the one that falls bears much fruit thoughts on John 12:20-33

Okay

So it’s been a year now that we’ve been living with this pandemic.  It’s been 12 month of new challenges and slivers of hope.

And as we come towards Easter this year I see a part of the story in a new light—Jesus had a focus—a purpose that guided him.  He came to be the savior.  And Jesus wasn’t about to be turned away or distracted from that God given purpose.  This pandemic has given us countless challenges--and the reality of being church today is not just about the challenges--it's about focusing on Jesus as we meet the challenges.  The challenges and distractions are here--but so is the Good News.

There are some times in my life when I wish I could really focus.  I can be distracted by a million things.

• A tweet,
• An email
• A story on the radio news

I can be so easily distracted.  And as I was reading our Gospel for today I struck by the intensity of Jesus focus in the week before he died. Jesus was getting ready for the cross.

A group of people came looking for Jesus.  They found Philip, one of his disciples, and Philip brought these Greek visitors with him to meet Jesus. 

These people were just hoping to have a meeting with Jesus.  He was growing in fame and reputation as a rabbi.  These travelers were in Jerusalem for the Passover and they had probably heard so much about and Jesus and now they wanted to see for themselves if it was true. 

They had heard about the miracles and the powerful teaching.  They heard that Jesus could heal the hurting, give sight to the blind, and that he taught we such authority.  And now this was their chance to meet him.

Maybe they wanted to see if he really could turn water into wine or walk on water at this first meeting with Jesus.  But Jesus had a different agenda.  These people just came to meet Jesus and he said something they never expected to hear. Jesus was talking about the son of man being glorified. 

These travelers from Greece we likely not sure what to think.  Jesus was so focused on what was coming for him.  Everything look great on Monday—but Jesus knew by Friday he would be dead.  Everything looked great on the outside—the people loved him—so what if the scribes, the Pharisees and the temple authorities complained.  The people loved Jesus.

But Jesus knew what was coming. Jesus had a purpose when he came to earth—and in that week that purpose was about to be fulfilled.   

Reading the gospel this week I am struck by just how clearly Jesus know what was coming for him.  As Jesus’ friends were inviting other people to come along and get to know Jesus he was trying to talk with them about the cross.

Jesus wasn't just interested in meeting these new people—he was interested in telling them and all his followers about the cross he knew was coming. Jesus embraced the cross.

He understood that he had to die, and he made a comparison between his dying and a seed falling to the ground.  Everyone who's planted a garden knows that a seed has to grow into a plant. Everyone who's planted a seed knows that you can't eat that seed if it's going to grow into something new.

 Jesus understood exactly what was coming for him.  Jesus embraced this reality that his death was coming and that his death would bring life about for all people.  Easter for us as Jesus people is our chance to celebrate what Christ has done to set us all free.

Peace and thanks for reading, John