The Sermon
By Joe, Reader at St Mary's.
May I speak in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Please be seated.
Today’s reading from John presents us with a critical moment in
Jesus’s journey towards His passion – and in our Lenten journey
alongside of him. Previously in John 12, we’ve seen him raise Lazarus
from the dead, and come into Jerusalem for Passover on the back of
a young donkey. We’ve also seen how the news of this action
spreads amongst the people. And in the background, the Pharissee’s
who’ve been plotting how to get rid of this VERY turbulent priest, are
having to up their game.
Our reading from John begins with some Greeks seeking Jesus,
signalling that His message is for all humanity, not just the Jewish
people. Word of this great teacher has clearly spread outside Jewish
circles; one can see why the Pharisees are getting worried. But when
they’re introduced to Jesus by Andrew and Phillip, they must have
been surprised to find Jesus contemplating his own death. This
moment is a turning point, not only in Jesus' earthly ministry but also
in the understanding of what it means to follow Him. This passage,
alongside Hebrews 5:5-10, asks us to think on Jesus’ mission, His
obedience to God, and the path He lays out for His followers.
As is so often the case in His teachings, Jesus uses a parable; a grain
of wheat must fall to the ground and die before it can grow in to a
stalk of wheat bearing many, many more seeds. It’s a paradox;
through death comes life, through surrender comes victory.
Jesus says:
“Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in
this world will keep it for eternal life”
What does He mean here? I think He is telling us that if we love our
earthly life and all it’s trimmings, our possessions, our own way of
doing things – eventually all this will be lost to us when we die. But
should we choose to put less importance on our attachment to our
life in this world, we will benefit from the eternal life offered by
Christ’s teachings.
Jesus isn’t advocating some nihilistic dismissal of life; it’s precious.
But he emphasises a reorientation of priorities. Eternal life is to be
found in following Jesus, even if it leads to what the world considers
loss or even death.
When we ‘sign up’ to become a follower of Jesus, we are taking on a
massive commitment.
“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will
my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will
honour.”
His followers were being asked to be with Jesus – where He is, they
will be. And we know that this will eventually lead to the Garden of
Gethsemane, to Calvary, and ultimately to eternal life.
But this – the way of the cross – is a tough journey. Today, we may
not necessarily be being asked to go to death, but we are being
asked to put our own will and desires to one side and follow more
fully Jesus’s teachings.
This call to discipleship is a call to the way of the cross—a path of
sacrifice, service, and ultimate glorification.
Jesus goes on to his followers, and the Greeks – sharing himself with
Jew and Gentile.
“‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father,
save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have
come to this hour.”
Jesus knows what is coming, and he has a natural human aversion to
suffering and pain. But He remains steadfast in His obedience to His
Father. The voice from heaven that follows – heard by some
unbelievers as thunder - is not just for Jesus’ reassurance but for the
benefit of his followers. They are also being assured that Jesus' path
of suffering, and by implication their own, is indeed the path of
glorification ordained by God. The ones who hear thunder are not
yet on the path of following Christ.
In Hebrews 5:5-10, Christ's obedience, learned through suffering,
becomes the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him and
follow His teachings.
Jesus, though He was the Son of God, was also fully human and did
not find submitting to the will of God easy. It involved suffering,
humiliation and death which because of His humanity scared Jesus.
“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and
supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was
able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his
reverent submission.”
But He did obey, and in doing so became the perfect high priest for
our salvation. Jesus met the requirements of God’s plans for our
salvation through His obedience, and showed us the deep love of
God for us, and what is involved in following Him – a literal or
spiritual ‘death of self will’.
Jesus has no illusions as to what fate befalls him.
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to
myself."
The process of crucifixion starts with the cross on the ground and the
victim is secured to the cross, and then hoisted in to position. When
Jesus refers to his lifting up, he’s referring to the manner of his death
AND to His resurrection. This is the ultimate fulfillment of the
gospel's universal promise—the promise that in Jesus, all – jew and
Gentile - are invited into the family of God. It is no accident that
Greeks – gentiles – are specifically mentioned in this scripture.
Our readings today make it clear that being a disciple of Christ isn’t
easy.
Like the grain of wheat, we are called to die to ourselves—to our
desires, ambitions, and wills—in order to produce fruit in the
Kingdom of God by living lives of service, sacrifice and humility
following Jesus’s example.
Obedience to God often involves suffering. If the Son of God is
expected to suffer, we should expect nothing less in our own lives.
Like Jesus, we may be called to walk paths that are difficult and
painful – but that draw us closer to God, and allow us to share in
Jesus’s glorification.
As Christians, we need to be preaching the Gospel by the example of
our daily lives, to be seeds sown in the ground, dying to ourselves so
that we might bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God.
It’s not easy; but it’s what we’ve signed up for.
Amen.