A story had spread among the pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for Passover that someone named Jesus from Nazareth had raised a dead man, in Bethany, near the road where they were walking. According to the accounts, the person, Lazarus, had been in a tomb four days, then Jesus called him back to life. (John 11)

Among the pilgrims were three Greeks, who admired and followed the One God of Israel. Compared to the multiple gods of their own culture, One God appealed to them. They were coming to Jerusalem for the feast to share in their admiration for the God of the Jews.

They heard the stories of Jesus’ miracle with a mixture of skepticism and curiosity. As they entered Jerusalem, on a crystal-clear spring morning they saw a palm-waving crowd greeting someone riding a donkey. They overheard one of the people, walking with alongside, explain in Greek to other pilgrims, that this was Jesus, a prophet, teacher and miracle worker. The man, who seemed to know Jesus, was named Philip. From the cheering the pilgrims realized that this was the same Jesus whom was credited with raising the dead man, Lazarus. They followed the crowd until it dissolved when it came to the temple and met the temple guard who were clearly intent on not letting the parade proceed. (The gospel for Sunday Mar. 21, (John 12: 20-33) begins at this point.)

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Then, the Greeks came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Bethsaida was a town at the intersection of Jewish and Greek-speaking cultures, and Philip had learned to speak both Greek and Aramaic when he grew up. Philip went and told Andrew; then together they went and told Jesus about the request.

To indicate who was making the request, they gestured toward the Greeks who were standing about two metres behind them. Jesus made eye contact with the Greeks. As he did, they felt that he had looked into their hearts, seeing not only their histories and secrets, but also their yearning for something…someone…greater than they had experienced, until now.

In response to their request for an introduction, Jesus answered them, with a statement that went far, far beyond a simple greeting. He smiled at them and said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very 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.  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. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

They didn’t understand his words or how to respond. Jesus implied that their presence had marked some kind of turning point when he said by the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Or did he mean that they were fortunate to arrive at this time because they would see him glorified? Was he referring to the cheering people? Did his “glorification” mean a welcome by the chief priest? By Pilate? More parades with people greeting him?

That evening, as they reconstructed his words, they wondered if his reference to seeds and nature, as though dying was somehow connected to his personal glorification. He had said, Very 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.  Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. He seemed to link eternal life with hating life!

More than a week later, they would recall his gruesome death and the stories of his resurrection, and they remembered this metaphor about a seed dying and bearing much fruit and understand his words as a metaphor for his death and the stories of his glorious rising. In the next ten days, and for a lifetime thereafter, they would parse Jesus’ words over and over. They remembered what he had said as though he had written down the words. Surprisingly, they could not recall whether he spoke to them in Aramaic, Greek or Hebrew. This man had spoken beyond language to their hopes and hearts.

**

Next, Jesus looked at them, then to some others, standing nearby, who seemed to know Philip and Andrew and he said, Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. He paused and nodded his head toward the Greeks and some of Philip’s acquaintances as if referring specifically to them. They felt as though this man, whom they had just met, was asking them to serve him and follow him.

Then he added, Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. The Greeks looked around at this, to see if the “Father” was nearby. No one of an age to be his father was there. Jesus continued, 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. Father, glorify your name.” He had just come into the city on this beautiful day, welcomed by adoring crowds, and now he said his soul is troubled.

Baffled by this talk the Greeks scanned the faces of the others for clues as to whether they understood what Jesus was saying. They did not. They seemed as confused as the Greeks.

Their wondering was interrupted by a voice from heaven, saying “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” It was as though they were witnessing an intimate “conversation” between Jesus and someone unseen, whose “voice” was felt more than it was heard.

When they compared their stories later, however, the Greeks recalled the same words and experience of the sound. Clearly, the people standing nearby were as puzzled. The crowd heard it and said that it was thunder. But on this cloudless day that explanation made no sense. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”  

**

Jesus explained, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, Iwill draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. As an explanation, it made no sense to the Greeks. They did not know who the ruler of this world was.

They were unsure whether they understood what he meant by lifted up from the earth. It was an expression that sometimes referred to the punishment of crucifixion. But that seemed so improbable, given his apparent reputation and the welcome they had witnessed. Surely the voice that they had experienced would intervene to prevent a crucifixion. They wondered if they had mistranslated his words or if there was a different logic at work.

This Jewish teacher, as compelling a presence as he was, confused and confounded them. Yet they could not let go of the impression of holy authority that they had experienced. It was not simply his person, but the aura of both mystery and light that surrounded him.In the near future the story about this man would unfold at a dizzying pace, transfix their attention and transform their pilgrimage … and, in fact, their whole lives. They would follow him.

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  • How do you understand, Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Does it contradict his miracle of bringing Lazarus back to life?  Is Jesus referring to those who focus exclusively on the adornments or pleasures of physical life? Or does it imply that there are values greater than life that one should be prepared to sacrifice their life for?·
  • Like Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Desmond Tutu were celebrated by some yet risked death at the hands of others in their quest for freedom.  They understood that, if the grain dies, it bears much fruit. Who else is adored by some but reviled by others for their work on peace or eco-justice or equality? Murray Sinclair? Greta Thunberg? What about George Floyd? Does his unwilling sacrifice qualify?
  • How do you understand Jesus’ words that my soul is troubled? Was it fear for his ability to endure what he senses is coming? Was it concern that, after all the torture and death, there would still be many whom he did not reach? Was it a sense that there was so much more to do and he was not sure of his disciples understanding and ability to follow his mission? Something else?

Peace

Michael