We Wish to See Jesus, a sermon based on John 12: 20-33 preached on March 17, 2024

A little girl named Braelyn, she’s the daughter of one of our church staff members and is the granddaughter of Joe and Sandra Brice, wrote me this note that says: Dear Pastor Joe. Sorry I missed you. I’ll stop by again. I hope you have an amazing day. Signed, Braelyn. PS: Don’t forget to wear pink tomorrow. That postscript about wearing pink reflects one of Braelyn’s core convictions. She thinks that every Wednesday we should all wear pink. In fact, she told me that once she gets elected President, her first order of business will be putting that practice of wearing pink on Wednesdays into law, so I’ve started early. Maybe you should, too. Get into the habit before you get into trouble with Madam President herself and wear pink on Wednesdays. Her note prompted me to go through my children’s art collection. I’ve saved all kinds of kid’s art. This morning, I have my note from Braelyn. I have a storm trooper by Aiden Bush. I have our daughters’ artwork. Lily brought this home from her first day of preschool. And one Father’s Day, Cece drew this trophy for me. It says “#1 Dad.” I’m proud of this. Then I have a “Best Pastor of the Month” award from Margaret Ann Breed. I have a whole stack of notes and drawings that former preschool student Kate Callahan gave me. This is one of my favorites. When she graduated from our preschool, we rang the bell in the sanctuary to celebrate. Then, I have a stack of portraits that kids have drawn of me. Here, when Gabriel was little, he drew this picture. It’s mostly dots, but there are some glasses at the bottom, so you can tell who it is. Then this one; the young man who drew this one of me is joining the church today. I’m there preaching in the pulpit on Ash Wednesday. Here’s one that Jacob Duda drew. I don’t have a lot of hair on the top of my head. He could have put a little more hair up on top, but the artist chose not to, which reflects reality. I am getting older. There’s less hair on my head than there used to be. Also, I now use this special lotion that is supposed to reduce the size of the bags under my eyes. That’s not a fun product to buy, so sometimes getting older gets me down. Achy muscles and joints that pop can get me down. Getting older isn’t easy. If you add on top of those physical maladies the realities of inflation, social division, and the looming specter of this next presidential election, grown-ups like us will go looking for something to brighten our day. That’s why it doesn’t surprise me that these Greeks in our second Scripture lesson from the Gospel of John want to see Jesus. The Gospel of John tells us their national origin. When the Gospel of John gives us a detail like that, it’s important to pay attention. Why Greece? Why is this detail important? Greece in the time of Jesus is sort of like England during World War II. England in the 20th Century is coming to a new understanding of herself because some of her colonies are now stronger than she is. England in World War II needs the help of America because England is on its way out as far as being the world power. By the time World War II comes around, you might have said that England was in decline as our star was rising. Today, some might say that we are in decline as China’s star is rising. Regardless, in the time Jesus, Rome was the global power, which meant Greece no longer was. The Greeks go to Phillip and say, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” What do they want from Jesus? Likely, they wanted the same thing that I needed when I found that note from little Braelyn hanging on my office door. They needed something to brighten their day, yet instead of finding a note from a child, they hear from Jesus some words that surely changed their whole perspective. Jesus said, “Very 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.” What does that mean? Let me try to tell you. One night last week, I was looking for a printer cartridge so I could print my homework for class. I’m back in class at Columbia Theological Seminary trying to finish up my doctorate, and I was digging through all our junk draws looking for printer ink when I came across a picture that I had taken of my wife, Sara, when we were in college. She looks exactly the same now as she did then. I don’t. Back then, I had long, flowing hair. A mane of auburn hair. And at 19 I noticed Sara, but she wouldn’t go out with me right away. I just pined for her for a while until I had to get my hair cut for a week-long school trip to Honduras. A friend on my hall named Danny Nelson had his brother’s barber’s license hanging on his wall. It wasn’t Danny’s license, but it was close enough, so he cut my hair, and when Sara saw me with my clean-cut hair, suddenly, she saw someone she might take seriously. What I’m trying to say is that I keep getting older. We all keep getting older. We are like the Apostle Paul, who said: When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child, when I became a man I put an end to childish ways. We must put aside some childish ways, and then we must keep on putting things aside. We must put aside some freedom to raise a family. We must put aside some spending money to send kids to college, and then for retirement. At some point, we must put aside our car keys and maybe even our independence and self-sufficiency to get the help we need. Yet we need not put aside happiness, for our best days are not behind us. Whether you’re 8 or 98, we all have a future to look forward to. Even if your hair is thinning out, rejoice because what falls to the ground like my auburn locks becomes the seed of new life. Jesus said, “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,” so if you are feeling like a citizen of the once-great Greek Republic now fallen into decline and disrepair, don’t be afraid. Don’t give up hope. Don’t give up joy, for when we go down to the dust, we go down singing bold halleluiahs. We fall only to rise. We go down only to come up stronger. We must go down to the dust before we can rise again. Do not be afraid. Do not fear getting older. Do not even fear death. The Prayer of Saint Francis goes like this: For it is in giving that we receive- it is in pardoning that we are pardoned. And it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life. Thanks be to God. Amen.