March 21, 2021
Deacon Ginny Whatley
John 12:20-33
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
I had some difficulty with the story I just read from the Gospel of John. I find this reading from John to
be difficult to understand because of how Jesus responds to the information brought to him by his two
disciples, Andrew and Philip. To me at first it was perceived as being an irrelevant comment.
Two Greeks have come to the festival to worship. They approach Philip and say, “Sir, we wish to see
Jesus.”
Philip is apparently uncomfortable with their request so he approaches Andrew and together they go to
Jesus bearing the Greeks request for an audience.
Our text tells us Jesus responded, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” and then goes
into a long dissertation about grains of wheat, death, and eternal life. We have to wonder: how does
this long speech by Jesus relate to the relative simple desire on the part of the Greeks to meet Jesus?
You could just imagine how Philip and Andrew are feeling. This odd response must have seemed
pointless. It didn’t appear to address the immediate need at all. You have to wonder: what was Jesus
talking about?
It is true our scripture doesn’t answer the question, “Was the request made by the Greeks to see Jesus
honored?” But the long and involved monologue about seeds and death and life and light would
indicate those who wanted to see Jesus would. Those that were listening to Jesus beyond the Jewish
faith would find a new belief and hope in Christ. We are all children of God made worthy by the sacrifice
of Christ on the cross for our transgressions. Yes, seeds must be buried in the soil to grow but seeds also
need water, sun and life giving nourishment to produce a healthy, wholesome crop.
If we look again at the text, it becomes obvious that in some way the Greeks’ desire to see Jesus was, for
Jesus, a sign, a signal that his public ministry on earth was finished. Jesus had done all that a life in
human form could do and now his hour had come.
Like a grain of wheat, he must be willing to die and be buried, in order to bring forth a multitude of
living, empowered followers who willingly give our lives to serve God and to spread God’s message of
love and justice among all people.
Like the Greeks who came to the festival and urgently, almost demandingly sought audience with Jesus
we come to church each week to celebrate our fellowship with each other and with God. We come
seeking audience wanting to see Jesus in this place.
Each time I am standing at the altar, I am filled with the sense that God is with me. More than any other
time in my life, I need the assurance I am not standing alone. I want and need to see Jesus, the
empowered and glorified Christ whom God lifted up and honored.
Through the power and presence of Christ, through the death and resurrection, foreshadowed in our
gospel message, I know we are not alone. God is with us, the same God that stood with Christ that
spoke a message of promised glory and honor; the same God who through Christ promised life eternal
to me and to you, to all who willingly serve God and others. We do see Jesus. Everywhere we go and in
whoever we meet … potentially we can see Jesus.
Jesus, for me, are the familiar faces that I see each Sunday on Zoom, You Tube or Facebook all of you I
see before me this morning. I miss seeing you looking back at me in the pews and when I smile and look
down at you, I see Jesus smiling back at me.
As we spend our lives, we gain them. As we lose our lives for one another, we gain life in Christ.
Where do you see Jesus?
Amen.