Altered Alongside Our Enemies
This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text is John 12:20-33.
Our series on being Altered by the Spirit continues with being Altered Alongside Our Enemies. This passage highlights the confrontation between Jesus and the world. This is how it looks:
The world (represented by the Greeks) hungers for Jesus, meets him in community.
There is the call to discipleship—which is service.
There is the call to suffering—which is glory.
Finally, there is a call to judgment—which is resurrection (Rob Myallis, lectionarygreek.blogspot.com).
The twelfth chapter of John concludes the gospel’s “book of signs,” prevalent throughout the first section of the gospel. The second part, called the “book of glory,” provides a sensual feast. John employs the senses of sight and hearing as he encourages us to follow Jesus.
First, the Greeks want to see Jesus, meaning more than getting a simple glimpse of him from afar. They want to meet Jesus and to speak with him. True to form, Jesus does not give a clear-cut response to the Greeks and they disappear from the story. Jesus seems to respond with a non sequitur about grains of wheat falling in the earth and dying. John imagines God’s paradox of life through death, already manifest in creation and now spreading to the Greek peoples. Is Jesus reminding his disciples that they will only truly see him on the cross? The gist is, “If you want to see me, first look down into the dirt; then look up at the cross” (sundaysandseasons.com).
Jesus says that “the hour has come” (v. 23). For the very first time, Jesus’ “hour” is announced as being present, as having come, (meaning the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension). The Greeks’ arrival signals that Jesus’ earthly ministry is over and the time for his death and resurrection is near. Before this time, what Jesus did and his response to threats against his life were explained that “his hour had not yet come” (2:4; 7:6; 7:30; 8:20).
The hour has come because opposition to Jesus reaches its inevitable outcome. Officials are seeking Jesus’ death. The hour is also coming because of Jesus’ successful ministry. However, the crowds are fickle, going after anyone who might do astonishing signs or give soothing advice. The world is finally unable to believe that Jesus is from God. Jesus’ popularity quickly fades, turning into the hostility that confronts Pilate and demands Jesus’ crucifixion (18:28-19:16). Now the hour had come. Jesus must now make himself available to the world.
Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me” (v. 26). Following Jesus means not merely admiring his teaching and life, but adopting his model of unselfish love for others as the direction of our own lives. Embedded in being a disciple of Jesus and following him is this phrase, “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (v. 25).
However, here in today’s gospel, hate does not mean detest, but to not choose. In other words, do not make something else the top priority of your life. Discipleship here is not a matter of self-hatred, but of choice. Jesus frees his followers from compulsive service to one’s own image, which is a form of idolatry.
To lose one’s life doesn’t mean it’s been misplaced, but rather it’s destroyed. What is needed is a detachment from self. This is what it means by hate. Jesus is not speaking of self-hatred, but of a rejection of the self’s claim to autonomy and control. This hearkens back to our baptismal profession of faith. “Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God? Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God? Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God? [We respond with,] I renounce them” (ELW, p. 229).
As we give our lives to Jesus, we will produce lots of fruit, like a grain of wheat produces a lot of food. As the grain of wheat must die first in order to produce, so must we die to self and those things that make us love our life. But that is not the end of the matter. Following Jesus means we are with him and ultimately we will receive honor from the Father.
God’s rulership has been hijacked by a rebellious creation, headed by the Satanic power of evil. Christ’s death and resurrection accomplishes a cosmic exorcism. God casts out the demonic power that rules the world and reasserts his own rulership over the universe. However, Satan is not yet destroyed, (Rev. 20) but his power has been broken. In Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may live free from that control. God’s love has joined us and will continue to do so in whatever pain, loss or sorrow we may encounter.
Why do we still struggle? We experience God’s rule in the now and the not yet. God reigns, but we do not fully experience this until the end of time.
“Then a voice came from heaven…” (v. 28). The Father’s response to Jesus’ prayer comes with the sound of his voice, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (v. 28). God’s name has been glorified in Jesus’ ministry and it will be glorified in Jesus’ coming death and resurrection. Jesus understood, but the crowds thought it was thunder or perhaps an angel. I find it a bit puzzling when Jesus said the voice was for the benefit of the crowd, not his own benefit. They didn’t get it. Perhaps it was for the disciples. The voice serves to authenticate Jesus as being under divine favor, supported by angels in Jewish tradition or confirmed by the thunder of Zeus among gentiles. When we hear the word of God, is it thunder or a word of grace?
With the Greeks, we too wish to see Jesus, especially in our daily lives and routines. To do so, we need to look up because Jesus has been lifted up on the cross to draw everyone to God. The hour of salvation has come. In the eating of the bread, we celebrate that life in Christ and are fed by him.
Let’s be generous, lavish with God’s love. If we want our church to grow, then share the good news with everyone, not just in word, but in deed. Open your heart and arms to all, just as our Savior did. Opportunities abound! We do this by feeding the hungry through the food pantry and the 5 & 2 Ministry. You can shop for the 5 & 2 Ministry, give money or help with the monthly packing of the food. There are other ministries as well, like the men’s shelter in Jamestown. St. Susan’s feeds the hungry. Love Inc. collects articles people need for their homes. There is a prison ministry. You can mentor a student. There are many hands-on, concrete ways to share God’s love. Let us allow the Spirit to alter us to better hear God’s call. Amen.
References
Sharron Blezard, stewardshipoflife.org
M. Eugene Boring & Fred B. Craddock, The People’s New Testament Commentary
Charles B. Cousar, Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Guide Based on the NRSV-Year B
Fred B. Craddock, Preaching Through the Christian Year B
Inter Varsity Press: New Testament Commentary
Cynthia A. Jarvis & Elizabeth Johnson, editors, Feasting On the Gospels—John, Volume 2: A Feasting On the Word Commentary.
Brian Stoffregen, crossmarks.com
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