“Born of the Wind” (John 3:1-17)

John 3:1-17

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“Born of the Wind,” John 3:1-17
Pastor Tom Johnson, March 8, 2020

Jesus compares the Holy Spirit to the wind. In fact, it is stronger than a comparison. It is the same word. Pneuma. It is an onomatopoeic word—it’s a word that sounds like what it is. Pneuma. It means wind, breath, spirit. “The wind blows where it chooses,” Jesus says, “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 born of the Spirit.” So it is with everyone born of the spirit, the breath, the wind of God.

During the winter months, I still try to run outside as much as possible. I do not like the treadmill. But I have to dress for the cold if I choose to run outside. I’ve learned that the temperature outside only tells part of the story. Wind is another huge part of the equation. Meteorologists call it windchill. If the wind is strong enough it can make 30 degrees feel like 10 degrees. With each increment of 10 mile-per-hour of wind, I have learned to put on additional layer. But when I check the wind speed on my phone, it only tells me what the wind is doing at that moment. I may go out and feel little to no wind. Or it may be so strong it feels like I am going to be knocked over. There is no way to really predict what the wind will do. But its effects and significance cannot be underestimated. I have never gone sailing but I hear from experienced sailors that the same could be said for riding the wind on the water. The same could be said for airline pilots, air traffic control, and even rocket scientists. The wind can quickly change one’s take off, landing, and direction up, down, or to the right or to the left.

V = boat speed, H = head wind, W = true wind, A = apparent wind,
α = pointing angle, β = angle of apparent wind

Nicodemus is a rabbinical leader—a teacher of Israel. I believe Jesus is not scolding him but ribbing him when he says, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?” “You don’t understand the Spirit of God?” Nicodemus should remember that from the beginning in Genesis chapter one, God’s Spirit—which also can be translated as the Wind of God was over the waters when he said, “Let there be light” and breathed heaven and earth into existence. Nicodemus should remember that God breathed into the nostrils of Adam’s lifeless body and he became a living human being, created in the image of God. God parted the waters of the Red Sea by a strong east wind. God’s people escaped slavery and death when the Spirit blew a path forward to the promised land.

So it is with the Holy Spirit, Jesus says. You can hear the wind but you cannot see the wind. It is invisible. Even hearing it will not tell you exactly where it is coming from, where it is going, and how slow or fast it travels. It is the Spirit of God—his breath and wind that blows into our world to renew his creation. This teaches a lot of what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. We cannot say with certainty what the Holy Spirit is doing anymore than we can take a snapshot of the wind and know it’s activity. But we do know that the breath and wind of God’s Holy Spirit comes from Cross of Christ. Jesus himself says that he must be lifted up and will draw all people to himself. The wind comes from whatever direction and goes in any direction it wants. But the wind of the Holy Spirit is always grace-ward. The Holy Spirit is a person. He is free to blow wherever he chooses. But he is fanned into flame by the love of God and Jesus who dies to break the power of sin, evil, and death.  His mission to draw us to the Cross and then carry us up into heaven underneath the sails of our faith like Eagles’ wings. And the wings that catch the wind of the Holy Spirit are faith and prayer. Prayerful trust in God will lead us in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Our job is to respect the freedom of the Holy Spirit to go and do whatever he chooses. Our call is to trust in his goodness of continuing to breath life and faith into our lives.

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were gathered for prayer and worship in the Temple. They did not know ahead of time that the Holy Spirit would come into their lives like a gale force and roaring wind that day. When the Holy Spirit showed up, he empowered them to speak the mighty works of God through Christ. The Holy Spirit gave them breath to share the good news of Jesus in all the diversity of languages and cultures in the world. He sent them out carried out by the wind of grace and joy beginning in Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. This is the same Holy Spirit that blows into our lives like a gale force wind through his Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. He breathes his spirit into our nostrils, ears, mouths, and hearts so that we are never the same. We are born of the Spirit from above. We are reborn of the wind. We are renewed by the breath of God.