Today is Tuesday of Holy week.

Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”  

Assist me mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that I may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John, chapter 12.


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.


Today we find ourselves in the Temple courts during the Passover festival. A day, maybe two, before the Passover. And it's buzzing with activity. Pilgrims from all over Israel, indeed from even further, have gathered here in the outer courts, the court of Gentiles. I imagine for a moment that I am Philip. In the midst of all of this noise and movement, I watch Jesus in the distance teaching, and my mind wanders for a few moments thinking about these three short years since I met him in my hometown of Bethsaida. It feels like a lifetime ago.
 
When he came into town teaching, I remember thinking immediately, this is the one Moses wrote about. The fulfillment of the Law. And I went to find Nathaniel and then we found Peter and I remember saying to them, Just come and see. You've got to see. We were just ordinary, hardly even ordinary, and now here we are. The whole world is abuzz because of this man.  

My mind snaps back to the here and now when a group of Greeks come and ask to see Jesus. They think because I'm also Greek that I can get them an introduction. Jesus is like a rock star these days, and everyone thinks I'm the ticket back stage. But Jesus is having none of it. He's in an entirely different mode. There is this urgency... like he sees something we don't see. It's like we are all watching a sunset and he looks at it and sees the sky opening up and swallowing the sun and the moon and everything. Swallowing him. And like so many other times, I stand here stunned, speechless.

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that I, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Music: Are You Who You Say You Are? - Heaven and Earth - (YouTube)