21 March 2021
The Greeks, we are told in the gospel, want to see Jesus.
It’s a very strange interchange.
They don’t approach Jesus directly, and, they only want to see him,
Not hear him, not speak with him.
Just see him
Who is this Jesus they only want to see?
He’s a rock star. This incident happens right after the resuscitation of Lazarus.
And, how does Jesus respond?
With that curious phrase we all know so well: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground
And dies it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
Death is very much on Jesus’ mind.
In this interchange he not only suggests he is no rock star, he admits he does not want to die.
He could pray for this hour to pass, and we know he does in the garden.
Like any of us, he clings to life, to what he knows.
He tells that to the Greeks, to his disciples, to us.
And then he says: But we cannot cling only to what we know.
The only way to find life is to live forward, to cling to God.
And we shall see next weekend, and the weekend after what that means.
What does that mean for you?