Weekly Liturgy : February 23-March 1
- John
- Feb 23
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 19
John 3:1-17
First Nations Version
1-2A man named Conquers the People (Nicodemus) came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in secret at night. He was one of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and a headman of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) who sat in the Great Council.
Out of the shadows he whispered, “Wisdomkeeper, we know the Great Spirit sent you to teach us. No one can perform powerful signs like these unless the Maker of Life walks with him.”
3“I speak from my heart,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered, “Only one who has been born from above can see Creator’s good road.”
4Conquers the People (Nicodemus) was surprised by this strange answer, so he asked, “Can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb to be born a second time?”
5-8“Listen closely,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered. “One must be born of both water and spirit to walk Creator’s good road. The human body only gives birth to natural life, but it takes the Spirit of Creator to give birth to spiritual life. Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ Everyone born in this way is like the wind that blows wherever it wants. You can hear its sound, but no one knows where it comes from or where it goes.”
9“How can these things be?” Conquers the People (Nicodemus) asked.
10-13Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked gently but firmly into his eyes and continued. “How can it be that a wisdomkeeper and spiritual leader of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) does not understand these things? Listen closely, for you fail to hear what we are talking about. We are speaking about things we know to be true, but if you do not believe me when I talk about things on earth, how will you believe me when I talk about the things from the spirit-world above? For there is only one who has gone up and come down from the world above—the True Human Being.
14-15“Do you not remember when Drawn from the Water (Moses) lifted up a pole with a snake on it in the desert wilderness? This is what will happen to the True Human Being, so people will put their trust in him and have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.”
Long ago, when the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) were wandering in the desert, they did not listen to the Great Spirit. Poisonous snakes came and bit them, and many were dying. Drawn from the Water (Moses) prayed for them, so Creator told him to put a snake on a pole and lift it up so the people could see it. When they looked at it, they were healed and did not die.
Conquers the People (Nicodemus) remained silent, listening to the words of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
16-17“The Great Spirit loves this world of human beings so deeply he gave us his Son—the only Son who fully represents him. All who trust in him and his way will not come to a bad end, but will have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony. Creator did not send his Son to decide against the people of this world, but to set them free from the worthless ways of the world.
REFLECTION
from John
I have empathy for Nicodemus. Jesus is being cryptic here and the guy just wants to make it make sense!
In fact, I still have the same questions for Jesus that Nicodemus had… If seeing heaven requires being “born again,” how do I do that? I can’t even remember my physical birth. How am I supposed to figure out the process of a spiritual birth?
My memory does not go back 31 years to my first days of being a human, but it does reach back at least six years to when I joined Church at the Park. In those days, I was the only one in our community paid to be there. I was an outsider. With some responsibility and expectation… and authority.
And it was hard. I was scared. There were real moments spent in the fetal position on my floor, bent by the anxiety of an environment that did not make sense to me, the pressure not to fail or hurt anyone.
The only thing that allowed my back to straighten was learning to be vulnerable in front of the people I was invited to serve. Weeping with my friends Kelly and Lori, asking for forgiveness from my friend Juanita, giving up decision-making to Dave, Burney, and Kristy. Receiving criticism from Kathy and Paddy. A commitment to stay, and listen and not turn my eyes away from every one of their struggles. And showing up the next day to discover that an ounce of trust had formed between us, that on the other side of my vulnerability existed grace and more intimate relationships.
And the capacity to see life and beauty around me.
It was a baptismal journey - a daily death and rebirth - that allowed me to see the reality of this community, to feel the breeze of divinity in our midst, and even become a truer, fuller, healed version of myself.
Six years ago, I needed this community of people to teach me what Jesus proclaims in the Beatitudes: that vulnerability is the pathway to blessing and the lens through which Heaven comes into focus. Today it is Jayce and Sophia and Ben and Dudley and Blanca, and the rest of the Village of Hope community who remind me the same thing.
These are the humans who give me what Jesus gave Nicodemus: an invitation to see a God who forsook Heaven to love the world. A God who disappeared into others’ pain so that life might be felt by all. A God who chose God’s own vulnerability as the solution to the problems of the world.
And permission to be vulnerable, so that Heaven might meet us on the other side.
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application
In your conversations this week, pay attention to the moments you find yourself pulled into a defensive posture. Instead of sinking into self-justification, try to remain attentive to the information being share with you.
Non-Violent Communication Question of the Week
When we have big feelings swell up in us, it can be easy to move quickly into action as a strategy for avoiding the feeling. This week, see how long you can stay with your feelings before moving into action.
Pathway Toward Center
Nature (drawing near to God through the natural world):
Take a 10-15 minute walk outside each day this week. At the start of each walk, choose a color to pay attention to. Notice everywhere that color appears in the world around you. Reflect on God’s creativity as you walk and pay attention.
Questions for Reflection
Where are you allowed to be your most vulnerable self?
How can you create more spaces of permission for others to be vulnerable?
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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