By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
v20Some Greeks were among those who had gone to Jerusalem to worship during the festival. v21They went to Philip (he was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and said, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
v22Philip went and told Andrew, and the two of them went and told Jesus. v23Jesus answered them, “The hour has now come for the Son of Man to receive great glory. v24I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. v25Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal. v26Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honor anyone who serves me…
…v27″Now my heart is troubled—and what shall I say? Shall I say, ‘Father, do not let this hour come upon me’? But that is why I came—so that I might go through this hour of suffering. v28Father, bring glory to your name!”Then a voice spoke from heaven, “I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again.” (Read: John 12.20-30)
Lent is about to end and next week is Palm Sunday that will start Holy Week and finally Easter. For many of us, the focus of Lent is on sin. Sin is real, and it is what separates us from God. It is something of which we need to be aware. This is the time of the year that we are reminded that sin is a reality in our life, and that separation from God is a real possibility for us. But sin is only one side of the story of Lent. Repentance is another, and repentance means more than feeling sorry for our specific individual and communal sins, or even for the general category of sin. Repentance means turning to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and trusting in his grace and love. It means joining him in his purpose of showing God’s love in the world, bringing abundant life to those whose lives we touch, and being willing to lay down our lives for others.
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The gospel passage consists mostly of Jesus’ teaching about the meaning of his coming death and resurrection. He also reminds his hearers that following him in a life of service is the way to eternal life, not the way of those who love their own lives. This teaching is set in the context of a story about some
Greeks asking Philip if they can see Jesus and ends with a sound that some in the crowd identify as thunder, others as an angel voice. Jesus reminds those listening that the voice has come for their benefit, not his. We see Jesus speaking his thoughts out loud and expresses repugnance for the terrible ordeal before him. His soul is troubled at the prospect of Calvary and he is tempted to pray for deliverance from it. However, he cannot ask to be spared his agony as God’s kingdom will only come through crucifixion and death. His moment of greatest influence will be when he is lifted up on the cross with arms outstretched to embrace all the world.
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‘Christ on the cross shows us the depth of evil of which we humans are capable and the heights of love to which we are called. Every Christian is called to live out the passion of Jesus Christ in his own life. No one is excused or spared its agony. There are no crown-bearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers on earth. Following Christ means travelling the same road, laying down our lives, and leaving everything completely in the hands of God the Father.’ (Desmond Knowles).
Jesus used the world of nature to illustrate his point about being a true follower or disciple. Our lives, like Christ’s must be like the grain of wheat that goes down into the ground to produce new life. The grain of wheat dying in the earth indicates how we must die to our selfishness before we can start living the life of Christ. One comes to a greater life only after dying to a lesser one. Never forget that we are God’s grain of wheat, part of his eternal harvest. When Jesus calls, he bids us come and die and put to death within ourselves what is opposed to true life. Christ shows that life and death have a place in God’s plan for us. To be buried in the earth means avoiding sin, accepting suffering, and living for others. In every place and every heart, the struggle between evil and good is still with us. The way of the cross begins at our own doorstep, and we are challenged to follow its path. As Passiontide approaches, we should renew our efforts to remove the layers of human sinfulness through which Satan and the power of evil have made inroads into our lives.
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The Greeks wanted to see Jesus in our Gospel. Why? Maybe to know more about him or even to ask him to perform more miracles than they have heard him performed. Maybe for other reasons but we can only speculate since John did not elaborate nor give us the detail after their request to see Jesus. I am sure every believer wants to see Jesus. If we want to see Jesus, then we must look death in the face. To the extent we refuse to acknowledge the reality of death, to the degree we avoid and deny death, we refuse to see Jesus. Really looking at, acknowledging, and facing death is some of the most difficult work we ever do. It is, as Jesus describes soul troubling. It shakes us to the core.
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There is a temptation to want to skip over death and get to resurrection. So it is no coincidence that this week and last week the Church points us towards Holy Week and reminds us that death is the gateway to new life. Death comes first. Death is not always, however, physical. Sometimes it is spiritual or emotional. We die a thousand deaths every day. There are the deaths of relationships, marriages, hopes, dreams, careers, health, beliefs. Regardless of what it looks like, this is not the end. Resurrection is always hidden within death. There can be, however, no resurrection without a death.
To the extent we avoid death we avoid life. The degree to which we are afraid to die is the degree to which we are afraid to fully live. Every time we avoid and turn away from death we proclaim it stronger than God, more real than life, and the ultimate victor.
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The unspoken fear and avoidance of death underlies all our “what if” questions.” What if I fail, lose, fall down? What if I get hurt? What if I don’t get what I want? What if I lose that one I most need and love? Every “what if” question separates and isolates us from life, God, one another, and ourselves. It keeps us from bearing fruit. We are just a single grain of wheat. We might survive but we aren’t really alive.
We don’t really acknowledge, talk about, and deal with death. The death of our loved ones is too real, too painful. Our own death is too scary. The relationships and parts of our lives that have died are too difficult. So, for the most part, we just avoid the topic of death. Besides it’s a downer in a culture that mostly wants to be happy, feel good, and avoid difficult realities.
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I suspect the Greeks in today’s gospel did not go expecting to talk or hear about death. They just want to see Jesus. And who can blame them? Jesus has a pretty good track record up to this point. He has cleansed the temple, turned water into wine, healed a little boy, fed 5000, given sight to the blind, and raised Lazarus from the dead. I don’t know why they wanted to see Jesus but I know the desire. I want to see Jesus. Seeing Jesus makes it all real. After all, seeing, they say, is believing. We all have our reasons for wanting to see Jesus.
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Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.
‘Regardless of who or what in our life has died, God in Christ has already cleared the way forward. We have a path to follow. That path is the death of Jesus. Jesus’ death, however, is of no benefit to us if we are not willing to submit to death, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Ultimately, death, in whatever way it comes to us, means that we entrust all that we are and all that we have to God. We let ourselves be lifted up; lifted up in Christ’s crucifixion, lifted up in his resurrection, lifted up in his ascension into heaven. He is drawing all people to himself, that where he is we too may be.’ (Michael K. Marsh).
Grains of wheat. That is what we are. Through death, however, we can become the bread of life. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies….”
Let us pray.
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect Fifth Sunday in Lent, BCP)***
