Nothing Left but to Be Led | a sermon

A sermon by Rev Andrew Colman on Hebrews 5:5-10 and John 12:20-33

You can tell that things are starting to pick up speed at this point in the story. Tonight, in the Gospel of John, who, unlike Mark, is not known for leaving out details, seems to have been skipping between ideas here.

Now, among those who went to worship at the feast were some Greeks. They went to Philip to ask to see Jesus, and then Philip went to Andrew and told him, and then they went and told Jesus that these Greeks wanted to see him. We don't know if those Greeks were following them and did get to meet Jesus. What we do know is that something about that moment, that interaction, changed something.

Up until now, starting at the Wedding at Cana when Mary asked Jesus to do something about the wine, we have heard time and again that his time, his hour, has not come. Well, tonight, after Philip and Andrew deliver the message that these Greeks wanted to meet him, his time has come.

It makes some sense; he just rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, greeted by crowds of people welcoming him as the coming king. The only thing that happens between that and the Greeks coming to see him is the Pharisees getting angry that these crowds were following him. He could have dismounted his donkey at that moment, looked around, and said, my hour has come.
                But that's not what happened.

First, this group of outsiders, Greeks/Gentiles, people from outside of his particular mission field at that moment, came to him during the feast of the Passover after his triumphal entry and asked to see him.
                    Now, his hour has come.

One might hazard a guess that the Greeks did follow Philip and Andrew because now everything that Jesus is saying is being said explicitly to them. Had he just marched into Jerusalem and started preaching, sure, maybe there might have been Gentiles around, but they would have just been bystanders hearing these apocalyptic messages.

No, they have been mentioned by name, we have been mentioned by name, we are all there. Everything Jesus is saying is meant for the whole world, Jews and Gentiles, to hear. Truly, truly, I tell you, Jesus says, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will remain only a single grain. But if it dies it will bear much fruit. Those who love their life will lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

That is for all to hear - And so is this - if anyone serves me, they must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also.

Imagine Philip and Andrew listening to this in the Holy City, where God had chosen to dwell. This group of Greeks followed them to see Jesus standing there beside them. You can imagine Jesus' eyes resting upon these outsiders who just sought out Jesus by following the disciples to follow Jesus. If anyone serves me, they must follow; where I am, there shall be my servants.

If we are taking this not-so-great a leap to think that those Greeks had followed Philip and Andrew to see Jesus.

Jesus just named them servants. He gave them the highest honour he could bestow upon another human being. Calling them his Servants (I have servant spelled with a Capital S here.)

But a title doesn't mean anything when it's not followed through upon. The call placed upon the title is to follow. It's funny that Jesus outlines what it means to follow, dying as a grain of wheat, hating one's life in this world before he names them servants. It's his way of reframing - what seems like bad news - is actually The Good News.

Dying to the world is bad.
Hating one's life is bad.
And yet that is how we follow, that is how we serve, that is how we are called servants.

That is how we are where Jesus is.

Everything in Jesus' path gets turned upside down. Everything needs to be reconsidered.  Following Jesus is a whole new way of life.
It's a whole new way of life that he speaks to in verse 30 after the voice came from the clouds.

Jesus said, "This voice has come for your sake; the ruler of this world will be cast out; when I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself."
What of these things, I ask you, are we responsible for?

-The voice came down for our sake of understanding and confirmation or whatever it is that we needed

-The ruler of this world is being cast out because try as we might, we just can't seem to do it ourselves.

-And Jesus is being lifted up to draw us to him.

- We are to believe but not without the Word.
- We are to do the work of the Kingdom in this world, but not without - God first casting out the power and principalities of this world.
We are to follow but not without being drawn, not without being led.

    We are to be Christians in this world but not without Christ.

The message the world has for us is that we are only 2 or 3 YouTube videos, one podcast series, and a book away from being our best selves.
            The Law of the world is your will.
            This is the version of "loving one's own life in the world "that Jesus condemns. He says we can wrestle it out on our own if we just keep working.

There was a song that I heard the other day; I wish that I had taken note of it; it was talking about how hard the Grind is, how bad it is, and that's the life we all live, and what we need to do to accomplish our goals. And then it came around and said, but if you just shift your perspective and come to love that grind, then it won't feel so bad. That's the version of loving one's own life that Jesus condemns. The kind that destroys itself for the sake of itself and calls it love.

    This is a life one could look at and legitimately hate.
    A life that follows the Law of the World.
                            —

In calling us servants, in calling us to follow, we are given a new direction. We are turned toward God and, in so doing, toward others.  A new direction where breaking ourselves down for the sake of ourselves just makes no sense at all.


This lent we have been tempted and saved by the words of Jesus, our worldview  rebuked in the place of Peter, our idols overturned in the temple, and we've sat still with Nicodemus at night.

What else is even left?

Nothing. The Gospels, through this Lent, have taken it all away. And lest we think that we are excluded from his saving love, from participating in this whole new direction of life, we show up as the Greeks, the outsiders, in tonight's reading as a symbol that the whole world is in. Jew or Greek, Enslaved or Free, there is no distinction.
The Gospel this Lent has taken it all away and leaves us tonight with a God that gives us The Way.
    Through the voice from the clouds
        By clearing the path
        To being drawn home again and again and again
That is the glory of God. In sending the Son to lead us in The Way of Life and Love, in defeating death though pinning himself to the cross, and each and every time one of his servants is found following him where they are so desperately needed.