
Look at how the artwork today by Walter Rane draws you to look at Jesus’ face and gesturing. It is not really about Nicodemus, but about Jesus. The questions that I have for Jesus may reflect my own self, but He invites us to look at Him – His face, His goodness, His faithfulness. When you ask your questions of Jesus, where do you look? Do you look inward for the answer you want Him to give you, or do you look to Him?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, it is sometimes hard to see You past my own character and disposition. Help me to see You, to know You, and to experience Your immeasurable love.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Amen.
Dr. Berry Bishop
Director, MFT Program
Assistant Professor
Institute for Spiritual Formation
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab
About the Artwork:
Nicodemus Came to Jesus by Night
Walter Rane
Oil on canvas
32 x 24 in.
Private Collection
As is the case with Lazarus, the figure of Nicodemus is not found in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and is only mentioned in the gospel of John. As one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus did not want to jeopardize his position and his reputation by being seen publicly with Jesus, so he surreptitiously visited Jesus after nightfall. Nicodemus, an educated man, was moved by Jesus’ teachings and hungered for a deeper knowledge of the Lord.
About the Artist:
Walter Rane (b. 1949) is an American artist who began his career as primarily a book and magazine illustrator but now specializes in religious art. Rane was raised in Southern California and received his B.F.A. at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. There he found the traditional approach to drawing and painting that he desired. That discipline, combined with an emphasis on the human figure, remains central to his art today. Following graduation from the Art Center, Rane worked as a freelance book and magazine illustrator in the New York area for twenty-one years. In the late 1990s Rane began to paint scriptural themes in a classical fashion. These subjects continue to be an important part of his work, along with still lifes, landscapes, cityscapes, and scenes of contemporary life. Rane and his wife currently live in New York City.
http://www.walterrane.com/
About the Music: “How Can These Things Be” from the album John: The Misunderstood Messiah
Lyrics:
Ancient footsteps in the gloom
An open door
A lighted room
A youthful rabbi, an elderly man
Will give it all to understand
How could these things be?
How could I accept this mystery?
Am I being healed of this blindness of believing that I had seen?
He clings to his own righteousness
Of being good to be blessed
But Jesus speaks of a healing wind
The fact of being born again
How can these things be?
How can I accept this mystery?
Am I being healed of this blindness of believing that I had seen?
As Moses lifted up the snake
In the wilderness, a curse to break
So we can live, He must die
For Jesus must be lifted high
How can these things be?
How can I accept this mystery?
Am I being healed of this blindness of believing that I had seen?
He stumbles out into the night
As one reborn with spiritual sight
About the Composer/Performer:
In a career that spans over thirty years, Michael Card (b. 1957) has recorded over thirty-one music albums; authored or co-authored over twenty-four books; hosted a radio program; and written for a wide range of magazines. He has penned such favorite songs as “El Shaddai,” “Love Crucified Arose,” and “Immanuel.” He has sold over four million albums and written over nineteen number-one hits. Card’s original goal in life was to simply and quietly teach the Bible and proclaim Christ. Although music provided him the opportunity to share insight gained through his extensive scholarly research, he felt limited by having to condense the vast depth and richness of Scripture into three-minute songs. This prompted him to begin to write articles and books on topics that captured his imagination through conversations with Bible teachers, friends, and contemporaries in both Christian music and the academic community. Card travels frequently each year, teaching and sharing his music at Biblical Imagination Conferences, and facilitating the annual Life of Christ Tours to Israel.
https://www.michaelcard.com/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) was a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist and was "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets"—writing in both verse and highly lyrical prose. Several critics have described Rilke's work as inherently "mystical.” His writings include one novel, several collections of poetry, and several volumes of correspondence in which he invokes haunting images that focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_Maria_Rilke
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/rainer-maria-rilke
About Devotion Author:
Dr. Berry Bishop
Director, MFT Program
Assistant Professor
Institute for Spiritual Formation
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
Berry Bishop is the director of the MFT Program at Talbot. Bishop graduated from Talbot with a Master of Arts in spiritual formation and soul care, and then obtained her doctorate in psychology from Azusa Pacific University. Her primary research interest is in the area of trauma and spiritual direction. In addition to teaching, she continues to practice as a clinical psychologist.