Christ Church Episcopal
March 21, 2021
5 Lent B
One of the most meaningful pieces of Lent for me is our
Lenten Reflection Booklet. For those of
you who are visiting Christ Church today, either on Zoom or Facebook Live, our
Lenten Reflection booklet contains one reflection for each day in Lent written
by a parishioner or friend of Christ Church.
This year’s reflections seem particularly honest and rich and I believe
we have experienced something of Jesus in each of the offerings. Each of the people who wrote put something of
themselves into their writing, an act that requires courage and trust, and the booklet
has been received with great love. The
booklet is evidence of the deep way that we can encounter one another even when
we are physically separated, and I might say especially when we are separated. Add to the reflections themselves, the effort
parishioners put into delivering the booklets, along with Ash Wednesday ashes,
to every household in the congregation.
The whole process of bringing the reflection booklets from an idea that
we really were not sure we could pull off this year to a reality in our hands has
grounded and connected us to each other and God in both the liturgical
wilderness of Lent and the very real wilderness of Covid-19.
This morning, some Greeks approach Philip and say “Sir, we
wish to see Jesus.” Philip tells Andrew,
then the two disciples tell Jesus. Jesus’
reply has always struck me as a little odd if not downright rude. Rather than give a direct answer to the
Greeks, Jesus goes on about a grain of wheat falling to the earth, losing and
gaining life, and serving and following Jesus.
A simple “yes” or “no” would have sufficed.
Rather than being rude, however, I think Jesus may be doing
the Jesus version of “Be careful what you ask for.” When we ask to see a doctor, for example, or
this time of year, an accountant, we do not just want to look at a medical or
tax professional. We need something from
that person. We trust that person to provide
what we need. We want a real and honest
encounter. I believe that is what the
Greeks wanted in their request to see Jesus.
What Jesus wants the Greeks to know is that seeing Jesus in that real
and honest sense comes at a cost.
First,
the Greeks will be encountering someone who will soon fall to the earth and
die, in order to bear much fruit. While the
bit about the seed may be common agricultural sense, Jesus is also reminding
the disciples to whom he is speaking that all of the fruit will be
connected. When the seed falls to the
ground, that seed reconnects with all of creation, and when the seed finally
bears much fruit, all of the fruit is connected through its relationship to the
seed. Through our connection with Jesus,
we are connected with all humankind.
Secondly,
those who love their life so much as to put up boundaries around it, guard it
and protect it from any challenge will inevitably lose their lives. Those who are willing to give their lives unreservedly
in service to others and God will live into eternal life. Encountering Jesus means encountering the one
who models the giving of one’s life. And
thirdly, whoever serves Jesus must follow him and where Jesus is going is to
give up his life for the life and love of the world.
So, if the Greeks really want to see Jesus in a real and
honest way, they need to know what they are getting into. And what they are getting into is living as
people who are organically connected with God and the whole human family, being
willing to die to self to bear much fruit, and being willing to follow Jesus as
he is raised from the earth and draws the whole world to himself.
Sir, we wish to see Jesus.
This week, our country experienced yet another violent hate crime, this
time committed primarily against Asian Americans, sending waves of terror through
the Asian American community. This act
of hatred follows a year of threats and violence against Asian Americans,
unjustly blaming the current pandemic on them.
Asian restaurants have received hate calls with threatening messages, even
here in the Cleveland area, which is rich with ethnic diversity. When we say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” and only
see Jesus in people who look and act like we do, we are not looking at
Jesus. When we say “Sir, we wish to see
Jesus” and do not see the whole human family connected through both creation
and the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are not looking at Jesus. When we say “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” and
do not rise up to claim our connection with the marginalized, the vulnerable,
and those without power, we are not looking at Jesus. As long as we think in terms of “us” and “them”
whoever us and them may be, we do not really want to see Jesus.
Jesus reminds us this morning that seeing Jesus means
seeing Jesus serving Jesus, and following Jesus, not just when Jesus goes places
where we are comfortable and feel safe, but when Jesus goes where the reconciling
love of God is needed. We practice seeing,
serving, and following Jesus here at Christ Church, which is an incredible
blessing but not an end in itself.
Practicing here gives us the courage and the ability t0 see, serve and follow
Jesus at all times, in all places, and with all people. Tolerating bigotry and hatred is not an option
for followers of Jesus. The only option
for those who want to see and follow Jesus, is love.
Amen.
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