Lent 5 

Readings: Hebrews 5:5-10 and John 12:20-32 

Lent is like a journey, that takes us from Ash Wednesday to Easter Day.  On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, we enter into the season we call ‘Passiontide’, the two week period leading up to Easter, when the themes of Lent intensify, and we draw ever closer to the events of Good Friday! 

And Passiontide is like a journey within a journey!  The lectionary readings, particularly the Gospels, throughout Lent, have steadily prepared us to join with Jesus, on these final stages of his earthly journey. 

And today, the journey takes us, with him, to the brink of the cross itself.  And in the Gospel reading which we have just heard, we are starkly reminded of all that the cross holds in store for Jesus, and of all that it holds in store for those of us who seek to be his disciples. 

The reading begins with a distraction from the journey.  But it is an important distraction: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus”, was the request which the group of Greek Jews put to the disciple, Phillip.   

“Sir, we wish to see Jesus”, seems like a simple enough request, but the answer which Jesus gives to Philip and Andrew, is far from simple! 

In fact, he seems to go off at a tangent, and there is no evidence in the account that he actually ever agrees to meet with the Greeks!  Though there is evidence that, in the narrative that follows, there are onlookers, who are listening in as Jesus primarily addresses the disciples.  So maybe, the Greeks had joined the crowd? 

Whatever, Jesus starts talking about his own destiny to suffer, about grains of wheat falling to the ground and dying, about yielding a rich harvest, about the glorification of his own name and finally about sentence being passed on the world as he, the Prince of that world, is overthrown!   

Jesus’ words here, are strong words, even to our twenty-first century ears, and we are able to listen to them in the knowledge of what is going to happen next!  So just imagine what it must have been like for Phillip and Andrew, and the onlookers at this point! 

Philip and Andrew were just two ordinary first century blokes, who Jesus had called from their everyday work to help him. And here they are, seemingly unaware of what is going to happen to Jesus – that their friend is entering into the final days of his earthly life.   

What would you or I have made of it if we had been in their shoes?  “We only asked him if he would talk to these Greeks . . . .!”  you might well have said “ . . . . and he’s gone ‘off on one’, with all this stuff that we don’t understand!”   

And then, there is this mysterious, thunderous, voice from Heaven, echoing the experience of his own baptism and the experience of the mountain of transfiguration! 

We could easily be led to think that Jesus has missed the point here – but this is not the case!  Instead, he has led them to the heart of the matter – he has ‘shown them himself’, by leading them to the very cross, the cross which is a stumbling block to any who fail to confront it headlong, and to ‘take on board’ that this is what being a disciple of Jesus is really all about.  He has shown them his very destiny and purpose, and in doing so, has opened them up to their own destiny and the journey they must take! 

This is an important stage on the journey, but there is still some way to go – next week we will look on as he triumphantly rides into the City of Jerusalem.  And then on the Thursday, as he goes to the Upper Room and to the Last Supper, and to the Garden of Gethsemane.  And finally, through that night and into Good Friday, as he takes the final stage of his journey, to the despair and the agony and the emptiness of the place of crucifixion. 

It’s a journey which we are called to join, through absorbing the words of the Gospels, but we are also called to join in a physical sense, by taking part in the acts of worship which we will have here in the church. 

So, the sharing happens in a physical sense.  But it also happens in a Spiritual sense of being prepared to follow, unconditionally, in whatever direction he calls us to go, even if it takes us to the foot of our own crosses and to the sharing of the sacrifice which he made! 

Let me take you back to that question, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus”!  These men were so clearly inquisitive to meet the man, and to learn from him.  And yet, Jesus in his uncanny way of being able to sense the secret hearts of others, somehow knew that they hadn’t the strength to follow him all the way! 

“Sir, we wish to see Jesus”, is also the question which I find, though often unspoken, on the lips of many of the people I meet day to day – the same people that you meet day to day!   

It’s very easy to get depressed about the results of the 2021 Census, showing that only 1% of the UK population said they were members of the Church of England, or that only 6% said that they regularly attended Christian worship.  But a more meaningful figure is that 45% identified as Christian.  So I wonder where the other 39% are on a Sunday? 

Well, I know, from conversations that I have, that there are many, many people in our community who are hungry to meet Jesus and to learn of him and from him, and to apply that knowledge in their daily lives and situations.   

“Sir, we wish to see Jesus”!   

The words require a response today, just as they did 2,000 years ago!  For us to respond to these words is our Mission – it is what the church must do in order to survive!   

Perhaps, in our conversations with our friends, it might be good to ask them what they put on their census forms in relation to faith matters? 

So, next time we sense those words hanging on the lips of a loved-one, or a friend or a neighbour, may that same Jesus give us the voice and the strength to speak the words of encouragement which, for that person, may make the difference between life in the darkness of the world, the flesh and the Devil, or life in the fullness of Christ!  Amen.