Sermon for Sunday, March 17, 2024 || Lent 5B || John 12:20-33
I’ve always wondered what was on Jesus’ mind as he approached the last week of his earthly life. I wonder this because we face challenging times too, and imagining our way into the mind of Christ can help us navigate the necessary hardships of life. So today, let’s imagine our way into Jesus’ thoughts spurred by today’s Gospel passage. And then at the end, we’ll come back to our own thoughts as we face challenging times.
Jesus has just rode into Jerusalem on the back of the donkey. The crowds waved branches of palm and caused quite a ruckus during the parade. When he dismounts, two of his disciples, Philip and Andrew, bring some visitors to meet him. They are Greeks, who are in Jerusalem for the festival of Passover. Somehow, Jesus knows that these Greeks are the sign that his earthly ministry is almost at an end. Word of Jesus’ movement has spread far and wide. And the stunning thing about this movement is that it wasn’t designed to replace one empire with another. Above all else, Jesus yearns for people to be free – to be free to choose the light, to walk in the light, to be the light that shines on the Truth that sets free.
Jesus knew that light was inside him. He revealed it to his closest followers on the mountaintop. And Jesus sees the light inside others, the light of God’s belovedness. This is the Truth that sets free: that all of creation is the Beloved of God, a truth which compels us to treat each piece of creation with love and respect. Jesus’ movement of healing and reconciliation uncovered this central Truth again and again: when he touched people others refused to touch, when he healed those who had been cast aside, when he refused to condemn his opponents and executioners.
And now this movement has grown large enough to attract folks from far away. The arrival of the Greeks is the sign Jesus has been waiting for. His movement is big enough now to threaten those in power. More than anything else, those in power want to maintain the status quo. They’ll do anything to get Jesus out of the picture. And I suspect they thought the mere threat of death on a cross would sway him. And while it does trouble his soul, knowledge of what is to come seems only to redouble his conviction that he is on the right path.
Jesus knows that if he abandons his followers now – after all he did to build relationships and bring others into a community of love – if he runs away now, then everything will fall apart. But if Jesus sees his mission through to the (literally) bloody end, his followers will understand the lengths he invites them to go in their love for one another. And so Jesus prays, “And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.”
These words are the equivalent of Jesus’ prayer in the garden in the other accounts of the Gospel: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want but what you want.” With these words, Jesus puts his trust in God. And the trust he demonstrates is not about God getting him out of a tough situation, but about granting him the strength to endure what is to come.
Jesus’ soul is troubled. He knows what is coming will hurt. He’s seen the crosses lining the roads into Jerusalem. But his hunger to complete his mission triumphs over his body’s natural desire not to suffer pain. And so Jesus knows he must embrace God’s presence in the midst of his suffering in order to brave the torment.
Each of us has had moments in our lives when we’ve had to choose between staying in something difficult and running away. (And let me be clear, there are definitely situations where pulling away is right and appropriate.) But for challenging times when running is not the right choice, we can, with God’s help, put on the mind of Christ. We can recognize the importance of staying in, of enduring, and ask God for the strength to stay. I’ve had this experience with certain funerals I have been asked to officiate. I know that God has blessed me with the position to help people who are grieving unimaginable loss. And while it is really hard, it is also right. And the only way to stay in is through recognizing God’s sustaining presence in the midst of the pain.
I wonder when you have stayed in a challenging situation because it was the right thing to do? Perhaps you sat with your dying parent or spouse every day as they weakened to the point where you could hardly distinguish their body from the blankets atop them. Or you struggled with your adjustment to a life as a parent because the demands of the helpless infant life were so great and your postpartum hormones were all over the place. Or you recognized that your job was killing you and you chose your body and soul’s well-being over steady money, thus setting off a time of uncertainty and insecurity that you hoped would yield a better life. Whatever your challenging situation, think back to it. How was God present in the challenge? Or how might your invitation to God to be more present allow you to become more open to that presence already sustaining you?
Jesus knew his mission was right and worthy of his staying in for the long haul no matter what. He was inviting others into a new way of being: a way that brought people the freedom of seeing themselves and all creation in the light of God’s love. This mission was worth dying for. And when the time came, when those Greeks showed up at the festival, Jesus knew his hour had come. Jesus knew it was the moment for his conviction to meet reality. And he prayed for the strength to see it through, within the sustaining presence of God’s love and grace.
We put on the mind of Christ when we say this same prayer in the midst of hardship. When we know staying in is the right thing to do, God sustains us to see it through.
Where the Wind... 