Scripture Reading John 12:20-33
Jesus Predicts
His Death
Now there were
some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival.
They came to
Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they
said, “we would like to see Jesus.”
Philip went to
tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
Jesus
replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Very truly I
tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it
remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Anyone who
loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world
will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves
me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will
honor the one who serves me.
“Now my soul
is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this
hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
Father,
glorify your name!”
Then a voice
came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
The crowd that
was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken
to him.
Jesus said, “This
voice was for your benefit, not mine.
Now is the
time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be
driven out.
And I, when I
am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
He said this
to show the kind of death he was going to die.
The crowd
spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain
forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who
is this ‘Son of Man’?”
Then Jesus
told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while
longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes
you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.
Believe in the
light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When
he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
Here ends this reading of the word of God
for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Understanding from the Presbyterian
Church of Canada
Loving God, by
the power of your Spirit, open our hearts to receive and understand your Word,
speaking through the scriptures. Teach us your wisdom and reveal your truth for
our lives and our times, through Jesus Christ, the Living Word. Amen.
Message
Deep In Our Hearts
A little over a year ago, we spent
our first Sunday at home: we were not in our sanctuary worshipping together. As a pastor, I was at a loss. Ralien and Amey Besch hosted their first hymn
sing for the Trinity worshipping community and their church-y friends. I felt paralyzed. I didn’t have my act together to host an
on-line service yet. Ralien and Amey
suggested everyone participate in the on-line service led by Pastor Scott
Hutchinson of St. Andrew’s UCC in Perkasie.
So, we tuned in to St. Andrew’s service and heard the comforting words
of Pastor Scott. Afterwards, I
personally felt ready to try something new, and the next Sunday, March 22,
2020, Trinity had our first Virtual worship service.
Sometimes, you have to let
something die in order for a new thing to be born.
We have been reading our way through
the portion of the Gospel of John that records what took place during Jesus’
last week on earth before his crucifixion.
We are reading things out of order.
Next Sunday, we celebrate Palm Sunday.
Palm Sunday came the day after Jesus went to Bethany and raised his
friend Lazarus from the dead. It was a
highly emotional time for Jesus and his followers. The end was close…
Lazarus had been dead and in the
tomb for 4 days. He was really,
really dead. When Jesus arrived to
Bethany, he told his friends to open Lazarus’ tomb. The smell of death and
decay filled the air as the rock covering the tomb was rolled away. Despite the
stench and the obvious reality that Lazarus was “gone,” Jesus called him to
come out of the tomb. Lazarus was still
wrapped in burial cloths. Yet, he was
resurrected. Lazarus was alive again.
The people surrounding Jesus in the cemetery couldn’t believe their eyes. Jesus had the power to raise the dead to life
– he truly was the messiah.
The word spread. People were whispering down the lane. Everyone knew about this miracle of
Jesus. Everyone knew a dead man had been
restored to life. And, Bethany was only a few miles from Jerusalem….the word
quickly spread to the people of Jerusalem. The Messiah was here….and he was
Jesus.
When Jesus arrived to Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday, the crowds rushed to greet him. Hopes were high. The people anticipated
greatness. The Messianic age was upon them.
After Jesus came into town a group
of Greek converts to Judaism approached Philip and asked him to take them to
see Jesus. Jesus was attracting a lot of
attention.
We don’t know if the Greek Jews
joined the crowd surrounding Jesus. But,
their arrival prompted Jesus to tell his followers the end was near – Jesus would
have to die so that something new could be born.
Throughout the scriptures, we read
of times Jesus told his friends he would die.
His friends did not like this prophesy.
They wanted Jesus to stay with them forever. On the occasion of this prophesy of Jesus,
during Holy Week, the crowd questioned Jesus – if you are the Messiah, you are
supposed to live forever with God. You
can’t die.
But, the crowds did not understand
what was about to happen. Jesus did
die. He just didn’t stay in the grave. God had plans that defied logic and laws of
nature. What is impossible for man is
possible for God. Jesus would die, but that didn’t mean his message would die.
Sometimes, you have to let
something die in order for a new thing to be born.
Even after the resurrection, Jesus
did not stay on earth forever. He didn’t
keep living with his friends and carrying on like he had before his death. Instead, Jesus passed the baton to his friends
and followers. He had to move out of the
way for the church to be born. Jesus had
to ascend to heaven so that his friends would leave Jerusalem. Jesus had to leave so that his friends would
pick up themselves up and go out into the world, spreading the Good News of Jesus
Christ to everyone they met.
Sometimes, you have to let
something die in order for a new thing to be born.
When I was in college, I had the
best group of friends in the world. I
lived with my friends, I ate meals with my friends, I took classes with my
friends, I was in clubs with my friends, I went to concerts with my
friends. And, we were all in different stages
of getting our degrees…if one of us was a junior, the next person was a
freshman, and the next a fifth year senior.
Some of my friends came up with excuses for not graduating or they
decided to stay at the same school to obtain a master’s degree or they decided
to stay around an extra year and work at the local coffee shop instead of
moving out of our small town and moving on with their lives. We were so comfortable, and having so much
fun, that it was difficult to move on. It
was hard to leave.
Sometimes, you have to let
something die in order for a new thing to be born.
A little over a year ago, I felt like I was
finally hitting my stride in being your pastor.
We were organized. I had a full
year under my belt here and I was learning more and more about our congregation’s
history and traditions and dreams for the future. We were getting new programs off the ground –
we had a regular booth at the First Friday gatherings in Skippack – we were
starting a youth group – our Sunday School class was so large we had to move
into central room in our Education Building – our Bible study groups were
growing – our Narthex was being renovated and we were about to order new
furniture – lots of new faces were joining us for worship each week – we were
accomplishing goals and making plans and we felt the presence of God and the Holy
Spirit in our midst.
And, then Covid-19 came to Pennsylvania. Governor Wolff began to issue orders telling
us to mask up and close down – to stay at home.
Everything at Trinity started to grind to a halt.
Sometimes, you have to let
something die in order for a new thing to be born.
And, what has been born here among
the Trinity Community during the pandemic? We have embraced technology in new ways. Our meetings are on Zoom so everyone can
attend, even those of us who don’t like to drive at night, even those of us who
are travelling for work, even those of us who are sheltering in place. Our worship services are begin live-streamed…so
no matter who you are or where you are, you can worship with us. And, even if you can’t worship with us when
we are live, you can worship with us later in the day or the week or whenever. New people have become part of our church
family – some of you joining us officially – some of you joining us from
afar. We have learned to be more
intentional in our outreach to each other – we make phone calls, we send texts –
we can’t just assume we will see each other on Sunday mornings, so we have been
figuring out new ways to connect.
We aren’t sure what has “died” yet,
or what has just “paused.” We may not understand what we learned from this year
of Covid for years to come. When our
grandchildren are in college they may take classes on the ways the world
changed and the church changed in the 2020 Pandemic. But, despite the changes afloat, we continue onwards. We are tenatious. We move forward. And, we are resilliant. We learned to try new things. We have been
patient when things haven’t worked out exactly how we wanted. We have changed, maybe for the better.
Sometimes, you have to let
something die in order for a new thing to be born.
Before Jesus came to earth, the Jewish
people were the only group who worshipped our God. After Jesus died, the whole rest of the world
was invited to believe in God and follow God. Before Jesus came to earth, the people
of the world didn’t know about God’s incredible grace….Now we know, no matter
what we do wrong, and how we fail, and how we mess up, God loves and forgives
us….When Jesus left the earth, he didn’t leave us alone. He told his friends God’s Holy Spirit was
coming in his stead. At the first Pentecost,
God’s Holy Spirit filled the newbie Christians.
The Holy Spirit is here with us now – guiding us, supporting us,
sustaining us, healing our bodies and our spirits, making things right. Jesus had to leave his friends, and leave
this earth, and transition to be with God so that we could have access to the Holy
Spirit.
Sometimes, you have to let something
die in order for a new thing to be born.
We thank God for the work of Jesus Christ,
and that through his death and resurrection, all things are being made new.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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