If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also

 

 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 

 

 This week is Holy Week, and will culminate in Jesus' Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection.  Yesterday we read St. John's account of Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate as Palm Sunday.  Note that this time in Jerusalem marks the start of Passover week.  This is the third and final Passover festival recorded in John's Gospel, and the Triumphal Entry marks the beginning of the final week of Jesus' earthly life.   Yesterday we read that a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!" Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, 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."  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 explains that these Greeks were Gentiles (those who spoke Greek, the lingua franca or international language of the period).  They are Gentiles who believed in the God of Abraham, having come to participate in the Passover feast.  That they were still called "Greeks" shows that they were not yet full proselytes (converts) to Judaism.  Since Jesus had taught His disciples not to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:5; 15:24), my study Bible says, the disciples approach Jesus before they bring these inquirers to Him. Glorified is a reference to Christ's death on the Cross.  My study Bible notes that His obscure response indicates two things.  First, the answer these people are seeking will not be found in words but in the Cross.  Second, the Cross will be the event that opens all manner of grace to the Gentiles. 

"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."  My study Bible comments that this image of the grain of wheat dying in order to bear fruit signifies that Christ's death will give life to the world.  It is common in Orthodox churches to serve boiled wheat, sweetened and spiced, at memorial services for the departed faithful.  This is a kind of affirmation of God's promise that those who have died in Christ will rise again to life.  In the Armenian Apostolic Church, this passage is read in the memorial service.

 

 Jesus lays out the plan in today's reading, a plan for His glorification.  This is the great paradox that begins with more explicit language of His Crucifixion and death which is to come.  For, as these Gentiles show up, these pagan Greek-speakers who seek the God of Israel, so we get our first hints of the gospel being sent out to all the world.  And they seek out Jesus, so He has come to be known now outside of Israel.  Again, we're given a paradox in today's reading, just the same way Jesus, the King, rode into Jerusalem in what is called His Triumphal Entry not on a horse or in a chariot, but on the colt of a donkey, so "glorification" is going to mean something seemingly entirely at odds with the world's sense of glory.  It will not only mean His death, but it will mean death by the most notorious means of suffering intended for those who are non-Roman citizens.  It will mean a death by the most ignominious way known under the Romans, a death by a method from which we derive the word "excruciating," a death of ultimate humiliation before the nation, especially for a Jewish man.  And Christ's death will be added to by the religious leaders who will go to further lengths to humiliate Him and show how they despise Him.  All of this is part of Christ's "glorification," in His own words.  For this tremendous sacrifice on His part will be done, first of all, in obedience to God the Father, within the plan for salvation of all the world, meaning all of creation (not just the earth).  For Christ's salvific and redemptive Incarnation as human being is not meant for Himself only; it is not meant as a project for God, so to speak, but as a project for us, and out of love for us.  Gregory of Nazianzinus, also known as Gregory the Theologian (one of only three saints in the entire history of the Orthodox Church to be given this title), is famous for a statement about Christ's Incarnation.  He wrote, "What has not been assumed, has not been healed."  What this means is that every aspect of human life assumed by Christ is healed through His life and divinity, thereby enabling us to enter into and participate in His life and experience that healing for ourselves.  Whatever aspect of human experience, no matter how unpleasant or humiliating or painful, which Christ assumes as one of us becomes capable of being healed simply by His entering into our life.  And this is the great love, the seed that is being planted through His death and sacrifice, so that we might live and be healed and join Him where He is in eternal life.  Christ's life, death, and Resurrection becomes His hour of glorification through this process by which we are saved, by which we may also pray and experience the energies of grace made possible through His Incarnation and His help to us, even in our very present hour, during our suffering, through our prayers, and through His life which He brings to bear on all aspects of our existence, even those caused by influence of the evil one, the devil.  Because of this hour of glorification, there is no aspect of our life, no matter how humiliating or painful, or seeming to be a failure, that Christ has not assumed so that He may be there with us, present to us.  This is about Christ salvation for everything, and for everyone, held out and given as a present, a gift to all of us, if we but will receive it.  Again, Holy Week becomes all about paradox, the good and the evil, the tremendous sacrifice of love and at the same time those who plot against our Savior to bring Him such pain and death.  But God is more powerful than all of these things which seem to be imposed upon Him, for He enters into both our life and our death in order to transfigure and transform it, to defeat death and the forces of death and cruelty for us.  Wherever we go, He is there, for He is willing to make this sacrifice, to fall to the ground as a grain of wheat that is planted for us, to bring about a great harvest.  But let us note another paradox:  He doesn't do this alone; He invites us to live and choose as He does.  He says, "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."  He invites us also into glorification and honor such as God bestows, even upon Him.  For we cannot be the Christ, but we can enter into and share in this plan of salvation made glorious in believers and saints, those who love God so that their lives become also set apart for grace and for love.  Perhaps today God has something in store for you, a message, a way to address pain and difficulty, which draws you out of a human drama and into a place where love dictates instead what you can do with your time and your life, God's glory also shining through you.  Take the time for prayer, even in a time when things we cling to may be dying. 

The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that a great many of those among the ruling parties of the temple knew that Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of those from Jerusalem went away and believed in Jesus.  The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!"  Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, 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."  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 comments that these Greeks were Gentiles who believed in the God of Abraham, who came to participate in the Passover feast.  That they are still called "Greeks" shows that they were not yet full converts to Judaism.  It says that as Jesus had taught His disciples not to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:5, 15:24), the disciples approach Him before bringing these inquirers.  Glorified is a reference to Christ's death on the Cross.  My study bible adds that His obscure response indicates two things.  First, the answer that these Greeks (or rather, Greek-speakers) are seeking will not be found in words, but rather in the Cross.  And second, that the Cross will be the event that opens all manner of grace to the Gentiles.

"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."  The image of the grain of wheat dying in order to bear fruit gives a particular significance to Christ's death on the Cross:  that it will give life to the world (John 6:51).  My study bible explains a custom common to many Orthodox churches:  boiled wheat is sweetened and spiced, and served at memorial services for the departed faithful, in order to affirm God's promise that those who have died in Christ will rise again to life.

 

 Christ's powerful words in today's reading are probably the most profound in the Gospel, in terms of not just their significance and meaning. but the power of the events themselves that Christ describes here, the life that comes from His sacrifice on the Cross.  The grain of wheat is a powerful image:  a tiny grain, falling to the ground, broken.  It dies, but it does so to give life, and life abundantly.  As Jesus says, it produces much grain.  This is an unshakeable image.   All too often, we tend to think that our heroes are just that:  images to look up to, people who sacrificed for an entire group, leaders who stand head and shoulders above everyone else.  But Jesus does not stop with the powerful description of His own death and sacrifice, and its abundant life-giving effects.  It is of the utmost importance for us all to understand that Jesus does not stop there.  He goes on to say, "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."   In other words, this gospel message is not just about the story of Jesus, the story of Christ's Passion, the story of His sacrifice and the abundant resurrectional life He offers to all of us through these events.  His command follows His statement about Himself with the illustration of the grain of wheat.  He asks us to follow.  We are the ones who must put into action our own willingness to give up the life of the "worldly" that is offered to us, and take up instead the life that Christ offers in His own example, that of following in love and dedication to God.  This is not only about Jesus, in some powerful sense.  It is rather that Jesus calls us to take up the same life.  His life may have led to the powerful images we have, to the depths of death and suffering, and transfiguring all of it so that we might have an abundance of life that wasn't possible without Christ's mission.  But Christ's mission into this world, the Incarnation and life of the Son as Jesus Christ, isn't only about Jesus.  We miss His point entirely if that is where we leave it.  Christ's mission is about finding disciples, those who are willing to take up our own cross and follow Him.  He says, "Where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."   We are not asked simply to worship, honor, and behold Christ as Messiah and Savior.  We are asked to live life as He did, to understand the point of sacrifice for the same purpose, in the same love, which produces the same fruits.  There is only one Christ, of that there is no doubt, and only one Son.  But He calls each of us to follow in the same dedication, and promises that we, also, will produce "much grain."  We are meant to participate in His life, the one He offers to us in the Eucharist.   Like Christ, we might not be able to see all of the fruits of our lives, or even live to see them, but nevertheless, we are promised the same kind of action and purpose, should we decide to take up our own crosses.  When we lose sight of the productiveness and creativity hidden in sacrifice, then we lose our way, and we enter into a losing battle based on selfishness, and what looks expeditious or opportunistic.  We lose the power hidden in our faith and the teachings of Jesus.  But no matter what the project, life asks of us sacrifices in the name of what is higher or better, and for the purpose of that which is greater.  If you raise a child, it asks sacrifice to do a good job.  If you need to complete a creative project, one must give up one's time and effort that could be put into something else.  A loving marriage asks mutual sacrifice of both persons.  In the end, one must weigh the greater goal against the temporal sacrifice.  When we lose sight of the meanings in suffering, and the transcendent values to be found there, then we lose our way with Christ.  The love in the sacrifice on the Cross cannot be forgone or unseen and still be Christian.  Our faith asks of us a particular effort, and that effort is simply to weigh in our lives everyday the options before us.  What is worthy of us, and what is not?  What are the higher goals?  Whom do we serve?  There is no loss in this sacrifice, only a choice to be made for what produces more fruit, more grain, and especially a higher and greater love.  Let us note that Jesus begins by putting all of this under the umbrella of glory:  "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified."  We are invited into this fellowship to share in that glory, and there is where we should see our own crosses, our own sacrifices for the higher and greater meaning of our lives.