Grace Episcopal Church, Galveston
5 Lent 2018
The Rev. David C. Dearman
"Switch Gears & Let Go"
In today’s reading from the Gospel According to John (12:20-33) Jesus sees a sign that it is time for him to change course. Jesus had just entered Jerusalem with his disciples. The time of the Passover Festival was nearing and many other visitors were in town for the Festival. Among these visitors were some Greeks, not Greek-speaking Jews, but foreigners who took their spiritual journey seriously enough to want to experience Passover and to see this amazing teacher called Jesus. When Jesus heard that some Greeks were asking to see him, he saw that as a sign. He switched gears and began to say, “The hour has come.” He spoke about how a grain of wheat must fall into the earth before it bears fruit; he spoke about his glorification, he spoke about his being lifted up from the earth. Of course, he was referring to his death on the Cross. This is the Glory of God because the Cross is the final sign, the one to which all other signs point. The Cross is the most poignant outward and visible sign of God’s transformative love.
As Jesus is switching gears from a ministry of teaching to a ministry of laying down his life as the one, full, sufficient sacrifice for our sins, he was also speaking to us. “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” But what do these words mean for us? For one thing, these words mean that Jesus calls us to be his disciples by following him….to love a life in the service of Jesus so much more than a life following the distorted values of this world.
To borrow words from our Wednesday speakers, Brother Michael and Father Peter, we are called not to adore Jesus, but to serve him. That means going forth from this Church and being ministers, that is, being the hands and feet of Jesus to our neighbors. This reading is merely dust and ashes unless we ask ourselves how we are called to switch gears, let go of selfishness, and enter more fully into the role of a Jesus servant. Adoring Jesus from a distance is easy but what Jesus asks of us is difficult. Why? Because Jesus calls us out of complacency to roll up our sleeves, get our hands dirty, and take seriously Jesus’ command to love our neighbor. Lent reminds us that following Jesus is not about a comfort zone, being a disciple means trying to make a real difference in the world. And if you are going to do something significant, be the change you want to see in others, then you will be vulnerable...I wish it weren’t so, but that’s the deal.
Another angle on the lesson here is that we have to discern what to let go. I recall a story read to our children many times when they were young. The book, entitled Henry’s Awful Mistake, was written by Robert Quackenbush and told the story of a homeowner who was preparing to entertain a friend with dinner. This was a first date, so Henry wanted everything to be perfect. While he was preparing dinner, he saw an ant. He stopped his work on dinner and began to go after that ant. He was worried that his friend would think his home was not clean, and this feeling fueled his frenzy to find that ant. He pulled out chairs, table and appliances eventually going after the ant with a hammer as it was crawling up the wall. On his last try, he missed the ant but ended up crashing through the sheetrock and breaking a water line. Water spewed everywhere, the date had to be called off, and the house needed extensive repairs. The story picks up again months later in his new home when once again he is attempting dinner for his friend. As he answers the door, he sees the ant again….and having learned a valuable lesson, this time, he simply looks the other way. Henry learned to let go of obsessing over that imperfection.
I love this story because it teaches children, and their parents, the problem with obsessing over small things. It reminds us that we should learn to let go of things that are not really important, especially when we start to obsess over them...when reason “leaves the station,” so to speak.
So today’s Gospel reading reminds us of our calling to follow Jesus. Doing this joyfully depends on our letting go of things in life that hold us back from serving joyfully. When we are obsessed over perfection, unwilling to begin serving Christ until this or that has been completed, we are called to switch gears. In Lent, we might take the opportunity to let go and begin to experience greater freedom to follow where Jesus leads. The obsessions may be different for each of us, but the calling is the same. We must “hate” or reject any life that draws us apart from God in order to enter a spiritually abundant life closer to God. With the help of God’s Holy Spirit may our journey this Lent see us responding anew to the transformative power of the Cross. In this way, may we glorify God by serving the One first glorified on the Cross, the One who calls us by saying, “Follow me.” AMEN.
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