“Earth
is crammed with heaven,/And every bush is aflame with God/But only those who
see, take off their shoes/The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries,” said Elizabeth
Barrett Browning. Every so often we are aware when a burning bush pops up in front
of us. Sometimes we have to go check to see if it’s really a burning bush or
just a mirage.
Nicodemus was a ‘leader of the Jews’. He was a Pharisee,
which was one of the two leading religious parties in Israel. The Pharisees
were strict adherents to the Law. The other group, the Sadducees, was a bit
more relaxed in observance and, even worse to some minds, they were willing to
cooperate with Rome in the effort to keep the peace.
Nicodemus seems to have been more open minded than some
Pharisees. He thought that just maybe the rabbi from Nazareth was a burning
bush, so he went to see him. However, he was careful and went at night so his visit wouldn’t be seen by his
compatriots.
The Pharisee starts the conversation by hedging a bit. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who
has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the
presence of God.” (John 3:2) Jesus doesn’t give him a straight answer.
Often God seems to demand that we make our own decisions about faith and our
response to the burning bush in front of us.
Jesus’s response, “Very
truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from
above” confuses Nicodemus. He responds, “How
can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the
mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:3-4)
It seems a logical question. Perhaps that is really what
happens when we confront a burning bush moment. We are reborn just a little
bit. As Jesus explains, “Very truly, I
tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and
Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is
spirit…The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you
do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is
born of the Spirit.” (John 5-8)
Burning bushes are like the wind, we don’t know their origin,
but we experience them in our lives when we are aware that “Earth is crammed with heaven”
(Browning) It can be hard to recognize the bush burning, even when it’s right
in front of you, though. Nicodemus is confused, and Jesus goes on to tell him,
“If I have told you about earthly
things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly
things?...so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may
have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so
that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John
3:12-16)
Then Jesus continues, “God
did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the
world might be saved through him…light has come into the world, and people
loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil…But those who do
what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds
have been done in God.” (John 3:17-21)
In the light of our burning bushes, we find that our deeds
are exposed. What we see in that light may cause us to realign our priorities
so that what we see is holy. Perhaps it starts with looking for the burning
bushes in what we do every day. Instead of seeing endless emails as a
challenge, perhaps in the light of the burning bush we can see them as
opportunities to reach out in love across the internet, with uplifting and
friendly responses rather than terse statements. While sitting in traffic,
perhaps looking for the burning bushes and considering the humanity of those
around us could help us stay calm. When faced with conflict or tragedy, perhaps
we look for the burning bushes of hope. Fred Rogers is quoted as saying, “When
I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to
me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
When you look, you can see burning bushes in every
situation. You can find God’s presence in all things. Let’s look for them this
week.
