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Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent – March 17, 2024
John 12:20-33
Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
When my boys were really little we went on a long road trip to Arizona to see their grandmas, both of whom were living there at the time. Before our big trip we showed the boys the route our journey would take. We had one of those children’s puzzles where each state is a piece of the puzzle. We showed them where we were in southwest Washington, where we used to live. We showed them how we’d be traveling through Oregon, and then Idaho, and then Utah, and then Arizona.
The day of our departure came, so we got up early in the morning to begin our journey. We loaded up the van and headed out. We were on the freeway for about twenty minutes when one of them said, “Are we in Utah yet?”
“Not yet,” we said.
That was a long trip. I think we must have said “not yet” about a thousand times.
The disciples had been on a long journey with Jesus. And throughout their journey they too heard a lot of “not yets.”
When Jesus and his mother and his disciples attended a wedding in Cana, his mother saw that the wine had run out. Mary urged Jesus to do something about it. Jesus said, “Mother, why do you involve me, my hour has not yet come.” While Jesus did eventually intervene, he did so on the sly, because his hour had not yet come.
Later, when Jesus was staying in Galilee, his disciples came up to him and said he ought to go to Judea in order to do some miracles there. They urged him to go there in order to show himself to the world. But Jesus said no. “My time has NOT YET come,” he explained.
When Jesus went to Jerusalem to teach in the temple, people got all riled up and hatched a plot to kill him and tried to seize him, but we are told they did not lay a hand on him, because his hour had NOT YET come.”
All of these “not yets” lead us to our gospel reading for today.
As we heard, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover. While he was there some Greeks asked about him. These Greeks were foreigners. They looked different. They were clean shaven and had short hair. They wore different clothes. They ate different foods, like feta cheese and their own weird version of yogurt. The way they spoke was different. While just about everyone spoke Greek throughout the Mediterranean region, these actual Greeks would have spoken it with a distinct crisp accent – without any of those throaty, guttural sounds made by native Hebrew speakers. Perhaps these Greeks were proselytes to the Jewish faith, or maybe they were simply there to take in the celebratory atmosphere of the festival of Passover, kind of like how non-Christians without a drop of Irish blood celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
At any rate, these Greeks were drawn not just to the temple itself, but specifically to Jesus. They came asking about him. They wanted to see him. And when Andrew and Philip told Jesus that these Greeks were looking for him, Jesus at last said, “The hour has come.” With the arrival of these Greeks, all those “not yets” suddenly became a “now.”
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,” Jesus said. Jesus told his disciples that now was the time for him to do what he really came to do. Now it was time for him to die. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit.”
“Now my soul is troubled,” Jesus continued. He dreaded what lay ahead. How could he not? But at the same time, he was determined. “Should I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour?’” Jesus asked. “No,” he said, “it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.” This is where his journey had been leading all along.
“Father, glorify your name,” Jesus said. And in a peal of thunder God the Father said, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
With this assurance from his Father, Jesus said, “Now is the judgement of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself.”
The presence of these Greeks served as a cue to Jesus that the final leg of his journey was now at hand. Now was the time for Jesus to trade places with a sinful humanity, enduring their judgement. Now was the time for him to defeat sin, death, and the devil by enduring the cross. Now was the time when Jesus would offer himself up as the Passover lamb whose blood would bring life and salvation to all people. Now was the time to fulfill the promise made to Abraham, that through his line a savior would come to bless all the families of the earth. Now was the time for Jesus to be buried like a seed in order to rise again and bear much fruit. Now was the time for Jesus to be lifted up, that he might draw all people to himself.
All of the “not yets” of Jesus’ journey led to the “now” of the cross. This is how the Son of Man would be glorified – by dying on the cross for the sin of the world. This is how God’s name would be glorified – by the self-giving love of his Son, lifted up on the cross to draw all people to himself.
And as Jesus draws people to himself, he calls them – he calls us! – to die with him. We are called to join him in this pattern of dying and rising. “Those who love their life lose it,” Jesus says, “and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
This is a Hebrew way of speaking that is difficult to translate into English. To hate your life does not mean being nihilistic or negative. Life is a precious gift from God to be cherished and preserved! This is a Hebraic idiom, an exaggerated expression which means to die to yourself, to die to your self-centeredness. It isn’t about nihilism or negativity, it is about narcissism. It is about that pervasive human inclination to want to be our own gods, our own saviors, to live in service only to our own appetites and desires. To “hate your life” means to bury that narcissistic impulse in all of us in order to rise to something new, something better. Jesus is calling us to be buried with him in order to rise to a new life of faith in him.
Our lives often feel like a big “not yet.” In many ways we are works-in-progress, waiting to arrive. Sometimes we get confused and frustrated and anxious that we aren’t farther along than we think we should be. Maybe you have not yet figured out your place in this world. Maybe you have not yet found the healing you long for. Maybe you have not yet achieved what you hoped you would in life. Maybe you have not yet conquered your demons. Maybe you have not yet had God’s grace reach certain parts of your life. Maybe you have not yet had God’s love reach certain corners of your heart.
Dear friends, today all of those “not yets” give way to the “now” of the cross. On the cross, Jesus was lifted up in order to draw you to himself. Now your sin is forgiven! Now he has won for you life and salvation!
On the cross, Jesus opened his arms to the world. He opened his arms to you, embracing your life as it really is today. He takes your pain, your grief, your broken hearts, your fear, your sin. He takes it all upon himself so that you might know God’s loving presence in your life now.
And now we are also called to follow.
“Whoever serves me must follow me,” Jesus says, “and where I am, there will my servant be also.”
Now we are called to die to ourselves and live for him. As Martin Luther said, we are called to be “little Christs” to the people around us. Now we are called to embody the selfless love of our Lord in our lives. Now we are called to glorify his name in all that we do, living in joyful obedience to his will.
Christ is the grain of wheat that fell into the ground and was buried, so that he might bear much fruit. Even now that resurrection fruit grows in us as we die and rise into a new life with him.
The kingdom is not yet here in its fullness, but now we have a promise to live by. Now we have a foretaste of the feast to come. Now he is lifted up for us, that he would once again draw us to himself.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church