Seeing Jesus

 

A Sermon preached on Lent V, March 21, 2021 at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden

Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 5:5-10, and John 12:20-33

“Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’” (John 12:20)

One thing I learned while preparing the sermon is that in some churches there is a little sign or notice with the sentence “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” in the pulpit, apparently as a reminder to the preacher that it is Jesus we want to see and hear and not them!  

Coming back to the passage however, who are these Greeks, and why does Jesus react in what seems a rather dismissive way? Well, they might just be Greek-speaking Jews, but that is unlikely. As they went to Philip, who comes from Bethesda, a town in Gentile-dominated territory, it seems more likely that they were Gentiles, but ones interested in Judaism, perhaps even proselytes, that is would-be converts. That is why they are in Jerusalem for the Passover. Why do they want to see Jesus? We can assume that their interest in the things of God leads them to Jesus. And he is famous right now. This episode comes after Lazarus has been raised from the dead and after Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. A lot of people want to see Jesus, some out of curiosity; others out of a genuine interest in finding out more about this teacher with power and authority.

But Jesus does not seem willing to let them see him or learn more. He does not say, “sure send them in” or “not now, I’ll see them this afternoon.” No, we get a little speech: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,” (John 12:23) followed by the metaphor of grain and wheat. As with all his cryptic sayings and parables, this response addresses the issue, but in a way that is not immediately comprehensible. For Jesus, this request to see him is more than just interest on behalf of some casual visitors; instead, it is a sign that his mission to Israel is over, and that part of his work is done.

He has had encounters with non-Jews before now: The Syrophoenician woman, Roman officers, the Samaritan woman at the well, to name but a few. But his focus was always on Israel, on the people God had chosen to be God’s people and a beacon to the world. Taking his mission to the whole world means taking it to another level. The whole world cannot see and know him, and his Father, if he carries on as before. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified – on the cross.

If he were to succumb to the temptation to say “Father, save me from this hour” (John 12:27) then God’s plan of salvation for the whole world and all of creation would fail. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24) As I learned from Steve at this week’s Bible study, a single grain of wheat, planted and watered, in good soil, will produce 32 new ones! Jesus’ death followed by his resurrection to new life, will also bear much fruit. The fruit in this case will be all the people who are then able to see and to know and to be transformed and to be saved by him. And that is Jesus’ desire for all people.

You see, Jesus’ reply is not evasive, it describes how he will make the Greek’s request for them and the whole world to see him possible. It is only on the Cross that all people can see Jesus and be attracted to him: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32) Not only are they – and we – able to see him, but we also see him for who he truly is. For John, this is the moment when Jesus is exalted or glorified.

To glorify is to turn the spotlight on someone or something and to reveal that which is worthy of praise. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us that although Jesus was a “Son” before his time on earth, with us, his experience here – sharing our suffering, learning obedience, offering up prayers and supplications – was also essential in him becoming “the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:8-9) In the gospel passage too, Jesus highlights self-sacrifice and service as part of his mission, and those who follow him. “Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.” (John 12:26) His, and therefore God’s – loving nature is what is glorified on the cross. And it is another clue to how we can see Jesus today. We see him when we serve him in others, in accordance with one of our Baptismal promises to” seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself.” Whatever you do “to one of the least of these who are members of my family,” you do to me, Jesus teaches in the ‘Judgement of the nations’ in Matthew’s Gospel (25:31-46)

If we cannot see Jesus, it may be because sometimes we do not really want to see him. There is a lovely song called “Open our eyes Lord” by Robert Cull. It is not in our Hymnal, but you will find it in other Anglican Hymnals. It goes as follows:

Open our eyes Lord

We want to see Jesus

To reach out and touch Him

And say that we love Him

Open our ears Lord

And Help us to listen

Open our eyes Lord

We want to see Jesus

It is true that we need our eyes and ears opened at times to be able to see and hear him. In the post-resurrection Emmaus story, the disciples do not recognise Jesus until he first explains the scriptures – opening their ears – and then breaks the bread: “Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.” (Luke 24:31) At the end of John’s Gospel in the “breakfast beach BBQ episode the disciples also do not recognise him at first: “Early the next morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize who he was.” “Jesus' favourite disciple told Peter, ‘It’s the Lord!’” (John 21:4, 7) There it took eyes of love to see him. And earlier in the same Gospel – after he appears to Thomas who doubted the word of the other disciples that they had seen the Lord – Jesus says “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:29) Here Jesus tells us that it is in faith that we will see him.

How can we see Jesus? In Scripture of course. When we do as he taught and commanded – loving and serving God in one another, in prayer and worship, and in the special meal he instituted and that we will share in a moment. And in all these cases we are most likely to see him – in ourselves and in others - when we look for him with the eyes of love and the eyes of faith.  

 Amen.

Complaining again

 

A Sermon preached on Lent IV, March 14, 2021 at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden

Numbers 21:4-9, Ephesians 2:1-10, John 3:14-21

I mentioned at the beginning of the service that today is Laetare Sunday from the Latin for “Rejoice!” But today’s old Testament reading from the book of Numbers is not about rejoicing at all, it is one of the so-called murmuring, mumbling, or grumbling passages. In each of these episodes, the Israelites, on their long journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, find something to complain about. They do not like the food or the lack of it, they do not have anything to drink. It is all taking far too long, they wish they had never left home, and that Moses guy is leaving us astray, and where is God in this anyway? It is one of those passages that tell us that however old the Bible may be, humans have not changed much since it was written. Right now, it reminds me a little bit of the situation in the pandemic.

We seem to have a lot to complain about too. Whether it is the wrong vaccine, or the wrong masks, or the vaccination is taking too long, or we are reopening things too early or too late. We have massive expectations that are just not being fulfilled. And, like the Israelites who began complaining only days after leaving – fleeing – Egypt – our memories are very short. We forget the good – that it is amazing, we could say even miraculous that we already have not one but several suitable vaccines. We forget the bad – some of the countries who are now being praised for the speed of their vaccination programme made a complete mess, sometimes a fatal mess of their containment strategy. And we forget the reasons for some of the delays. At the end of last year, the big worry was that not enough people would want to be vaccinated, many were afraid and concerned. And so, correctly in my opinion, those in charge decided to be extra careful and transparent, to follow the more regular approval process without short cuts, and not to release the manufacturers from their liability, or agree to the often initially excessive price demands. And now demand – temporarily – exceeds supply. I’m not saying that no mistakes were made. There were and there still are. But folks, we murmur and mumble and grumble too much.

Let us just hope that we do not have to suffer the same consequences as the Israelites. Their journey ended up taking 40 years because they complained so much. I really do not want our Covid restrictions to last for another 40 years. But I am not even certain that it was a punishment at all. What makes the Israelites murmur and grumble and complain are unrealistic expectations, ones that just cannot be met, and most of all a lack of trust or faith in God and a lack of knowledge of God. So, God takes time to build up a relationship, for the whole 40 years God lived in the midst of them, in a tent, and led them as a pillar of cloud by day and as a column of fire by night. God wants them to get to know God intimately. And the Commandments, not just the 10 but also the other 613 commandments Douglas reminded us about last week, are ground rules the people gave themselves, with perhaps at times a little bit too much love for detail, to describe how to live in a life bringing and loving relationship with God and one another.

Yet in the story from Numbers that we heard this morning; God seems to punish this particular act of murmuring with a plague of poisonous snakes. I see it more as a metaphor, a living picture of how the poison of fear and suspicion infects and hurts the community, as their faith and trust wavered. The cure of making a serpent of bronze and putting it on a pole is God’s way of saying look at what you fear, but trust in my continuing presence and you will live.

Before the great fire of 1966 the well-known words from today’s Gospel - God so loved the world that he gave his only Son – were written, in Latin, on the beam of a rood screen right above my head. On top of the beam stood the crucifix whose charcoaled remains are now in the entrance area of the church, while the charcoaled beam with the words “sic deus dilexit mundum” (God so loved the world) is now at the base of the choir loft.  John 3:16 is for many people such an important promise that they have it as a bumper sticker, or as a tattoo, and of course there are companies who use it on their packaging – often just the citation as shorthand for the full sentence.

Jesus goes on to say, “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17) God sent the Son for the same reason that God spent 40 years with the Israelites. To build or rebuild the relationship and to help us to know God, now to actually see God and to walk with God in Jesus. And in the end, through the cross, came the promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God, ever.

I know that the phrase “so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” sounds like an exclusion and is sadly often used as on: I’m saved, you’re not! But that is not the case. The full, abundant, joyful, and eternal life that God offers is a gift, that still requires a response: the gift has to be accepted, we have to trust in the one who gives, and we have to believe that the gift is effective now. But nevertheless, it is a gift for everyone, even for those who ignore it. When we evangelise, all we are really doing is trying to open people’s eyes to what is already there.

At the beginning of the Gospel reading, Jesus says “just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (3:14-15) Jesus is alluding to the story we heard in Numbers. But instead of an object of fear being lifted up, Jesus is lifted up as the one who takes all fear away. That was the idea of the rood screen that used to be here – I almost wish it still was! You would see and read the promise and above the words you would see Jesus on the cross, conquering death, and by looking at him, with the eyes of faith, you were reminded of the gift of love and life.

The rood screen was also symbolically the doorway or gateway to the altar where every week we celebrate the continuing presence of God in Jesus in the bread and wine made holy, and in the community – the Body of Christ – formed around this table. The Eucharist is also an antidote to the amnesia –forgetting God and forgetting God’s promises – that we, like the Israelites are also susceptible to. A key part of the Eucharist is what we call “anamnesis” - reminiscence or memorial. We recall God's saving deeds, especially the gift of God’s Son, as a way of renewing our trust and faith, of sustaining us on our journey, and giving thanks – which is the very opposite of complaining. 

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Amen.