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Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."
- John 12:20-26
In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. He is coming from Bethany, the home of His friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha, where He has spent the Saturday before Palm Sunday. Many from Jerusalem know He is there, and have known of Him through the sign of the raising of Lazarus. Because of the belief this sign inspired, the chief priests also plan to put Lazarus to death, as well as Jesus. This next day is known as Palm Sunday, when He rides into Jerusalem from the east. Among the crowds that have come to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, many hear that Jesus is entering the city. Taking Palm Branches, they went out to meet Him, saying, "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!" Jesus sat on a young donkey, fulfilling the Scripture: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt." Later, after Jesus was glorified, the disciples remembered all these things. The people who were with Him when Lazarus was raised bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!"
Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." My study bible says, "These Greeks are Gentiles attracted to Judaism, either God-fearing or full proselytes, who came to participate in the Passover festivities." Greek was the international language of this time, so these people are Greek-speakers. But their importance is significant in terms of the Gospel: Jesus' name is now known beyond Israel. The Gospels, indeed the whole of Scripture, will be written in Greek, to be communicated throughout the world. Already by this time the Hebrew Bible had been translated into Greek in the Septuagint.
Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified." My study bible notes that this is "the great hour of salvation through the death and Resurrection of Jesus, leading to the salvation of the human race." The whole wide world is open to this salvation, a unity in language and communication will make it possible for the Gospel to spread. Christ's hour is here.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." My study bible tells us: "The image of the grain of wheat dying in order to bear fruit signifies that Christ will die in order to give life, a principle of self-sacrifice which applies to all those who follow the way of Christ." Jesus gives us a picture of what is to happen through His voluntary death on the Cross. He has already said the Cross will be a sign lifted up for all the world, in the same way Moses lifted up his staff in the wilderness to save many (John 3:14-17). As my study bible indicates, Jesus begins speaking of what is to come, in His hour of glorification. But what He says extends to all those who would be His disciples: it's not our worldly attachments, cares, desires, that truly shape all that is. Rather there is something more to life, for all of us, for each of us, something added, harmonized, that gives us true life. When we trade one for the fullness of the other, we serve Him, we are like Him.
"If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor." What is it to serve Christ? There is so much more to life than we imagine. What Jesus promises is not His presence alone, but that of the Father as well.
Today's reading offers us the concept of sacrifice in the Christian context. What is it to hate our "lives in this world?" The word here in the Greek is psyche, meaning "soul," from which we derive words such as psychology. What Jesus is driving at here is the love of our lives separate from God. This sort of separation is the one engendered by the Fall, in a Scriptural context, man's alienation or separateness from God. We're made for relationship, in the image of Creator. If we love a life of separation, how then shall it be eternal? This separation takes all kinds of forms, often selfishness or a type of self-centeredness in many guises. What often feels like sacrifice, in this context, is really the giving up of a very limited life or perspective for that of God's perspective for us. We might cling to relationships that are not really healthy for us spiritually, a way of life that feels like belonging or comfort but is actually limited. Whatever way this comes to us, it will feel like great sacrifice, a giving up not only of things we might love and want and cling to, but of ourselves in one way and another. But the promise of Christ is for something much more, a life infused through the Spirit of God, of union and friendship with Christ and the Father. With God, all things are possible. Through service to Him, we walk in His way, and He shows us that Way.
