March 1

Elemental: Birth by Pastor Jeff Cloeter

Jesus’ ministry dealt with basic elements.  Bread. Birth. Water. Sight. Grief. Power.  He spoke of and worked with things that are common to all of us. The Savior is not alien to our lived human experience. His ministry took ordinary elements of life and drew out something extraordinary. These basic elements are found in every era, from the first to the twenty-first century.  Our Lenten journey to the cross will examine elements in John’s gospel and ask, “How do we see the Person of Jesus Christ more clearly through this element?”

Today we consider birth in John 3. We celebrate birthdays because we recognize the gift of our lives. Life IS a gift – we do not choose to be born. For a baby, birth is a passive event. Jesus uses the language of birth to get at the difference between life “above” and life “below.”

John 3:1-17