good shepherds (Jewell)

GOOD SHEPHERDS

In order to understand the theology in our passage from John this morning, we have to take a look at the very beginning of his gospel. Chapter 1 verses 10-13: 

“He (Jesus) was in the world and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to those who are his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.”

He was in the world and the world did not know him. With that in mind, I want us to go back, way back to first century Palestine and imagine Jesus—the man—the teacher—the revolutionary mystic who said and taught people things that would eventually get him killed.  The real guy who was Spirit-filled confronting the culture and power of his day so that he might Save people by reconciling them to God.

 In John 10:11 he says “I am the good shepherd”—it is Jesus that will care for them and us, that will lead us into salvation---how did this first century Palestinian that was about to die a criminal’s death shepherd the people? By fundamentally disturbing the status-quo—the status-quo out there and in here (point to head). He pointed out that business as usual gave them and us—the mess we find in the world—because, according to Jesus, business as usual is estrangement from God. Jesus is not shepherding us into comfortable, successful lives, he is not asking us to be well-adjusted to the world—because as we just heard, the world did not know him. Jesus is shepherding us out of the status-quo, out of our estranged state and into the kind of relationship with God that he had.

Humans, like sheep, move in groups, in flocks. Humans, like sheep, are dominated by unconscious instinctual needs. And, we both tend to play follow the leader rather easily. By disturbing the status-quo Jesus is trying to wake us up from this unconscious tendency to follow the flock. Think of the effects of this herd behavior---advertising rules our consumerist culture. New cars, new homes, the best schools that cost way too much—they appeal to our unconscious instinctual needs for security and power and we end up playing follow the leaders. We follow patterns that somebody else designed and laid down for us. And once we’re in those social, political, moral, or religious patterns we follow along. The good shepherd is trying to shake us out of those old patterns that the flock follows and into New Life in God. The Good shepherd is trying to lead us out of the world that is the old pattern. According to Jesus this requires a new birth. Remember, in the beginning of the gospel we heard that, if we receive him, we will be people that are born of God, not the flesh. The flesh is code for the old self—the conditioned self that follows the flock.

In the church we are all called to be good shepherds. There is a word from Buddhism that is useful here—that word is Bodhisattva. A bodhisattva is a person who has gotten a taste of liberation from the old self—gotten a taste of what Christians call freedom in Christ. And this person now dedicates his or her life to helping others wake up from the old self that follows the flock unconsciously. This happens organically, for once we get a taste of freedom, freedom in Christ, we want to share it with the world. It’s like addicts getting sober, they start telling others how God is working their life. If you find an oasis, you go back into the desert to help others…

Just as Jesus laid down his life for us—we are called to lay down our old life so that we might help others wake up. We are called to lay down our old self so that we might help others experience freedom in Christ, freedom from the self that blindly follows; freedom from the self that is unconsciously driven by our need for security within the flock.

We are called to be Bodhisattvas; we are all called to be good shepherds. Going out and trying to impose our ideas and our religion on people can end badly. We must face the fact—exclusively Christian language in a pluralistic world can be divisive. And, just as Jesus said, the church is about unity—not division. But, if we live changed lives—we change the world. If we are a light, we will shine in the darkness. Transformation, change, living a less self-centered life, these are true signs of a good shepherd—not religious imposition and manipulation.

Christians are not called to be popular. Jesus was not a mega-church leader---he was a mini-church leader that challenged people to wake up. Christians are called to be changed! If people say, hey, I noticed you’ve changed—you’re not the same—something is different with you—if we’re outside of the old pattern—if we’re no longer judging people according to our old pattern---if we’re no longer blindly following the flock, if we’re helping someone experience freedom, if we’re reconciling the world to God, then, we are good shepherds.

Amen.

Reverence for creation

using alternative scriptures (selections from Gen 1, psalm 8, matt 5) there was no manuscript, just notes:

approaching Earth Day; we think of climate/environment as political issues but they are deep faith issues, co-opted, like many faith issues, for political purposes
Genesis text: humans are made in God's likeness, given responsibility (we've assumed 'dominion' means domination, AND we are provided for--interdependence
psalm 8: humans cooperate with God, co-creation, ongoing
matthew 5:  nature/creation as a source of learning lessons about God, self, relationship between us

with all the biblical mandates, why on earth do we destroy what gives life, what gives meaning?  yet we do

Canadian creed we use has had a line added a decade ago.  After "to celebrate God's presence", we add "t live with respect in Creation"

private ownership (Jewell)

(And the whole group of those who were in a state of faith were of one heart and soul, And no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common—think how radical that is for the modern church—just imagine that…

This morning we were given a peek at early church life…and it reflects some of the core teachings of both Jesus and Paul…

I can’t think of any teachings of Jesus and the early church that are more counter-cultural than those dealing with possessions—there are more than 30 of them and they hit us where we live—literally—they are really multi-level tales and teachings about the urge to possess and what that does to us. I may possess many conclusions, beliefs, and my neighbor may be rich and own a big house and fine things. Whether we possess things, or ideas,—all possession is essentially the same—it segregates. The early church, on the other hand, was not divided or segregated —they were one—they were integrated in their hearts and souls—in the deepest part of their being.

In order to understand this passage from Acts we have to understand possessiveness—we can’t just go with the old approach. The old approach is that Religions have said for thousands of years that possessiveness is bad, that it causes us trouble—and then they ask us to conform to that teaching—but that conformity only brings a conflict. I hear that I shouldn’t be possessive but I am anyway and maybe I feel bad about it or I just give lip service to my religion. Just look at the result of such an approach—our so called Christian culture is built on possessiveness—we not only possess, but we are encouraged to possess things, possess ideas, heck, we even possess people. We say that is my wife, my husband, my car, my race, my class, my friends, my religion, and the church is not immune--we even possess ministries. And we get very nasty when someone threatens to take away my possession---when someone threatens my control—be it a spouse, a car, an idea, or a ministry. When I take ownership over anything, that builds a division—this is mine---this is not yours. Possessiveness prevents us from loving. Possessiveness builds and reinforces the self. And let’s think about this—is the thing that possesses really different from the ideas, conclusions, things, people, that it possesses at any given time? We are the things, ideas, conclusions which we possess. In the words of Fight Club—the things you own end up owning you.

 The only way to deal with possessiveness is to understand it—why do we possess? Merely conforming to a pattern that says it is bad won’t do it. We each must understand why we do it.

I will tell you what I saw for myself: Possessiveness or attachment all stems from the same thing. Whether I was attached to or possessing my girlfriend, my car, my job, my ideas, my conclusions, these were all my treasures on earth and without those I didn’t know who I was, I was less than.

About ten years ago I was getting ready to drive out west. I didn’t know exactly how long I would be gone…while I was packing I stood in the center of my apartment and was disturbed—why do have all of this? I saw that I owned all of it due to a warped need for security—that the things I owned owned me. I said, I don’t need this. So I donated most of it. I live with much less now than I used to. I have one plate. I have three bowls—can’t mix your veggies and your fruit—evidence of a mental disorder born of affluence—I wonder if a starving man cares if his fruit touches his veggies. My studio apartment has very little in it—except for all those books and old leather jackets--they’re the next to go. I realized that, due to a subtle feeling of dependence, either emotional or economic, there was fear deep in many of my relationships. Where there is dependence there is usually fear. And fear leads to a subtle desire to control or possess. Many of my old relationships are also either gone or very different now. Something had changed—and that something was the result of practice and teaching. The more I was immersed in Spirit and guided by mentors the less ownership or possession meant to me. I did not will this change—it happened like anything else does—it was organic. And of course, this is ongoing—a work in progress. The most problematic possessions are the psychological ones…it is easier to let go of furniture and clothes than conclusions, beliefs, ideas. I still get stuck on my own way of doing things—I must practice letting go. Humans we have been killing each other forever for the ideas we possess, just look at the news—ideas we possess about religion and race are deadly. Why wouldn’t Jesus want us to get beyond them?

What we see in Acts is not an attempt to conform to a political vision like socialism—this is an organic outgrowth of life in the Spirit—it is an outgrowth of the reality experienced by people like Jesus and Paul. As I said, their teachings were full of phrases about our urge to possess.  Here are just a few:  Matt. 6, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth”, Luke 12, one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions, Matt. 19 The story of the rich young man., Luke 12, the parable of the rich fool. Jesus goes so far to say it is next to impossible for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Jesus and Paul clearly challenged the material and psychological possessions of their cultures—they challenged beliefs, customs, laws, ideas. In fact it is safe to say that that is why they each died. Our passage today demands that we each look into our hearts and understand our own desire to possess.

Luke tells how the early church managed to live without private possessions. Those who were in a state of faith were one in heart and soul. This gives us the spiritual practice of the group. Each individual was in faith—this is code for the state of mind of each member of the body of Christ. And we clearly see Paul’s influence. We are saved by grace through being in a state of faith. When we are in faith grace is upon us—we live in Christ. We are the world, if we want to be beyond the lines our possessiveness draws—then we each must look deeply into our own hearts—examine ourselves as Paul says. Blindly going with the flow of the culture and the values it imposes is no longer an option. The church of Jesus Christ challenges the very foundation of such a culture—a culture that segregates. The church of Jesus Christ is not reform within the system it is a revolution from outside the pattern of society. When the world says hold on to what you’ve got—we say let go. Life in our culture of consumption is about addition, life in a culture of consumption is big, it is about look at me. Life in Christ is about subtraction.

This is what the early church did: it did not support the culture—it challenged it.

When we are in a state of faith--we are one--then God’s grace is upon us—and we live beyond the boundaries of our possessiveness. Just like the early church, the more we let go of that which we possess—or that which possesses us—the more we let go of our false selves—the more we let go of that which divides us from God and one another. Then we can better respond to all—to Life itself.

Our church has a practice in which we respond to our neighbors. We call this practice outreach. And I want to say a little bit about the criteria for gifts from outreach: we seek to participate in special projects or established ministries that express the compassion of Christ with priority given to:

Projects of ministries having a UMC affiliation

A local or ecumenical origin

Personal connection to our congregation

Projects that allow for “hands” on participation

We also want to balance our gifts among local, regional, and international projects

We have a policy of avoiding making gifts to individuals based on that individual’s needs

 (after listing these and saying, “why such an emphasis on possessions and the urge to possess”?) put in K’s stuff—for many of us relationship is grounded in some kind of dependence either emotional, psychological, or economic. And where there is dependence there is fear. This leads to this need to possess…we must possess our girlfriends our husbands, our conclusions, our ideas. Even many of our religious ideas, if we’re honest, are grounded in dependence—so we must possess those ideas to feel secure.)

(eventually get to them all being one heart and soul, by grace through faith—all those who were in a state of faith—that’s how they get beyond possessiveness they transcend self)

Unfinished business

Unfinished business 040515

Mark 16:1-8

Well, that’s not what you expected, is it?   You probably came here this morning expecting something different, probably the Easter story as John’s gospel tells it, with angels, a garden, and Mary Magdalene having a close encounter of the divine kind. 

Mark’s version, the first written down some 30 plus years after Jesus, reads very differently!   It reads more like a dry report than the emotional story we’re used to hearing on Easter….no scene of the risen Jesus to answer our doubts and questions…instead, a cliff hanger of failure and fear…. Full of terror and amazement they fled; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  We don’t expect words like that on Easter!

Those women didn’t get what they expected either.  Expecting a closed tomb and a dead body to clean and anoint, what they got was an empty tomb and a divine messenger (young man in white was code for angel).   No wonder they were afraid.

Indeed, tales of the unexpected.  So unexpected in fact that others added a more satisfactory ending, and other gospels wrote about all manner of divine encounters after Jesus death…. St Paul, who wrote even before Mark, had some tales of Jesus sightings, tho no empty tomb or angels or gardens.  All that stuff got added later; but the first Easter story written down ends abruptly with fear.

And that makes it a story for today.  

·        These women were used to the natural flow of life and death, so anything that didn’t fit with their cultural understanding was to be feared.  Many of us too have a tendency to dismiss anything that doesn’t fit with our preconceived ideas.

·        This may have struck a vague chord of memory of what Jesus had told them, just as many of us have vague memories of what Jesus says but when we’re deep in a troubling time, we don’t remember…..and they may have been afraid of being wrong

·        Afraid of risking ridicule

·        Afraid of what others might think of them.

·        Afraid of the implications for their lives

So better to keep quiet.

 It strikes me that this unfinished easter story is a direct challenge to those who call ourselves Christians, or Jesus followers.  In a world where death and war and abuse are rife, we keep quiet except to bemoan the state of the world. Fear rules.

So if those women said nothing, how come we’re here? 

Because someone said something.

Altho these women didn’t have a Mary-in-the-garden encounter with the risen Jesus, their experience was still real, spiritual, vital, valid.  Not all spiritual experiences are alleluia mountaintop moments. They encountered a being that told them the unexpected news that Jesus is alive and at work in the world.   And told them “Do not be afraid”…..that’s no less a deep spiritual experience than something much more media popular. 

 I read this week “fear can be a stepping stone; it can point the path to justice as well as to hate”.   It’s what we do with our fear that counts.

the message of Jesus is that Life wins, not death….or it will IF we engage with it in life-giving ways….

just as someone finally did 2000 years ago.  The message of easter is that God isn’t done yet; God’s love and life continues to work against fear, and the resulting evil we see in our world.  The state of our world can be alarming and fear-mongering media doesn’t help….ISIS, Russia, Nigeria, racial unrest in the US and dysfunction in Washington all contribute to fear which leads to hate which leads to violence. 

Unless…..unless we heed the unexpected call to do something different with our fear….to trust that Life is more  powerful – to trust that God is indeed still at work.  There is still unfinished business for our souls, our churches, our daily lives.

This easter story in  Mark’s gospel isn’t about Jesus’ triumph of life over death, with all its lilies and trumpets and springtime images…..a story we can celebrate once a year and be done.

The resurrection isn’t some weird Christian dogma that is set in stone, pardon the pun.

No, as I read this week, “the resurrection isn’t a conclusion, it’s an invitation”  (David Lose, Working Preacher) 

I believe that the very unexpectedness of this story is what makes it so relevant today.  It’s an unfinished story. And that’s the point.  We’re not called to believe certain things about the resurrection.  We’re being set up to live resurrection lives and continue the story….(Lose)

Continue the story until  heavy stones of fear  are rolled away from our hearts and Jesus is set free to touch our well-guarded souls 

 Continue the story until we live out God’s dream of a world of justice and peace   

until we learn not to be silent, but to speak up and speak out where we see death and fear ruling…..

it’s an unfinished story….yours, and mine.

Amen.

Friday

see Monday on instructions for lectio divina

 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ 

Alternative reflection question:  in what ways does the crucifixion of Jesus still happen today?

Maundy Thursday meditation (C Jewell)

As we move through tonight’s meditation on the Gospel I invite you to reflect on the humility and love of the Christ during the periods of silence---

True love cannot exist, a true love for one’s neighbor cannot exist without the greatest commandment: “You shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”

Jesus “knew he came from God and that it was now time for him to return to God”. Though it all the Christ was completely, fully, grounded in God, which means he was completely, absolutely, free. This allowed him to love fully, this allowed him to be love because he was beyond self-centered attachments and judgement

 .......

True love cannot exist without deep humility

 Jesus takes the position of a slave when he bows to wash the feet of the disciples. He knows that where there is the search for power, for position, there is separatism. As long as each of us is concerned with our own position and power our culture will be the outcome of a process of segregation. Jesus is betrayed, is rejected—for he is outside of the pattern of society and so society regards him as a threat.

.......

True love cannot exist where there is discrimination

He is humble—he is nothing. He washes all of the disciples’ feet, including Judas’--he loves all—he loves like a bird loves the sky or like the rain loves the dry earth—simply, without thought, without self

.........

True love cannot exist where there is self-centeredness

The Christ calls us out of our old selves, he sends us out to love one another the way he loves us—with no possessiveness, without conditions, without a hidden motive, without a need for gratification.

.......

True love cannot exist, a true love for one’s neighbor cannot exist, without the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

Thursday

See Monday for instructions on lection divina

 Jesus' disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?"   So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, "The Teacher asks, Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"  He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready.  Make preparations for us there."  So the disciples set out and went to the city and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

Alternative question for reflection:  those who carry water lead us to where Jesus wants to be.  How might this be a metaphor for the church, the congregation, your spiritual life?

Note:  the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke suggest the last supper was a Passover meal, but some contemporary scholars think it was an ordinary Jewish meal.

Entering Jesus (C Jewell)

·        Entering Jesus’ world is like Alice entering her wonderland: we often find things are upside down and backward relative to our everyday world. We find that we must lose our life in order to save it. We find a humble king. We find the first shall be last and the last shall be first. We find the dead become the living. We find the rich and the powerful are on the outside and the poor are blessed. Is it any wonder this man’s own family thought he was crazy? Is it any wonder the good religious folks of his day thought he was wrong? Is it any wonder the religious and imperial authorities saw him as a dangerous revolutionary? Is it any wonder he hung out with outcasts and sinners?

·        This morning we once again drop into the rabbit hole. In Zen Buddhism there is something called a koan. Now a koan is a short phrase from a teaching or a story from the life of a spiritual master pointing to the nature of ultimate reality. Most ancient cultures used stories in this way—including the first Christians and this morning we have what I call the Palm Sunday koan. Most of us know the story of palm Sunday like we know our phone numbers—but if we never get past the symbol or symbols and get to the meaning behind them we never crack the coconut and get to the life giving stuff inside…

·        As we slide down the rabbit hole we drop into a world where nothing is the ultimate something. I’ll say it again, nothing, No-thing is the ultimate something and this has the power to save us. We land in the beginning of Passover week 2000 years ago. Passover marked the passage from winter to spring when new life emerges—a really big deal for an agricultural society. It was also, is also, a time when Jews tell stories of political and spiritual deliverance. It is very significant that our story takes place during Passover—Jesus, the man whose very name means deliverance and salvation is riding into the Holy city…

·        Mark has Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt—a young donkey. The author is implicitly referring to a passage in Zechariah. This is symbolism telling us that Jesus is a humble king. We must be in wonderland—we are encountering a humble king. Why would Mark, the first gospel writer, reference this line from Zechariah about a humble King? What is he saying about Jesus? As usual we can turn to Paul for a clue. As I have said before, All of the gospels are heavily influenced by Paul—none more so than Mark. Paul’s famous lines about Jesus humbling himself, emptying himself, making himself as nothing, they tell us what Mark is describing here. A person who is ready to be as nothing is humble—a person who is proud is trying to be something. Fear of being nothing causes us to try to become something through the accumulation of ideas, materials, and achievements. Most of our lives are spent trying to do something, to be something, all to escape from being nothing.

·         

·        Aryeh Kaplan, a brilliant Rabbi said that the true Hebrew word for “I” also means nothing—the true “I” is nothing or no-thing. God is nothing. God is No-thing!

·        The brilliant Christian mystic Meister Eckhart said, “Spiritual life has much more to do with subtraction than addition”. Instead of asking people what they do for Jesus maybe we can ask what they are not doing for Jesus.

·        At the beginning of Passover week, at the beginning of this time of deliverance and liberation, this man who emptied himself, who allowed himself to be nothing, is riding into the Holy city. And the people are screaming Hosanna, which means “save us”. A humble man, a nothing man,  is the savior. Why? Because only a person that is humble, that allows him or herself to be as nothing is truly a saint, and a saint is a person that allows the divine to shine through them. So when we encounter the person who is nothing we are encountering God. Jesus, The nothing man, is the representative of the most potent power—a power that delivers, a power that saves.

·         

·        The people go on shouting, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord”. Most of us, if we’re willing to be completely honest, too often come in our own name. We are mostly concerned with self-centered interests. We are conditioned to compete with others to be something—and then we condition others to compete to be something. We value, emulate, and admire the some-bodies, the some-things. Our consumerist culture depends on this. Only a humble-King, this nothing man riding into the Holy city on a donkey can truly come in the name of the Lord—for he has emptied himself, made himself nothing. He cannot come in his own name, he can only come in God’s name.

·         

·        It is the beginning of Holy week and WE are riding into Jerusalem. It is the beginning of Holy week, are WE ready to empty ourselves? Are we ready to be nothing? It is the beginning of Holy week in whose name do we come?

Tuesday

(see Monday for suggestions for lectio divina)

 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury.Many rich people put in large sums.  A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.  Then he called his disciples  and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.  For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Alternative reflection question:     How does our abundance prevent us from our relationship with God?

Holy Week reflections Monday

Lectio divina is a Latin phrase meaning Holy Reading, a practice of many Christians throughout the centuries, particularly Benedictines.  It involves reading, several times on the same subject, with an open heart, inviting God to show you something to reflect on.

This week, read each day one of the events of Jesus’ last week; the first time you read it  watch for what word/phrase strikes you.  Pay attention to it for some silent time.  Re-read again, with the question “what might God be saying to me in this word/phrase?” take some silent time to consider this.   Read it again, then rest in God’s presence, allowing your mind to spend time listening to insights for your life.   Hints:  It’s often helpful to read aloud.                                                                                                                   

 If the text is too long for your attention span, I have highlighted shorter sections in bold which you may want to focus on                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             I have also included an alternative reflection question in case this practice is just too much for you!

Monday:  Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written, ‘my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?  But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Alternative reflection:  In what ways has the church lost sight of its purpose?

a word just for you?

032215            John 12:20-33

There is so much in text, congregation decide what they want to talk about, interactive.   They were asked to listen to the gospel with the ear of their heart and notice what strikes them.

Not all of the following was talked about!

²⁰Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.

Non Jews who believe in the one Jewish God—maybe the spiritual but not religious, or those whose faith content is different, seekers

Where we are from matters—we judge people by it

Outsiders/insiders…. like – or not like – the onlookers later in story…those not engaged yet

²¹They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

word getting out….Philip Gk name, one like them……..also both were first to bring other Jews to Jesus (Peter, Nathanuel)…. See, not just hear about, go beyond curiosity    What about our life would make someone curious about Jesus

²²Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

Like a committee!  Not…community, not do it alone, shared ministry…..paving the way for others to meet Jesus - act as mediators

We too need to ‘see’ who outside our walls has spiritual needs and help them have a conversion experience, an encounter with Jesus—especially those who seem different or who are feeling like outsiders

Jesus knows that just seeing isn’t believing, so he makes this a teaching moment

 ²³Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Glorified trips us up, not a common word….we sing it “In our lives, Lord, be glorified….” But what does it mean?

lifted up /exalted –play on words in English and in Greek with last sentence of reading (when I am lifted up will draw..) …glorify has an element of joy, said one of our SLB people…do our lives lift up Jesus, exalt Jesus….do our lives reveal/show something of who GOD is?

“the hour has come”     Sometimes you just know its time, the right time for something…don’t know why Jesus or the writer saw this as the signal for a turning point…..crisis moment that calls for change…

seed as readily understood image for death and resurrection (singular seed:  dump in dark place, wait, trust something is happening, it changes, slowly grows and becomes plural, more than one dernal—community))

observation from someone this week….Grain of wheat is small, hard, narrow and self-contained!!  hmmmm    need to be cracked open, change

Individual and Congregation has to be like seed: change and grow or die.   BUT

Dying is not a trait we usually give to our saviors. Brian Stoffregen

Indeed our culture tends to be death denying at all costs -  prolong life at all costs, live as fast as you can, do as much as you can, tuck in as much skin as you can, be as thin as you can, dye your hair as often as you can, fix your teeth as white as you can, run marathons as long as you can, spend as much money on these things as you can, for as long as you possibly can

But dying and rising is the eternal spiritual story, in many of the world faith traditions, and in a very clear way in Christianity:    no new life without death, no faith without cross, no easter without holy week

²⁶Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

Closeness of following, ongoing presence, divine r’ship

 Following Jesus and serving are intimately linked too….and wherever Jesus goes, so go the disciples…..do we?   Do we go where Jesus is or do we assume Jesus comes to where we are?

²⁷“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name.”

in John Jesus seems to feel little of the agony of suffering that we feel in other gospels, yet he is Troubled in his soul, his psyche, his very self.     This text calls us to grapple with what our living and dying is for….and it can be troubling

-- points to God—Jesus is here to reveal something of God (Lenten cross liturgy says so, and we are also called to be an antidote to the fear of death culture by living lives that reveal, or show God)

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.              

the point is so that they know Jesus comes from God (doesn’t matter if its thunder or an angel) God is active, past and present and future, a promise worth holding on to when your soul is troubled.

³¹Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.

Crisis moments, world in crisis….the things that rule our world?     They must and can be driven out by our working with Jesus, our willingness to give up our life/old self…self surrender, self giving….you’ve heard that often from Chris.  And it’s called for   Now.  Now.

³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Lifted up/exalted again in English….the irony of Christianity is that it is through a demeaning (down) symbol, cross, that we find something worth raising up in honor…comes full circle: all people including Greeks can “see’ Jesus but not without going through following Jesus,

All people:  insiders and outsiders, curious and certain, those who get it and those who don’t—all are welcome to be drawn into this Jesus way of new life…as we say at the beginning of worship each week, God is drawing us here for a particular reason

At Simple Suppers, when asked why we are here and why does this congregation exist, we had myriad answers, including “something attracted me”—maybe it was the depth of spirituality in someone, or the sacrifice of service that attracts people, but whatever it is, once you’re here you’re called to die…to old self, to commitment to cultural standards, to exclusive r’ships , to troubled spirits, to fear of death…only you know what in your life needs to die

Prayer from d365:

Holy God, you have invited us into the life and work of Jesus.  Help us have courage as we respond, as we let go of our lives so they may become a source of love and healing in the lives of others and as we learn that in serving close to you we are never alone.  Amen.