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 sp...