Finding Faith ... in God being active on earth in the past, present and future

EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2017 I began a new venture as a synodically authorized minister at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. The ride over the past 3 years has been an amazing journey of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on March 17, 2021. This was the 43rd digital service we performed after our church was shuttered because of the COVID pandemic.

This week's preaching text: John 12:20-33

Some Greeks Wish to See Jesus

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, 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. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

Jesus Speaks about His Death

27 “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Message:

Wow, that is a staggering amount to cover in one gospel reading isn't it? ... It's even difficult to reckon with all the ground that it covers in one short scripture reading. There's

probably enough for six Lenten sermons in tonight's reading alone. But alas, we have only tonight to cover this remarkable text. And so I offer up to you some insights about those two short paragraphs that I find truly remarkable.

Let's start with that opening line: "Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks." This festival, of course, if you have read your bulletin in the descriptor text above that gospel, we're talking about the Passover festival in Jerusalem, where Jews from all over the countryside would gather. And we'll need to understand the importance of the Passover festival to the Jewish faith. ... I would equate it on equal status to our Easter for those of us who are Christians. And so what is remarkable is that in the middle of this Jewish celebration of faith, we're told about these visitors -- these Greeks -- who came to the festival. ... A Jewish festival of all things. ... And they were in search of Jesus. ... Mind you, the Greeks at that time had their own gods. They had a pantheon gods and others had no gods. So it is remarkable to think that these people who were outside the Jewish faith were there at this Passover festival ... looking for our Jesus.

I think what that means in this gospel text, what it means at this point in John's gospel, is that Jesus's fame had spread enough in this world in this first century that even those who weren't Jews knew about Jesus. That seems mighty incredible to me!

And then, we encounter another important nugget in tonight's gospel just a sentence later when we encounter Jesus's pronouncement that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Now this isn't Jesus's first attempt to enlighten people about his coming death in this gospel text, but it doesn't take a biblical scholar to understand that this is Jesus once again foreshadowing his pending death ... his crucifixion. Remember we are Lent. We are on that march to that cross, and we know Jesus is given to speaking in parables; he does this to people in crowds all the time. But this isn't pronouncement isn't that cryptic. It's pretty easy for us to figure out that Jesus isn't just speaking about grains of wheat here. We know what he really means: It's time that he die and accomplish what he came for. It is time for him to die to glorify god's name so that his death can bear the fruit of that grain of wheat.

And again, remarkably, that's just one more nugget that's packed into this gospel text!

On the heels of that nugget comes a call to discipleship. A couple of weeks ago, if you remember us talking about discipleship, at that time Jesus told us that to be followers of him that we would have to pick up our cross and follow him. Pick up our cross and carry it as his believers. ... Again tonight, there is a parallel call from Jesus to his disciples that are in that crowd gathered there at Passover. Jesus tells them again that we have to lose our earthly life here to gain our life in the kingdom. In other words, all of the things that are important to us

here into this mortal body and to sustaining our earthly life, we need to set aside in the honor of glorifying him and his Father. ... We have to pick up that cross so that we lose our life here so that we can gain our eternal salvation.

So just throw that on the heap of lessons in tonight's gospel, there's also a call to discipleship in this text too!

And finally, as we progress through these meaty, weighty two paragraphs, we come to what I think is the most astonishing development of all in tonight's text. And that is the actual in-breaking of not just Jesus, who is mortal but also divine, but the actual in-breaking of our God into this world at the same time as Jesus. ... Imagine being in that crowd at Passover festival, a high time in the Jewish religious calendar, among all of these people and to be

staring at your Christ and then witnessing heaven part and hearing our Father whisper down to us!

I can't even imagine having been there in that moment! ... It's it's just mind-blowing: God and Jesus both there to speak to the people at once. And not only to just the Jews, and not only to just the followers of Christ, but to the Greeks who we're in attendance too! ... In other words, God and Jesus speaking to the entirety of humanity, in one place, in one location! ... Can you even picture what a remarkable scene that must have been! ... It gives me chills!

But you want to know what's even more incredible than that?

It's God's message to the people, his actual spoken words: "I have glorified it and I will glorify it again." God is answering Jesus when Jesus says, "Father glorify your name." And his Father -- God -- speaks down from heaven and says, "O, son, I have! ... I have glorified my name and I will glorify you again!"

In other words, in this march of Jesus's to the cross, this march to his death, which will glorify his Father's name, God speaks to us and tells us that he has already done so. ... He has sent

his only son! ... He has glorified his people time and again. All of the people that are in attendance that day had been glorified again and again and again. And Faith Family, if you don't get chills at the thought that we as believers in Christ 2,000 years later are included in that promise, I don't know what will give you chills!

In that moment, when god speaks from heaven to the masses that are gathered, he promises us that he will be around to glorify his name into the future on our behalf. All of us sitting in this church today, all of you who are watching us on camera tonight, all of you who will be watching this as a recording throughout the week ... He glorifies us again and again. ... God's presence is here physically in this world! ... He didn't set the world adrift on its own to watch and stand back in amusement. God promises us to be present in this day and active in this world! ... And I hope tonight that you go away thinking about that!

In a gospel text filled with Good News ... nugget after nugget that we've unpacked

tonight ... our God shouts forth from the heavens to all of the people gathered that not only has he been active on this earth before in the past, but that our God will continue to be active here on earth until his Son returns ... and that is the best Good News of the gospel tonight on this Wednesday, March 17, and Sunday morning, March 21. ... Amen.