In today’s passage I see three kinds of disappointment and false hope which Jesus confronts head-on.
First is the disappointment of superstition, second is the disappointment of ritualized religion, and third is the disappointment of sin. In keeping with the water metaphor, I’d beg your forgiveness as we consider each of these using the motif of treacherous water, contrasting them with the living water of Jesus.
Why does Jesus push back against requests for signs and wonders? Why not just do everything we want him to do? Netflix and YouTube are “on-demand” … why not God? Why does Jesus push back when the royal official asks for a sign? Why does he push back when we come to him asking for help? I can think of at least three reasons.
Under cover of darkness, surrounded by the mysteries of the heavens, under ten thousand pinpricks of light that peer through the celestial ink to hint at something more, Nicodemus secretly comes to Jesus.
David Morse has a face you would recognize from his long list of appearances in films and television, but it’s not likely that you would recognize his name. Morse has seldom had the role of a lead actor, and doesn’t generally want to. He is content to be a highly sought after, very skillful, supporting actor.
If you’ve been to other parts of the world, chances are you’ve seen an ancient temple. Although we don’t find them much in North America, temples are common features in most older cultures. From Asian temples like Angkor Wat, to Egyptian temples honoring Isis and Osiris, to Incan temples in the Yucatan, to the classical Greek Acropolis some temples are in use today, but most are just empty relics of days gone by.
