seeing Jesus

 

Today used to be called Passion Sunday. Well, the latest lectionary – which tells us all the recommended readings for any given day – only calls it the 5^th Sunday of Lent. Then it adds the words “Passiontide begins”. Well then, let’s call it Passion Sunday.

The Gospel for today (John 12.20-33) tells how some Greek people came to the one of the disciples, Philip, presumably having heard about him and his teaching about God or his miracles, asking “Sir, we wish to see Jesus”. My sermon this morning, at 10.00 on zoom and remaining available, looks at what image they might have had or wanted. We can all use Passiontide to look at what image of Jesus we have acquired and whether it truly embraces his love and his passionate sacrifice so that we see a clearer picture of Jesus to inspire our lives.

However, it’s not entirely clear whether the Greeks ever met Jesus – if they did they certainly got more than they might ever have expected. For this is the time when Jesus exclaims, with passion, that “The hour has come”. The hour, Lord? Jesus speaks of how a grain of wheat needs to die in the earth in order to bear fruit. Is this a parable Lord? What does it mean for us? Jesus goes deeper – if you love your life you will lose it, but hate your worldly life and you will gain true eternal life. Hard words, yet it is about gaining a different perspective on life, that holding onto the ways of this world is no way of gaining the richness of eternal fellowship with God. Hard talk indeed.

Jesus’ passion to bring people into God’s Kingdom, to offer true newness of life, is going to be costly. The grain must indeed die. His feelings are clear in his words “Now my soul is troubled”. The pain of the situation causes God’s own Son to feel anguish and uncertainty. And yet, Jesus points to the necessity of the cross, knowing how painful and challenging it is likely to be. And yet he accepts the cross, for us. “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself”. What a glorious vision; what a sacrifice. Will we allow ourselves to be drawn closer to Jesus, to God, this Passiontide? For we too can ask of the Lord “I wish to see Jesus”.