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The Bart Simpson Defense

This post is drawn from an Op-Ed piece that I wrote in 2008 for The Herald, the student newspaper at Cornerstone University. At the time I was provost of Cornerstone and regularly wrote opinion pieces for the paper. The only real change that I have made from my 2008 piece is some updating of the Hall of Shame.

I begin with an admission that although The Simpson is the longest running scripted show in television history, it is definitely not one of my favorites. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have actually watched an episode all the way through. However, if one watches any Fox network programming such as NFL games or NASCAR races, which I do, one will be exposed to Simpson commercials. In one unforgettable commercial, Bart is accused of doing something wrong. His response has become known as the infamous Bart Simpson Defense: “I didn’t do it….You didn’t see me….You can’t prove it.”

Within the context of a cartoon family such a statement may appear funny. I must admit that on occasion when asked by my wife the whereabouts of the iced tea that she had made, I will reply, “I didn’t do it….You didn’t see me….You can’t prove it.” Both my wife and I understood completely what I was saying. It was obvious that my statement was an attempt at a humorous confession of guilt.

Unfortunately, almost every day, we hear entertainers, athletes, politicians, and even ministers say in effect in all seriousness, “I didn’t do it….You didn’t see me….You can’t prove it.”  Are they really trying to convince us that they didn’t do it? The hall of shame list seems unending — Brittany Spears, Floyd Landis, Mel GIbson, Marion Jones, Spiro Agnew, Jim Bakker, Mark Mcquire, Lindsay Lohan, Pete Rose and Martha Stewart are names almost everyone recognizes. There are other names that are somewhat less familiar. However, if we were to attach particular descriptors to these names most people would recognize the situation — Ken Lay and Jeff Skiling with Enron; Charles Graner and Lynndie England wtih Abu Ghraib; Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken with insider trading; William Jefferson with “$90,000 of frozen assets” found in his freezer; Jayson Blair and the New York Times with a revoked Pultizer Prize; Ted Haggard and his removal from the leadership of the National Association of Evangelicals. Over the years related to this phenomenon, we have been introduced to expressions that will always be associated with the speaker. Richard Nixon will always be remembered for his statement, “I am not a crook.” BIll Clinton will go down in history for his assertion, “I did not have sex with that woman.”

“I didn’t do it….You didn’t see me….You can’t prove it.”  This trio of expressions begins with a personal denial. The speaker is asking the recipient to trust him or her. The ability to trust the speaker depends upon his or her reputation and relationship with the recipient. The second expression throws the burden of proof onto the recipient. Did the recipient actually see any transgressions? If not, the speaker is claiming his or her innocence. The third expression raises the level of proof even higher. It throws the case into a legal sense, where the burden of proof is even higher. It must be “beyond a shadow of doubt” as judged by a jury of one’s peers.

Since I wrote the first version of this essay in 2008, unfortunately the Hall of Shame has added a number of new celebrities from all areas of public life. The most tested cyclist of all time, Lance Armstrong finally gave up defending himself, essentially admitting blood doping. He was stripped of his Tour de France wins and banned from all competitive sports. In baseball, all-star and MVP, Ryan Braun accepted a suspension, and in effect admitted use of a banned substance. In line right behind Braun is Alex Rodriquez. The evidence is piling up against A-Rod, who is now facing a stiffer suspension than Braun. In football, college star and potential NFL star, Manti Te’o had to admit lying about a fake girlfriend. Another football star, Aaron Hernandez is facing direct murder charges and possible charges in two other murders. Tyson Gay, Olympic track and field star, has failed a number of recent drug tests and been suspended from upcoming track participation.NY politician Anthony Weiner, who had already admitted inappropriate texting of explicit photos, has been caught again in the same behavior. San Diego major Bob Filner is under fire for inappropriate behavior toward women. He has admitted “having a problem” and checked himself into a rehab program. He has indicated that he hopes this will satisfy his critics and that he will be able to maintain his political career. Celebrity cook Paula Dean had admitted using racial insensitive language. As a result she has lost her television show and many endorsement deals. Actress Amanda Bynes is facing hospitalization for her wild behavior.

For those who use the Bart Simpson defense something very important is missing. That something is the realization of personal responsibility. Some individuals eventually reach the point of saying, “I did it and I’m sorry.” Many do not. Track star Marion Jones finally admitted the use of performance-enhancing drugs and plead guilty to lying to federal investigators. In a tearful apology, Jones said, “It’s with a great shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust….”  On the other hand in a letter asking for leniency just prior to a sentencing hearing, football star Michael Vick wrote “I am not the bad person or the beast I’ve been made out to be.”

In chapter 12 of II Samuel, the prophet Nathan tells King David a story of a rich man taking advantage of a poor man. David is incensed and demands to know the identity of this rich man. Nathan tells him that he is the culprit himself. Nathan then confronts David with what he did with Uriah and Bathsheba. David immediately recognizes what he had done and says, “I have sinned against the Lord.” David does not try to claim his innocence, indict his accuser, or challenge the evidence against him. David did not use the Bart Simpson defense. David accepted full responsibility and asked God for forgiveness.

We see what happens to public figures when they are caught doing something they shouldn’t. We see what happens when they claim, “I didn’t do it….You didn’t see me….You can’t prove it.” What will happen the next time that you or I do something wrong and we are confronted with it? What should we expect of ourselves? What does God expect of us?

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Judgment Day is Coming

Recently, our pastor, Rev. Greg Wahlberg, at Calvary Baptist Church in York PA,  used the idea of a family reunion as the introduction to his Sunday morning message. Pastor Wahlberg began his message on June 30, 2013,  by recounting the joys and sorrows of family reunions. The biggest joy has to be seeing again our family and those that we love. The biggest sorrow, aside from missing those who couldn’t attend,  has to be feeling and seeing the disappointment in the faces of family members that we have failed to please.

Pastor Wahlberg used the parable of the Parable of the Talents from chapter 25 of Matthew’s gospel, as the scriptural text for his message. In particular, he focused his message on one verse, Matthew 25:21

His lord said unto him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (KJV)

Pastor Wahlberg made the point that a reunion day is coming for the family of God, that is all individuals who have accepted the gift of salvation offered through the sacrifice of Christ. This reunion will occur at the judgment day of Christ where our works will be judged to determine if they are gold, silver, wood, hay or stubble. If they are gold and silver, we will be rewarded with a “Well done, good and faithful servant.” If they are wood, hay or stubble, they will be burnt up. We will be saved, but so as by fire as Paul noted in I Corinthians 3:11 – 15:

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (KJV)

Returning to the verse Matthew 25:21, Pastor Wahlberg noted that there are three things the words “well” and “good” modify.He continued by focusing our attention on those three ideas.

The first idea to which “well” referred was the quality of our work. The servants that had been given the two and five talents doubled their master’s money. The quality of their work was excellent. It met or exceeded the normal human expectations for return on investment.

This point got me to thinking about the motivational basis of our work. There has been an ongoing discussion on an academic discussion board in which I participate about whether faculty members should be motivated by rewards or duty. In this summer season, as we have celebrated Memorial Day, Independence Day and the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, it is a question that many are asking about service to our country, the United States of America. No matter what season, this is a question we need to ask ourselves about our service to God. Should we be motivated by a sense of obligation, a sense of duty, an expectation of reward, or a sense of love? I believe we can find the answer in I John 4:10 – 19.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us. (KJV)

The second idea to which “well” referred was the completion or completeness of one’s work. The word “done” says it all. Pastor Wahlberg reminded us of Christ’s prayer, in John 17:4, just before his crucifixion,

I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. (KJV)

Completion of work in a timely fashion and the completeness of one’s work in academic circles usually raises many debates and arguments. At Judgment Day, there will be no extra time allowed. There will be no opportunity to make up work. There will be no extra credit allowed. The assignment will be judged on its quality and whether it is completed, at the given due date.

If those two aspects weren’t enough, Matthew 25:21 suggests at least one more factor on which we will be judged. That factor is the quality is our character. Note the verse praises the servant as a “good and faithful” servant. Good and faithful are attributes of one’s character.

Can people count on you “to be good”?  “To be good” is usually understood  to do what is right, even if that is not convenient or advantageous for you to do so. Do you have a reputation for being good? Proverbs 22:1 suggests one very good reason for seeking a good reputation

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. (KJV)

 I Peter 2:11 – 16 is more specific:

11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. (KJV)

There in verse 16 is that word “servant” again. We must be “good servants.”

Now the second desirable attribute of our character suggested in Matthew 25 was the trait of being “faithful.” What does it mean to be faithful? Two ideas came to my mind. The first is the idea of loyalty. Are we loyal to our God and Saviour?

One scriptural passage that speaks to loyalty is Luke 16:12 & 13:

12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

The second idea associated with loyalty was the idea of being committed to another. It is as in the marriage ceremony where the bride and groom pledge their troth (or trust) to each other. Troth is a Norse word that means true or truth.

The questions then remain: Are  we good and faithful? Is our work good and done well? Judgment day is coming!

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An Unexpected Joy

One of my favorite bloggers, Tara Fall, in a recent series of posts on her blog “Finding Strength To Stand Again” raised the topic of resiliency. She did it with the seemingly benign question of whether there is something in some people that makes them more resilient than others.

One of the unexpected joys that I have experienced with my aphasia is the excitement of discovering new words or rediscovering lost words. When I read Tara’s post “Question and Answer Week 2-b,”  the word resilient just jumped off the screen at me. My immediate reaction was I know that word from my recent battles with epilepsy, hallucinations, dysenesthesia, and aphasia. However, I also had a feeling that I was missing something. My academic background kicked in and I started researching the concept of resiliency.

Very quickly, I realized what had bothered me with the word “resilient.” A number of different definitions are in common use. I found this somewhat ironic in that the same day I read Tara’s post, I became part of a discussion thread that involved academics and professional people from all over the world. The thread began with the question, “What is a professor?”

Immediately people jumped into the discussion arguing about whether the word represented a title or a job position. In the course of the thread, as happens so often in academic discussions, some one raised the question about the difference between colleges and universities. At this point a contributor suggested that what we needed were certain words with “reserved definitions” so that confusions like this would be avoided. My reaction was, “That would be nice, but it isn’t going to happen.”

Returning to the word resilient, the first use that came to my mind was the ability to take a blow or weather the storm and bounce right back up. The victim comes back stronger than before. We see it in television commercials and news reports all the time. We are reminded of the 9/11 tragedy and the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. Immediately after the Boston Marathon Bombing, news reports, especially sports reports, highlighted the idea of being Boston-strong. Every evening, we are reminded that the New Jersey shore is open again for tourists, because “we’re stronger than the storm.” We’ve seen the same sentiment in New Orleans and Oklahoma.

What were the other definitions and questions that were running around in my head? The first involved the research that I had done about the idea of neuro-plasticity in relation to my situation. In my readings I found a number of scientists who said that my condition “was what it was, and I should learn to live with it.” Other scientists said that it was possible for people to change their brains to relearn skills or learn new skills to replace the ones that were lost. In a sense, this was a type of recovery. However, the scientist took great pains to emphasize that it wasn’t the former individual. In a real sense, it was a new individual. This is a slightly different view of resiliency. It still holds some hope for victims that they can become new individuals with new skills that in some sense may replace the ones that they lost. However, they will not be their “old selves.”  They will be someone different with different strengths and skills.

Many of the neuroscientists  I read concerning brain plasticity, referenced a new growing science of resiliency. As I researched this, I found it has quite a following among environmentalists, entomologists, and medical researchers studying bacteria and viruses. For these scientists, the primary idea is that one species or environmental state changes or evolves in ways that ensure the survival of the species or environmental state. Resiliency refers to the survival of the whole, not the survival or well-being of the individual. I am still trying to figure out what this has to do with neuro-plasticity.

More research on resiliency lead me to a fourth definition. This definition came from the popular psychologists associated with Psychology Today. In a series of posts they suggested that pyschology has identified factors that make some people resilient, while others wilt under pressure. The resilience factors were an optimistic outlook on life. These individuals are almost always positive. They have the power to regulate their emotions. This struck me hard. Prior to my TBI, I was always known as being even keeled, with my emotion under control. After the TBI with damage to my right temporal lobe, I have much more trouble controlling my emotions. I erupt much more easily. The third attribute of resilient people was that they could accept criticism  well, and could see failure as a form of helpful feedback. When Edison was asked if he was discouraged when experiment after experiment failed when he was trying to invent the light bulb, his answer could have been the battle cry of the resilient ones: “Of course not. I now know a thousand things that won’t work. I will soon find the one that works.”

But I wasn’t done with resiliency. Some lines from a hymn kept playing in my head. As usual, I had only part of the words, so I had to do a search to find the hymn. The words that were echoing in my head were, “When sea billows roll.,” I was more than slightly embarrassed when I discovered it was one of the most popular hymns of all of Christianity, “It Is Well with My Soul.”  

The words of the first stanza are

When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to know [say], It is well; it is well with my soul.

The story behind this hymn involves a tragic sea accident. The words were written by Horatio Spafford just after he got a telegram from his wife informing him that only she was safe. She had to tell him that all four of his children were killed when the ship on which they were traveling to Europe sank. Spafford was a modern day Job. Almost everything he loved was taken from him. His response was “Praise be to God.”

I don’t believe that it is inherent to us. It is a gift of a loving father to his children. If we accept God’s grace, we like Job can say,

…, ‘Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ (Job 1:21 KJV)

This final type of resiliency is a resiliency built upon faith in a power outside of ourselves. I have seen it my life. I can truly say, “We serve a God of miracles, not a God dedicated to our convenience.” We should reply with our tears, like the father asking Jesus to heal his sick child. When asked if he believed,  the father replied,

Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. (Mark 9:24b KJV)

“Lord, give me your resiliency. Help me in my unbelief.”

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Beware the Ides of March

“Beware the Ides of March” is the warning that a soothsayer whispered to Caesar in Act 1 Scene 2 of the Shakespearean play “Julius Caesar.” Because of the noise of the crowd through which Caesar and his entourage were walking, Caesar didn’t understand the words. Ironically, it is Brutus who tells Caesar that the man is warning him about the Ides of March.

The word “Ides” is one of the three named days of the month of the Roman calendar. “Kalends” was the first day of the month. “Nones” was the seventh day of the month; and “Ides” was approximately the 15th or the middle of the month.

With the help of Shakespeare, the phrase “Ideas of March” gained a sense of foreboding in the European world. It carried the same connotation that “Friday the 13th” invokes in today’s world. They are superstitions, irrational and unfounded beliefs in objects or signs having magical power to control peoples’ lives.

For Christians, superstitions are akin to idolatry. It is attributing the providence of God to something else. Nothing is done outside of God’s control or permission. To believe otherwise is really a transgression against the first commandment:

“You shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3 KJV).

This concept is explicated in Isaiah 46:

“9Remember the former things of old: For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.

10Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times the things that are not yet done, Saying, My counsel shall stand, And I will do all my pleasure:

11Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (KJV)

Living by superstitions leaves the door open for Satan to take control of the situation and us, as is described in I Peter 5:8,

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (KJV)

In Act 17:22, Paul on a missionary visit to Athens proclaimed:

“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars of Mars Hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.” (KJV)

For several years, March has been a rough month for me. However, I do not believe that March is a bad month. In March 2007, I had a sinus infection that developed into bronchitis. In March 2009, I had the stroke-like episode with an imploding brain tumor. In March 2010, I had a bout with pneumonia. In March 2011, I had a pacemaker implant.

Several weeks ago, in March 2013, I had what appeared to be a heart-attack, but it turned out to be a gallbladder attack. I had to have my gallbladder removed. Fortunately they were able to take it out via a laperoscope. However, before they were able to get it out, my gallbladder pumped infection throughout my body. I spent more than a week in the hospital. At first they thought the infection might have affected my heart. However, a stress test showed that my heart is as strong and overall as healthy as it has been all along. The stress test technician said that my stress test result was the best that he had seen for many months. My heart is strong. The only problem is that the beat is irregular. I just don’t have rhythm. The infection did cause me some urinary bladder problems. I had to carry a bag for almost two weeks. The catheter is out but my bladder may not be emptying properly. Please pray for God’s continual healing in this matter. Catheters are a pain and bags are extremely inconvenient.

All the health problems of this March have set back my writing agenda. I have ideas piling up. I hope to be able to return to writing soon. However, the hallucinations, cross-sensory perceptions and inability to concentrate continue to plague me at times. My neurology team has tried several new medications. The only change I noticed is that I am having more vivid dreams. I almost have a sense of what Samuel Taylor Coleridge experienced. I can see Xanadu more clearly now.

I had two excellent doctors’ appointments in early April. I am free of the catheter and bag for at least three weeks as long as I’m a good boy and drink lots and LOTS of water. The urologist was amazed that my retention in a follow-up appointment was only half of what it was in the first appointment. She said that was great and very, very unusual. I told her prayer still works.

At the second appointment, the surgeon also said that I am an unusually good healer. My surgery scars are healing as well as he has ever seen. He said that I am truly a “young man” in terms of parts of my body. He said that it shows that I have taken good care of myself over the years. I told him I had some help from above. Both my cardiologist and my surgeon have given me clearance to get back on the stationary bike, so hopefully I will be back in the swing of things by this coming week. My legs are getting restless for work. Please pray with me that my brain will return to clarity so that I can return to writing.

I do not have to worry or be afraid of the Ides of March. I may not understand God’s reasoning, but I can’t question his power or mercy. He has shown his power and mercy over and over again. I have had many opportunities to meet and talk with people that I otherwise would not have contacted. I can do nothing else but praise His name and thank Him for His goodness to me.

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Let Us Be Gentle, Joseph: Part II – Nicodemus and Joseph

This is a continuation of my previous post, Let Us Be Gentle, Joseph: Part I – Nicodemus. It refers to a lesson that I wrote and delivered at our church in Michigan before we moved to Pennsylvania. The inspiritation of the lesson was a small book of poetry by John Anderson Barbour entitled Let Us Be Gentle, Joseph. I finished the first post with the idea that Barbour’s poetry provides a window into the soul of Nicodemus and a mirror which reflects an image of our souls.

After Nicodemus met with Jesus in the upper room, Nicodemus is mentioned only twice more in scriptures. In John 7, there is an account of a dispute between the Pharisees and the Temple Guards. The Pharisees had ordered the Temple Guards to bring Jesus into court before the Pharisees to stand trial for blasphemy. When the Temple Guards didn’t follow this directive, the excuse they gave was “Never spake man like this” (v 46). The Pharisees quickly responded, “Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?” (vs 47,48)  Apparently, Nicdoemus had kept quiet about his encounter with Jesus. However, he did choose at this moment to speak up. He stopped the proceedings and said, “Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” (v 51) The Pharisees tired to shut Nicodemus down by pointing out that both he and Jesus were from Galilee. Then the Pharisees asked Nicodemus if any prophet ever came from Galilee.

Nicodemus again fades from view in scriptures until he and Joseph of Arimathea come together at Calvary. John’s account of this incident in verses 38 to 42 of Chapter 19, tells us that although Joseph was a believer, he was a silent believer because he was afraid of the Jews. However, with the crucifion everything changed. Nicodemus and Joseph both came out the shadows. They claimed Christ’s body in order to give it a proper Jewish burial.

This is where Barbour’s poem (of the same name as his book) Let Us Be Gentle, Joseph picks up the story:

How gaunt he looks
with outstretched arms
and bloody hands and side.

Let us be gentle, Joseph
as we take his body down
and bathe the ugly wounds
which hate has made.
Can it be that this is he
who said that star-illumined night
“Believe in me,
and you shall have life
which has no end”?
And yet he lies here dead
beneath our hand.
Let us lay him gently in the tomb.
and wait–
for surely the day will come.

For Nicodemus, Joseph, Mary, Peter, John, and the other disciples, the first day of resurrection did come quickly. Althought, it was only three days, I’m sure those three days felt like an eternity. We know that day did come. Now it is our turn to wait for a second day. However, because the first day came, we know “surely the [second] day will come.”

While we wait for it, we have two things to do: The first is to make sure others know of the first resurrection day. The second is to watch for the second day. We stand with John as he ended his Revelation: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

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Let Us Be Gentle, Joseph: Part I – Nicodemus

 

This posting is excerpted from the last lesson I gave in our church in MIchigan in April 2012 prior to our move to Pennsylvania. It is a very different type of message from the ones that I normally delivered before the explosion in my head. My earlier lessons were built on what I believed to be a solid Biblical foundation constructed through an analytic study of scripture, bathed in prayer. After the study and prayer, with God’s help I would raise the framework of the sermon and then clad it with pictures and metaphors, supplied by God, illustrating my main points.

This message was put together in a very different way. It did not begin with an analytic foundation. It was inspired by a book of poetry that I have no idea how I came to possess. As I was cleaning up my library and preparing to pack some books, sell some, and give the rest away, I found a very small book of poetry hiding between two of my topical study books. I almost overlooked it, but it fell to the floor when I pulled two Warren Wiersbe books off the shelf. Picking up the little book. I was fascinated by its title, which was Let Us Be Gentle, Joseph: A Devotional Journey. I didn’t recognize the name of the author, John Anderson Barbour. I began reading it and soon found that I had read all 46 pages of the book while sitting on a box of books that I had just finished packing.

Since I didn’t know the author I tried looking for more information about him and the book. According to Amazon.com, the book is out of print. They only list three used copies available in the whole U. S., priced from $14.95 to $61.95. I’ve gone to several other sources, and the only other books written by Barbour since this 1973 publication were Bible story books for children. Barbour just seemed to disappear after 1978. Even the publisher, T. S. Denison & Company, Inc. of Minneapolis, seemed to vanish in 1986.

I am reprising my last message in our Michigan church for this post. In it, I am trying to give you some pictures of the gospel story that I never saw anywhere else. These stories are not meant to replace or displace the eloquent and forceful, straight forward truth of the gospel account from scripture.

In John, chapter 3 we are introduced to a Pharisee, named Nicodemus. This very familiar story is found in John 3:1-16. Knowing the hatred that many Pharisees had toward Christ, it is not hard to imagine why Nicodemus went to see Jesus under the cover of darkness. What is hard to understand is why Nicodemus wanted to talk to Christ in the first place.

Nicodemus opens the conversation by giving Jesus an honor rarely afforded by a Pharisee to someone other than another Pharisee. Nicodemus addresses him as “Rabbi” and “a teacher come from God” (v 2). Without really coming out and saying what was on his mind, he indicates that he recognizes that Jesus must have come from God because of the things that Jesus had done. These miracles could not have been the works of a mere mortal.

Since Jesus is God, Jesus knows what’s on Nicodemus’ heart and mind, and gets right to the point. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (v 5). Without pausing, Christ continues by introducing a phrase that has characterized Christians ever since: “Ye must be born again” (v 7).

Nicodemus then asks the question that everyone who wants to come to God must consider, “How can these things be?” Christ chides Nicodemus a little by asking him, “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” (v 10) Jesus then zeros in on the problem. Nicodemus is thinking in earthly terms and Jesus was speaking spiritual and heavenly truths.

Jesus gives Nicodemus one more metaphor tying a spiritual reality to an earthly object lesson. As a Pharisee, Nicodemus would have been very familiar with the story of Moses and the serpent lifted up in the wilderness which saved any Israelite who looked toward it. Something had to die so that man could live. This was the basis of the Jewish system of sacrifices for the atonement of sins.

At this point Jesus knows that Nicodemus is ready for the new gospel message. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (v 16).

At this point Nicodemus fades away and the Biblical account follows Jesus and his disciples to Judea, where they meet up with John the Baptist, who was preaching and baptizing people, proclaiming the imminent coming of the Messiah.

We are left wondering what happened to Nicodemus. Barbour’s poem Nicodemus gives us a picture of what might have occurred next.

You understand
it would not be discreet
for a person of some prominence
to be seen with him.
Some say he claims to be God’s son;
some that Caesar’s throne
is no in jeopardy;
and there are those who talk
with starry eyes
about the happiness he brings,
of stunted limbs
and scaly flesh made whole;
and so I climbed the stairs by night.

How will I tell the Council that I know
beyond a shadow of doubt
this son of man is love personified
and that because of him
I have been born again?

Barbour’s poem is not scripture and definitely not included in the official canon, but it paints a picture that resonates with me. It provides a window into the soul of Nicodemus and other humans. It also provides me a mirror which reflects an image of my soul. I can definitely see myself in it. I find myself in his words. “How will I tell [others] that I know beyond a shadow of doubt…that because of him I have been born again?”

This post is to be continued in Let Us Be Gentle, Joseph Part II – Nicodemus and Joseph.