"Jesus"

John 12:20-21                                 

25 March 2012

John D. Lane

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.”

Let me set the scene. Just before this encounter, Jesus has returned to Bethany, the home of Mary and Martha–Mary being the flaky spiritual member of the family, Martha appropriately enough the Martha Stewart of her time, much concerned with cooking, setting the table, picking just the right flowers for a gorgeous centerpiece, raising chickens who lay the perfect color eggs, serving, getting things just right, then complaining to Jesus about her shiftless sister who leaves Martha with all the work to sit at his feet and learn. Lazarus their brother also lives there. The news of Jesus’ arrival has caused no small commotion. He is famous for his many miracles, most especially for his raising the local boy Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus was in the tomb three days, and by then, as his sister Martha memorably put it–as captured verbatim in the Authorized Version (King James): “He stinketh.” Sometimes the King James gets it just right. On the other hand, how many of you could stand up right now and define another KJV word for the edification of us all: “Propitiation”? My unabridged dictionary defines it: “that which propitiates.” Glad to clear that up. Consult I John 2:2 for further developments.

But back to Jesus, the rock star of the moment. He is at the top of his celebrity. Everyone wants to get near him, touch the hem of his garment, hear him speak, catch a glimpse–if only from afar. But he’s in a hurry to get to the Passover festival, centered at the Temple in Jerusalem, less than an hour’s walk away, clearly visible from Bethany. Off he goes towards the Holy City itself, with crowds pressing in, throwing down cloaks and palm branches at his feet, hoping for another big miracle–tune in next week for more detail. Among those making pilgrimage to Jerusalem are some Greeks, who say to Philip, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

I can’t remember where it is, but there is a pulpit somewhere, I think in an Episcopal seminary–Paul or Shelby may know–where the words of John 12:21 are engraved in stone where only the preacher can see them while looking out at the congregation: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Paul suggested last week that the heart of the gospel may be John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” In a similar way, the words a preacher should live by may be today’s text: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

A number of you have read books by biblical scholar Marcus Borg or heard him speak. I recommend both. One of his biggest sellers is Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, an intriguing title. Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time. Borg’s thesis is that most of us, make it all of us, have some fairly clear vision of Jesus, a vision that is inevitably wrong or incomplete. Borg tells us that, in order to find fresh inspiration we need to erase our preconceptions and start again–kind of like Etch-A-Sketch or the Magic Slate, erase what we’ve so carefully constructed and begin anew. What does it mean to be a Follower of Jesus?

We think of Jesus as a miraculous healer. It is clear that he is, but it also clear that healer is in a sense only his opening act. Healing comes early in his ministry. There is a time when it stops.

We hear a lot these days about family values, with Jesus as the leader who will help us to recapture what we think we have lost in this area. But Jesus was no model in words or actions for what we call family values. He never married–we think. He didn’t treat his mother, brothers, or sisters as anything special, au contraire. He told his followers that they would need to abandon their family ties if they were serious about being his followers. I love my family and I’m pleased that other people love their families, but it’s not because the Bible tells us so. In order to get closer to knowing the real Jesus we need to erase our fantasies about him–and Jesus the family guy is a popular fantasy among many.

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.”

Some scholars believe that what the Greeks are telling Philip is not that they want to look at Jesus from afar or take a moment of his time for a photo op or get a chance to ask him a question or two. These two guys are more serious than that. What they are telling Philip is that they want to follow Jesus. How do we join up?

Rick Warren, the very successful pastor of Saddleback Church in California writes the following in his best-selling book, The Purpose-Driven Church:

We've never encouraged other believers to transfer their membership to our church; in fact, we have openly discouraged it. We don't want transfer growth. In every membership class we say, “If you are coming to Saddleback from another church, you need to understand up front that this church was not designed for you. It is geared toward reaching the unchurched who do not attend anywhere. If you are transferring from another church you are welcome here only if you are willing to serve and minister. If all you intend to do is attend services, we'd rather save your seat for someone who is an unbeliever. There are plenty of good Bible-teaching churches in this area that we can recommend to you.” (p. 39)

I think Warren is on to something, though I think he may take this idea too far. Whether you have grown up at Trinity–and there are some adults here who have never been members anywhere else–or have recently begun attending here, the questions are the same. Who is Jesus? What does it mean to follow him? How are you following him right now? What could you do to follow him more closely? What have you been thinking about for a long time, but keep putting off? If someone looks at you, do they see Jesus, at least a bit?

                  

Following Jesus is not an easy thing. It is not without cost. As he says: “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.” To paraphrase Rick Warren, Jesus doesn’t call us to sit in the pews to be entertained. He doesn’t call us to reinterpret the gospel so it supports our preconceptions–take family values as an example. Jesus calls us to follow and serve and minster, utilizing our God-given talents in the name of the gospel, wherever it leads us. Where is Jesus leading you?

I remember a sermon I heard 40 years ago. Actually, I don’t remember the sermon per se, but I remember the opening question. It has haunted me all these years. “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” A question worth pondering, to be sure. If you were arrested for being a follower of Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict you? If yes, what evidence? If not, why not?

Think about it.