Please find here some ideas from the Nicodemus Rotation © 2004, LD McKenzie. Written and developed for the children of St. John's United Church, Georgetown, Ont. (Canada).

Ideas described here include:

• Background notes

• Kitchen (Nic's Night Sky Cookies)

• Drama (Script for Shadow Puppet play, "Nic's Night Visit").

Click here for full Nicodemus lesson set on Rotation.ca .

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BACKGROUND NOTES

WHO WAS NICODEMUS?
John 3:1 tells us Nicodemus was a "Pharisee" and "leader of the Jews."

WHY IS HIS NIGHT VISIT SIGNIFICANT HERE?
In John 2, Jesus has just finished making a big scene, turning tables upside down in the temple and whatnot. Church types are definitely keeping a watchful eye on him.

WHAT IS A PHARISEE?
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines a Pharisee as: "a member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law...."


A DEEPER DESCRIPTION OF NICODEMUS.
Canadian scholar Northrop Frye provides an excellent contextual explanation of the figure of Nicodemus in a sermon called, "A Breath of Fresh Air," in the collection Northrop Frye on Religion. He writes this "is one of the few places in the Gospels where Jesus is shown directly dealing with the imaginative needs of an educated person. Nicodemus is a cultivated, intelligent, tolerant member of the Sanhedrin or Jewish council who is fascinated by Jesus, and wants him to have at the very least a fair hearing."

WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT SPIRITS BEING BORN ANEW?
In reply to Nicodemus's query about the source of Jesus's authority, Jesus has told him "no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above" (New Revised Standard Version). Nicodemus, thinking literally and having the self-confidence to say what we're all thinking out loud, responds with essentially, 'You've gotta be kidding.'

SO WHAT DOES BEING BORN FROM ABOVE REALLY MEAN?
Here's Frye again on this question. "The thing which is most difficult for Nicodemus to do is precisely what he is being challenged to do: to turn around and look his own cultural conditioning in the face... [The 'womb' Nicodemus speaks of] is the body of assumptions he acts on without examining."

LIGHT AND DARK IMAGERY.
In the quotation above, Frye uses the expression "to turn around." This phrase links Nicodemus's night visit to the theme of repentance. From there, this story also becomes linked to the body of reversal images and symbols that surround Jesus's life and teachings, as well as those that introduce and conclude this story.

WIND AND SPIRIT IMAGERY.
In these phrases, "the wind blows where it chooses…but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it must be with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (NRSV), Jesus connects wind imagery to this discussion of spiritual matters/kingdom of God.
Frye again provides helpful detail on this concept: "This world of air and light is what Jesus calls the kingdom of heaven. It is a world of the spontaneous freedom, the independent power of action, which the image of wind suggests. No such power is possible except on the basis of love, and the New Testament constantly insists that love and freedom are the same thing."

EVERLASTING LIFE.
In this world of air and light, spontaneous freedom and independent power of action, we have further context for the frequently cited verse at John 3:16 found in this story of Nicodemus's encounter with Jesus:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have everlasting life" (NRSV).

FRIENDSHIP WITH WISDOM.
In the story of this night meeting between Jesus and his intellectual peer and fellow student Nicodemus, readers can perhaps catch a glimpse of this liberating world of air and light.
Frye goes into more depth about matters of the spirit in another excellent piece, well worth reading, called "To Come to Light," in the same collection: "The wisdom books tell us that knowledge is the road to wisdom, and that wisdom is one of the most serious goals in life. At the same time it's constantly associated with the highest kind of pleasure. The Book of Proverbs speaks of wisdom as "playing" throughout the earth; the Book of Wisdom itself says that in the friendship of wisdom there is "pure delight."
A uncommon bond, at any rate, must account in part for Nicodemus's reappearance near the end of John's gospel (19:39), when he shows up with a costly bundle of embalming oils as Christ's body is taken down from the cross.

BOOK OF WISDOM 8:16 - 18.
To conclude, how can we improve on these verses from the Book of Wisdom of Solomon in the Apocrypha (NRSV) :

When I enter my house, I shall find rest with her [wisdom];
for companionship with her has no bitterness,
and life with her has no pain, but gladness and joy.
When I consider these things inwardly,
and pondered in my heart
that in kinship with wisdom there is immortality,
and in friendship with her, pure delight,
and in labors of her hands, unfailing wealth,
and in the experience of her company, understanding,
and renown in sharing her words,
I went about seeking how to get her for myself.

AMAZING ART.
Here's a neat visual piece that highlights the 'meeting of minds' as well as night visit aspects of this story. To see it, click this link: http://www.jesusmafa.com/anglais/imag12.htm .

Here as well are two links to the famous sculpture by Michelangelo of Nicodemus with the body of Christ. This first link takes you to a photo as well as neat essay on the piece: http://www2.students.sbc.edu/donelson01/michelangelopieta/Pieta.html .


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
- Describe the kind of man Nicodemus was.
- Were his questions for Jesus good or reasonable ones?
- Have you ever felt you needed to ask a 'silly question' from someone you admired or respected? Did you ask it or chicken out? How would you handle it next time?
- What does being 'born from above' mean to you?
- Why did Nicodemus visit Jesus at night?
- Does this story imply people of God are 'free spirits?'
- What do you think is the significance of wind in this story?
- What does everlasting life mean to you?
- Is this night visit the last we hear of Nicodemus in John's gospel?

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KITCHEN IDEA -- NIC'S NIGHT SKY COOKIES

These are simply your basic chocolate with white chocolate chips cookie. We wanted to emphasize the idea of the visit taking place at night, the whole light in the darkness thing. The kids liked the idea that the white chips represented stars in the night sky. Our leader did an excellent job of not burning the chocolate cookies (something I still haven't mastered), and this lab was a huge hit!

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DRAMA IDEA -- SHADOW PUPPET PLAY, 'NIC'S NIGHT VISIT.'

We thought shadow puppets again reinforced the dark/light context of this story. But neither the making of puppets nor acting out of script was going to take very long.

So we assembled the puppets and put on the play during the same workshop, using 2 leaders and dedicating 1 leader to each activity.

We had an utterly unfancy white tablecloth duct-taped between 2 sides of the accordion doors of our drama room. But after the windows were blacked out with garbage bags and the lights went out, the kids were thrilled with the results. (Big kids enjoyed helping construct the 'theatre.')

We exacto-ed a big J and N out of the middle of the humanoid figures. We exaggerated cutouts for eyes and mouths in our animal characters.

The kids love all the animals, noctural and less so, in this play. We rolled with the kids passions, and included the dolphin that one little girl wanted to include that drew her out of her shell. Lots of fun to see that dolphin leaping along during the animal chorus sections.

Here's that script:


NIC'S NIGHT VISIT

Script for Shadow Puppet Workshop, Nicodemus Rotation © February 2005, LD McKenzie (adapted from the New Standard Revised Version).

CAST: Nicodemus, Nic's dog Buddy, Jesus, owls, bats, raccoons, moon and stars.

Nicodemus:
Okay, Buddy. I think this is the place. It's so dark out here tonight. Only owls can see when it's this dark. [Put up owl puppets. Make owl hooting sounds]. What do you think?

Buddy:
Hound dog style howl.

Nic:
Buddy. Keep it down. I'm trying to keep this a secret. I don't want my friends to find out I was here.
Buddy:
[Short quiet yip.]

Nic:
[Stage whisper] Hello? Anyone here?

Voice:
Depends who you're looking for.

Nic:
I'm looking for a teacher.

Voice [Jesus puppet comes halfway past edge of screen]:
What's his name?

Nic:
Jesus. [Put up bat puppets. Nic ducks flying bats.]
Jesus Christ.

Jesus: [Jesus puppet comes all the way out]
I'm Jesus. What can I do for you?

Nic:
Oh wow. It's really you. I really like the things you say -- about looking after each other and helping poor people and hungry people and all that. Can you tell me more? I want to know more about God.

Jesus:
You're a Pharisee, aren't you?

Nic:
Yes, I am.

Jesus:
You've got to be born from above.

Nic:
Pardon me?

Jesus:
You've got to be born from above find out more about God.

Nic:
You mean I have to be born all over again? From my mother's body.? No one can do that.

Jesus:
I'm talking about your spirit, not your body. Buddy gets it, don't you Buddy?

Buddy:
[Gives affirmative yip.]

Nic:
Spirit, huh? I don't know if that helps me understand God any better. Hey. how do you know my dog's name anyway?

Jesus:
The wind blows where it chooses. You hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone that's born of the Spirit.

Nic:
Is that it?

Jesus:
That's it. That's the ticket. The secret to eternal life. The first step to getting to know more about God.

[Put up raccoon puppets. Buddy gives a terrific yelp and takes off after a pack of marauding raccoons.]

Nic:
Buddy. Come back. Oh no. I have to go get him. Will you be here when I get back.

Jesus:
Always nearby.

-THE END-