Identity

A friend of mine was watching the Baltimore Ravens completely implode and self-destruct on Sunday at a bar. He left feeling a bit self conscious about the Ed Reed jersey he was wearing. It is interesting how we identify ourselves. I have never seen my friend Wade wear any clothing that had an endorsement for anything on it except shirts and ball caps from the different schools at which he has taught. I’m pretty sure that he does this on purpose although I have never asked him about it.
A few weeks ago I noticed a young man sitting in front of me in church. He had covered the front of his Bible with a Bush-Chaney bumper sticker. It would seem that the protestant church has been so saturated by the right wing conservative movement that there is barely a distinction between the two. The distinction between conservatives and Christians has gone from a point of confusion to direct identification and because of that factoid a young man can get away with covering his faith with his politics. I suppose that is not a fair assessment of the young man’s purpose, but that is my point. When we choose a point of identification for ourselves it almost never produces the reaction or the effect of our liking let alone our intention.
In South Carolina, where my father lives, men and women alike derive a sense of identity from their affiliation with one of many college football teams. It consumes most of their activity and conversation. I find it to be a healthy diversion from life in that it is social interaction that barely etches below the very surface of existence and yet somehow these folk share a deep bond and I firmly believe that any of them would truly take a bullet for my father. He spent last weekend with us, my father did. Several times he used the term “born-a-gens”. “Chick-Fil-A, you gotta be a born-a-gen to own one of those.” “So-and-so quit coaching football and became a born-a-gen”. “They say George W. Bush is a born-a-gen”. It is a term with which he would never identify himself no matter what he believes. I don’t blame him. I feel the same way.
I come to a dilemma though when I read the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3:

5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
9"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

My father has an almost comical view of people who identify themselves as born again. He certainly does not see them as mysterious people born of the Spirit. Like I said earlier the identity that we choose for ourselves hardly ever brings about the intended effect, the desired change in our person, which is because the truth can’t be hidden by a moniker, by a label, by a bumper sticker or by a football jersey. The truth is still there and it speaks loudly; the Ravens are undisciplined and suck badly, politicians are shifty, Christians are in a messy situation of being filthy people trying to reflect the perfect glory. As my pal Nicodemus asked, “How can this be?”