John 12:20-33 (NRSV)
Some Greeks Wish to See Jesus
20 Now among those who went
up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They came to Philip, who
was from Bethsaida Galilee , and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to
see Jesus.’ 22Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip
went and told Jesus. 23Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son
of Man to be glorified. 24Very truly, I tell you, 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. 25Those who love their life lose it, and those who
hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must
follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me,
the Father will honour.
Jesus Speaks about His Death
27 ‘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. 28Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from
heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ 29The crowd standing there
heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to
him.’ 30Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake,
not for mine. 31Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of
this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw
all people to myself.’ 33He said this to indicate
the kind of death he was to die.
It is a wonderful truth that this passage
reminds us that Jesus is for all people – without exception – no not
distinction (as I once believed). The death of Jesus is powerful to save the
whole world and all those who ever lived, live now, or will live in the future
– all without exception. That many refuse the gift is another matter – it is
nevertheless for all. And we know that those of us who have accepted it, have
been enabled to do so by the grace of God, so that no one may boast. This is
one of the great mysteries of our faith, and who knows, perhaps more people are
‘saved’ than any of us could ever dream of. Perhaps it is only those who
deliberately harden themselves and become so conditioned that even when
confronted with the evidence – what John Hick speaks of as eschatological
verification – when we meet our Lord in Glory – and still reject the offer of
grace and love – that these are the only ones who are lost. Maybe none? What
about Hitler, Stalin, Polpot? Thank God that this is His business and not mine.
But it is clear from this reading that Jesus
is for all – not only the Jews – also the Greeks. Paul of course echoes this in
Romans 1:16-17 (the verses that brought Martin Luther to his great
understanding of the Gospel) that it is by grace through faith – a gift –
offered to all “… the Jew first and also to the Greek.” It is this emphasis on
free will and choice for all that is at the core of Methodist understanding and
is encapsulated in Wesley’s Rule of Conduct:
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
We are required to treat all people as those
for whom Christ has died. I fail dismally all too often and stand convicted as
a type these words. I believe that we, as Christians, need to beware that we do
not fall into the trap that had been the experience of the Jews of Jesus’ day,
and think of ourselves as an exclusive group.
As John Marsh puts it:
“The revealed religion given to Israel
through Moses was not intended to be or become Israel’s possession; it could
only be kept by the paradox of passing it on.”
I am reminded of the experience of Mary Martin
before a stage production of “The Sound of Music”. Oscar Hammerstein noticing
her exhaustion slipped a note into her hand before she went on the stage. She
performed as she had never done before, and when asked what had happened she
showed the note, which read:
A bell is no bell till
you ring it,
A song is no song till
you sing it,
And love in your heart
wasn't put there to stay,
Love isn't love till you
give it away.
We are challenged to give to all
the love that God has filled our lives with – and when we do this, it grows in
our lives and we enable people to “ … see Jesus …”
Indeed, the paradox of the Christian faith is
that it turns things on their heads. We have noted in past reflections how “God
thinks otherwise” and here we have another example.
To many, death is the end; it is final and that
is it. But we know that death is far from the end but the real beginning,
because it is only by death that there can be life. Paul picks this up with the
notion of dying to sin and rising to new life, a wonderful image. Again he
speaks of the physical body being transformed into a spiritual body. Barclay
reminds us of the idea of dying to self and uses that great Archbishop of
Canterbury, Cosmo Laing’s example of hearing the voice of God saying “You are
wanted” which resulted in him burying personal ambition which freed him to
become useful to God. Jesus refers to a grain of wheat which, when buried,
bears much fruit and spreads.
Again Barclay refers to the image of spending
life rather than preserving it as a comment of Jesus’ words of losing life in order
to gain it and once again makes the distinction between existing and really
living. Spending life can be costly, but it is only by service that real
greatness can be achieved. Barclay cites the example of a real Christian
attitude which is a challenge to me. He speaks of a retired Salvation Army
member who moved to London just when the Blitz began. For some unknown reason
to the people of the region, Mrs Berwick’s house seemed to be safe. It would
have been perfectly understandable if she just kept to herself, for she had
indeed spent her life in service to others and was retired, but she felt that
she must do something. She cobbled together a simple first aid box and put a
notice in her window: “If you need help, knock here.”
What a testimony this is, especially in our
times. Service seems to be something of the past. People are reluctant to do
anything unless they can get something out of it for themselves. Barclay
comments: “They may well become rich, but one thing is certain – they will
never be loved, and love is the true wealth of life.”
What also strikes me about this passage is our
Lord’s anguish. He, like all of us in times of real testing, must have felt
great temptation to shy away from what lay ahead of him. This is John’s
reference to our Lord’s anxiety that the other evangelists refer to in the
Garden of Gethsemane. Barclay makes the vital point that real courage does not
mean that the person concerned is not afraid, in fact the truth of the matter
is that the courageous are often terrified ‘… and yet they do the thing that
ought to be done … God’s will meant the Cross and Jesus had to nerve himself to
accept it …’It is all too easy to trivialise the Cross and the horror it must
have meant for Jesus; and it is also all too easy to forget that we are called
to bear our own crosses. Putting things right in the world cost God a great
deal. We are called to be witnesses to the truth and to stand up for what is
right and just – and this too will be costly. Are we willing to pay the price?
I am once again reminded of those important words of Niebuhr who challenges us
to remember the costs involved, for otherwise:
"A God without wrath, brings
people without sin, into a kingdom without judgment, to a Christ without a
cross."
God is angered by sin and the suffering it
causes; there will be judgement but redemption is freely available to all who
would accept it, and it is free and unconditional. But when we accept it there
is a price to pay; but the reward is real living. Jesus responded to his own fear
with the words: “No, it is for this reason that I
have come to this hour.”
I am once again reminded of
these important words:
There are two important
days in any person’s life: the day one is born and the day one finds out why!
Jesus was able to face all that came his way for many reasons, not least
because that was why he came to earth.
It is good to be reminded that God speaks
clearly to us still today; I believe God speaks to us all the time. I remain
convinced that we need to do a work of retrieval and redeem the Church’s focus
on the Bible as our greatest source of God’s truth for today. But as Barclay
suggests, “Are we listening?” It is all too easy to forget that God also speaks
in many different other ways as well, including the “still small voice of
calm”. Do we spend enough time listening for the voice of God? I know I do not.
God has spoken through His Son, Jesus, and
while we might not have His exact words and even though most of us only work in
translation, I believe the Holy Spirit is there to guide us into all truth as
we reflect on the words of the Bible. I believe the author to the letter to the
Hebrews puts it in a nutshell:
“Long ago God spoke to
our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2but in these last days
he has spoken to us by a Son ...
Jesus also speaks to us through
others, as Mother Teresa explained using an important and stark example; she
spoke of how she would think about Jesus and then go and seek him in the poor
and destitute of Calcutta. This is really challenging, but in accord with our
Lord’s own words in Matthew 25.
Jesus is lifted up whenever we declare the
truth of the Gospel as we faithfully expound the message of the Scriptures.
When we do this, Jesus gives us the privilege of being his instruments to draw
others to him. May you be blessed as you listen, and expound God’s truth to
others.
Amen.
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