Again and Again--Above and Beyond

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on the Second Sunday of Lent, February 17, 2007.

Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-17

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

The Congressional Medal of Honor is bestowed on a member of the United States Armed Forces who is distinguished “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.”[1]

Serving in the Navy in the War in Afghanistan, on 28 June, 2005 Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading a reconnaissance patrol in a fight against superior numbers, exposing himself to hostile fire in order to call for help.[2]

During the Battle of Mogadishu on 3 October, 1993, Army Master Sergeant Gary I. Gordon and Army Sergeant First Class Randall D. Shughart were awarded the Medal of Honor for volunteering to secure a helicopter crash site while under heavy enemy fire until relief could arrive.[3]

These medals were awarded posthumously.

Probably the most famous honoree is Audie Murphy. Later a Hollywood star, while a Second Lieutenant fighting in France, Murphy served in the 15th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division. Reading from his Medal of Honor Citation:

Second Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy … on 26 January 1945, near Holtzwihr, France, commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. Lieutenant Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him to his right one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. Lieutenant Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, Lieutenant Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer which was in danger of blowing up any instant and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to the German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate Lieutenant Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he personally killed or wounded about 50. Lieutenant Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective.[4]

The principle of service above and beyond the call of duty is the standard which sets Medal of Honor recipients above other soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Honorees often voluntarily accept missions where death is nearly certain and many pay with their lives. Of all of the men and women who have served this country in uniform since the modern initiation of this medal during the Civil War, fewer than 3,500 have been awarded this, our military’s highest honor.

This principle of “above and beyond” is shown again and again in the military heroes who have received it. I could go on; but I also find these concepts, above and beyond—again and again, in our reading from Matthew’s gospel.

We begin with Nicodemus who hears from Jesus, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above”[5] or depending on your translation, “unless he is born again.”[6] So rather than seeing this as an either/or translation, we should more properly say that according to Jesus, we must be born from above and we must be born again.

This is one of those times when the Greek language geek in me gets a workout. The word used in the Greek version of this verse can be translated into English as either “from above” or “again.”[7] It can also mean “from the beginning” or “anew.” And while each of these English translations colors the meaning of the verse a little differently, I like the way that each of these translations tell us a little something different about what Jesus meant when he said this.

When Jesus tells us we are to be born from above, he gives us the knowledge that the rebirth comes from a source, it is not something that we can do ourselves. To be born from above means that the power of the Lord through the work of the Holy Spirit comes upon us as the children of God. In this way we are born from above.

To be born again is to tell us that our first birth is not enough, not for the kingdom of God. Our first birth, the physical birth we experienced like Cain and Abel, is not enough. As Jesus tells Nicodemus, only a second birth, not like the one we had in the fluid of our mother’s womb, but a rebirth like the one we receive in the waters of our baptism through the power of the Holy Spirit. This being born again is necessary to be born again and bring us into the kingdom of God.

To be born from the beginning gives us the perspective of starting life again without the weight of the baggage of our former lives. As Nicodemus says, it is impossible to enter the womb a second time; so to be born from the beginning must be a completely new beginning. In Romans, Paul talks about living under the law and under the wrath it brings. We need to be born from the beginning so that we may live in God’s grace, not under God’s law. The law punishes the flesh; grace gives us all a new beginning.

To be born anew, when we look at these other definitions, these other translations, together we can come into birth anew and with it life anew. To be born anew reminds us of the birth from the womb we receive from our mothers and fathers. Through them we receive the gift of life. To be born anew points us to the one who provides the source of this first birth and this new birth, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus says, “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” To be born anew points to the bath that we receive in the waters of our baptism, the waters of our second birth. To be born anew is to leave an old life in the flesh behind in favor of one given by the Spirit of God. To be born anew is to be given a fresh start with God and God’s people as the body of Christ, the church. To be born anew is to be born, with all of the promise of new life in the kingdom of God.

To give us new life, Jesus will give his. We are in the second week of Lent, and over Lent’s forty days, we will journey along with Jesus on his journey. We take this trek through the Judean wilderness until we reach Jerusalem, the upper room, Pilate’s court, and the cross. We take this journey again and again. We take it every year during this holy season from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

Where we take this trip annually, Jesus takes this trip once, but for our sake gloriously once is enough. Because of his one trip, he is able to take us along from that day through the end of eternity. Doing this, he goes above and beyond the call of duty of any man. But with thanks and praise, he is not any man; he is the Son of Man and the Son of God.

And with thanks and praise, by grace through faith we can say this is true, we can say this is true. We can say with peace and surety that whoever believes in him may have eternal life for God so loved the world that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

It is on his cross that Jesus will die, and it is from his tomb he will rise again, and it is in his Spirit through the waters of our baptism that we will be born from above, again, from the beginning, anew.

[1] Department of the Army (2002-07-01). Section 578.4 Medal of Honor. Code of Federal Regulations Title 32, Volume 2. Government Printing Office. Retrieved on 2006-07-23. Gender specific language in original text. Yes, I know the addition of “Congressional” is a misnomer, but it is the common name for the medal so I have used it here for the sake of clarity.
[2] List of Medal of Honor Recipients, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Medal_of_Honor_recipients, retrieved on February 16, 2008.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Audie Murphy’s Medal of Honor, http://www.audiemurphy.com/award1.htm, retrieved on February 16, 2008.
[5] John 3:3, New Revised Standard Version
[6] John 3:3, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation
[7] anothen, The Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, edited by Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, in cooperation with the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, Münster/Westphalia, Fourth Edition (with the same text as the Nestle-Aland 27th Edition of the Greek New Testament), Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft; Stuttgart, 1966, 1968, 1975 by the United Bible Societies (UBS) and 1993, 1994 by (German Bible Society)