Sermon Cliff Note: "Now there were some Greeks . . ."

Now there were some Greeks . . .

You know – the not-from-here folks. . . 

maybe they heard about Lazarus

dead-raised

or maybe

they saw the donkey parade

However they heard, new in town,

they went to seek out the newest thing – 

the wonder-working parable speaker

In those days, everybody wanted to see Jesus

Someone wants to see him

and Jesus talks about. . .

seeds falling to the ground

and glorified things 

and serving 

and following . . . 

him

Son-of-Man-Jesus was about to die –

and he was speaking in riddles

and we were scratching our heads . . .

Taking pity on us, he gave us the parable about the seeds –

as if that helped!

Sure, I get it – seeds ‘die’ for the plant to live

and produce even more seeds –

But what does that have to do with a couple of Greeks

dropping by for a visit?!?  

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it!

We didn’t then, but we do now . . . 

Jesus’ dying brought more followers

somehow, in his dying,

We and he became more than we had ever been

And the usual blah, blah, blah . . . 

Serve me, follow me . . . 

Follow me, serve me . . . 

Serve and follow me =’s honor from God

Okay, already, we get it!

But did we?

Do we?

Probably not . . .

When Jesus died . . . 

When he died, it all changed . . . 

Without him, I would have just gone home . . . 

and every now and then, 

when someone from the old days

showed up, I’d have remembered

We’d have laughed and cried

and then gone back to our lives

But with what happened after, 

there was no going back

not for any of us . . . 

It hurts to admit how impatient He made me back in the day . . .

But it’s true . . . 

I just kept wanting him

Just once . . . 

To get – to – the – point

But he never did

how could he?

He was the point!

Loving, maddening, parable-telling, weird . . . Him!

And he knew it would be hard . . . 

It troubled him – what he, what we, would have to go through . . . 

But he showed us how to do it . . .

Not complaining . . . 

Not trying to get out of it . . .not then, anyway –

No – he took a deep breath, said “This is why I came”

and threw himself upon FatherGod . . .

And God heard him –

I have and I will . . . 

That’s what God’s voice said that day . . . 

I have heard you . . .

I will live up to myself in You, Son!

Now, said God . . .

Now you will know . . . 

Now is judging time . . . 

Now is Satan-kicking-out time . . . 

Now is Jesus lifting up time . . . 

Now is earth-reconciling to Me time . . . 

No wonder people thought the Voice of Heaven

was thunder . . . 

That kind of message

rolls 

and echoes

around the world

and down the corridors of time . . . 

making human tuning forks

of us all . . . 

Still we did not understand . . . 

How?

Who?

The questions were endless . . . 

Who are you to say these things?

How can Messiah ever die?

Why do you say these things?

He was pleading with us – 

Believe . . . please believe . . . 

Believe and become . . . 

There was darkness in the land . . . 

He wasn’t wrong about that . . . 

how he yearned for us

to step out of that darkness

and into his light . . . 

What happened to the Greeks?

I think they were the point . . . 

or their question was – 

Sir, we want to see Jesus.

In answer, Jesus 

offered up himself

Now the circle is complete -- 

for once,

somebody actually got the question right . . .