So, we are nearing the end of Lent, the end of this penitential season. And as always, it's been rough. Lent always is a little rough. We dwell in passages of suffering and cleansing and dying. And maybe we try to take them a little easy, thinking that these passages are reminding us that we maybe need to look to our own lives and cut back on our carbs, lose a little weight, maybe go to the gym, cleanse ourselves of caffeine or alcohol or red meat or chocolate. Maybe we need to get rid of all those things that are dragging us down, maybe get the Spring cleaning started early.
But in the back of our minds, in the back of our hearts, we know what this is really about. Things are getting dark in the life of Jesus. It started out with such a bang! A baby born of Mary, the light of the world, a light to enlighten the nations. Kings were bringing gifts; angels were singing. When the boy grew into manhood, he went to the river where God proclaimed, “This is my son!” This is a great beginning!!
Then it's off to do ministry, preaching and teaching and healing. Crowds swelling wherever he goes. Reaching out for a touch or a word or just a simple glance. He even had an entourage! And all the love, so much love out there. The word spreading from town to town: you have got to see this guy. If he comes to your town, it's worth standing in line to get a ticket.
But there comes a time. And maybe we can't even pinpoint when that time was. It went by unnoticed at the time. But somewhere along the line, things began to change. A little here, a little there. But one day his disciples must have gotten the feeling that things are turning a little off. There's more of an urgency in what they are doing. Jesus seems a little on edge. And his parables are fading away into the background, and now he's sitting among them, saying, “Look, guys. This is important. Things are going to change – for the worse here soon, but ultimately for the better – and you are going to find yourselves in the middle of it. You have got to be prepared; you have got to make some tough decisions. You have got to choose, and choose wisely. Because this moment in God's time is coming to an end, and a new moment is about to begin. A new covenant is about to begin.”
This is Jesus now. Aware that there is a finality in the air. Knowing that his mission here and now is coming to an end. Seeing what is in store and dreading it. And still, in the midst of all of that, trying to make sure that his disciples will have what they need to continue the job.
This is a different Jesus from where we started, it seems. But perhaps not. Perhaps not. Sure, he's three years older. We can all change some in three years. My hair is thinner. My war against gravity is getting closer and closer to surrender. But inside, my core person is mostly the same. And this is the same Jesus in all the ways that count.
And a group of Gentiles, raised in Roman ways, come up to Phillip and say, “We want to see Jesus.” And I wonder if Phillip looks over at Jesus and thinks, “I wish they could have seen him a couple of years ago.” And off he goes to find Andrew, to see if Jesus wouldn't mind just giving these guys a few minutes of his time.
Jesus is gracious, he goes to them. So he speaks of glorification. He speaks of seeds dying, only to bear fruit. He speaks of following and getting honored for following.
And I wonder, did those people there see Jesus? Did they really see Jesus? He speaks of glorification. Well, anybody raised in the Roman Empire knows what that means. Power! Authority! Armies! Statues! Being raised up in stature and prestige and honor. Being raised up above all others. To be glorified is to be raised up in the world.
I wonder...did they really see Jesus? He speaks of a seed dying and then bearing fruit. But this is an agrarian society. Seeds are planted all the time. In a good year, most of the seeds bear fruit and some don't. This is nothing new. Is he just saying that some of what he says will take root and some of what he says won't?
I wonder...did they really see Jesus when he spoke of following him. Did they see the troubled look in his eyes. Did they hear him when he whispered, “And now my soul is troubled.”
Did they really see Jesus? Did they even have a clue?
Did they hear the irony in his voice?
Jesus will be glorified. He will be raised up, sure. He will be raised up in that Roman Empire, on a Roman Cross, condemned as a Roman Traitor. Glorification, indeed.
Seeds will be planted, disciples will be planted, and while all of them will die to the self in baptism, so many of them will die in the blood of martyrdom, condemned just like the Jesus they followed. Just like so many around the world still die.
Followers will follow and will be treated just like Jesus was treated: like an oddity, sometimes looked at by people waiting to see what you got, what sort of magic you can do for me...other times treated with ridicule and disdain. Mocked. Laughed at.
And I think this is the important part of Lent. Seeing what all this discipleship stuff is really all about. It's not all peaches and cream. It's not just singing carols on Christmas and bonnets at Easter.
And it's not just locking ourselves in our churches either, keeping the harsh world out.
Lent is about facing the harsh realities of life sometimes. It's about recognizing that suffering is all around us, and so much of it is caused by the actions that we, all of us around the world. It's caused by the actions that we take on a daily basis.
It's about recognizing that Jesus recognizes this, too.
And it's about seeing that Jesus breaks out of that cycle, dying in order to bring eternal life. Suffering in order to bring eternal joy. Leaving worldly glorification to the powerful in the world while bringing heavenly glorification to the lowly. Speaking to us one-on-one, and saying, “I love you, and if you love me, you have to follow me by loving others. And in that the Father will honor you.”
It won't be easy. It will only lead to that cross. That painful, terrifying...glorious cross. A cross that will break the mold, that will render what nations do meaningless. A cross that will break our hearts. A cross that will bring us joy. A cross that will be a beacon for us in the world, leading us out there where people are, finding them on their own crosses in the image of Jesus, waiting for our touch, for our care, for our love.
A cross that can't be hidden here inside the church but drives us out to work in the fields, planting ourselves out there, dying to ourselves, our desires, so that we can bear fruit.
That's Lent. That's what Lent shows us. Jesus. The Jesus the loves deeply, so deeply it hurts. The Jesus that identifies with the hurt and the suffering. The Jesus that is out in the world, searching for lost sheep. The Jesus who will do anything – anything – to bring us home to God.
Did these people really see Jesus? Did they know what they were getting into?
Do we?
Amen.