Lent - Pt 34

[Jesus said] “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:27-33 ESV).

The weather is beginning to warm enough so that the danger of a freeze in our area is minimal. It will soon be time to plant some tomato plants. I must confess that I usually start with larger plants. I’m not very good at “waiting.” There was a time when I actually built a walk-in greenhouse and grew most of the plants and flowers we wanted from seeds. I recall that it was tedious and difficult to wait for the sprouting plants to emerge from the soil. I wanted to see what was going on underneath the soil. I suppose I should have paid better attention to the Scripture. The seeds were dying in favor of the new life of the resulting plant! This is basis for our reading today. Here, Jesus predicts “what kind of death he was going to die”; it would be one that would destroy Satan’s death grip on the world, raise Jesus in victory from the horrors of the crucifixion and grave, and draw people from all over the world to him (v. 32). He also reiterates his sobering template for all who would follow after him and be known as his disciples. From the early days of his ministry in John, Jesus has been alluding to his “hour.” This is a reference to the appointed time when he would undergo suffering and death for the sins of the world. But through this humiliation Jesus also strangely radiates the “glory” of God to humanity. God “glorifies his name” not only through the earthly ministry of Christ but also his death. The lesson is very clear. Seeds are living things that must die in order to reproduce; they carry the promise of future life. On the surface, Christ’s death looks to the world like a disaster, but by falling “into the earth” (v. 24), he is able to raise up followers and bring “many sons to glory” (cf. Hebrews 2:10). However, following Christ carries a cost: many of the original disciples were to die excruciating deaths themselves, leading Tertullian to conclude that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Christ’s disciples must always “die” to themselves to find “living hope” (cf. 1 Peter 1:3-5) in Christ. Here Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s observation on discipleship rings true: “when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Don’t miss the truth that this process is the way to life! Celebrate that today!