The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year B)
Jerimiah 31: 31-34; Hebrews 5: 7-9; John 12: 20-33
They arrived from the fields prompted by the song of angels that had replaced the usual whisper of the night breeze. “I bring you tidings of great joy,” the heavenly messenger proclaimed. “Today a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.” And so, the shepherds left field and flock and came to a forlorn stable in the little town of Bethlehem. “WE WANT TO SEE JESUS!” And they related to Mary and Joseph the message they had heard about the child who lay sleeping in the manger.
Three wise astronomers from the East observed a new star at its rising. They consulted the ancient writings of the Hebrew prophets and left their familiar palaces, following the star to wherever it would lead them. “WE WANT TO SEE JESUS! Where is the newborn King of the Jews,” they asked the paranoid, power-hungry, cunning and cruel King Herod. “Not here in Jerusalem,” he informed them, “but in the City of David. Tell me when you find him, that I too may worship him,” he said with malicious insincerity.
They left the towns and villages that surrounded the Sea of Galilee and assembled on a hill on the Korazim Plateau to take in the teaching of the preacher they had heard so much about. “WE WANT TO SEE JESUS!” And he told them it is truly blessed to be poor in spirit and to hunger for righteous.
He passed through their town and the crowds amassed to get a glimpse of the one of whom it was said made the blind see, the deaf hear, the crippled walk and lepers clean. “I WANT TO SEE JESUS” said one, short in stature but large in curiosity. “Come down out of that sycamore tree, Zacchaeus. Today, I will stay at your house!”
Their names were Martha and Mary from the town of Bethany, a wealthy suburb outside of Jerusalem. “WE WANT TO SEE JESUS,” they said. “Tell him the one he loves, our brother Lazarus, is ill and close to death.” But by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus was dead and had been in the tomb for four days. “Roll away the stone,” he instructed them. “Lazarus come out!” And the shout awakened him from the deep sleep of death and he emerged from the tomb still wearing his burial wrappings.
He had taught the people as one having authority. He had cured the sick and raised the dead. The people hailed him as their messiah and he revealed himself to be, much more than messiah, but the only begotten Son of God. “This man must be stopped. He blasphemes. He subverts our authority,” said the leaders of the people - the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the priests. “WE WANT TO SEE JESUS!” And so, they arranged with Judas Iscariot to have him handed over to them.
Yes, they all wanted to see Jesus . . . Those who were Galileans and those who were Judeans . . . Those who were wealthy and those who had nothing . . . Those who were mighty and those who were lowly. Some were prompted by angels, some by ancient prophesy, some by mere curiosity, some by need, some by faith, and, yes, some by the hatred in their hearts.
In our gospel today, we hear about another group, some Greeks, who had the same request, WE WANT TO SEE JESUS! Who were they? We don’t know exactly. They could have been pagans or they could have been part of the diaspora, those Jews who lived outside of Israel. But these men had undoubtedly heard the stories about Jesus . . . how his teaching defied common sensibilities - Turn the other cheek? Forgive seven times seventy times those who have wronged you? Love your enemies? Pray for those who persecute you? The poor are blessed and the rich are cursed? And they had heard rumors of his miraculous feats . . . Who but God has control over the forces of nature and can calm a storm and walk on water? Who but God can cure illness, disease and handicaps as a sign of the inner healing of the soul? Who but God has the power over life itself and can raise someone from the dead? WE WANT TO SEE JESUS.
Greece was home to philosophers the likes of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Greeks were great thinkers. And so, these men came, not in idol curiosity, but with greater motives. Our translation says they want to “see” Jesus. But actually, the word better translates understand. They want to “understand” Jesus. They want to get to the essence of him. So the request, “WE WANT TO SEE JESUS” is more aptly the plea, “We want to know what Jesus is about.”
Chances are, whatever the reason they wanted to see Jesus, they didn’t get what they were looking for. Jesus tells them that from now on they are to find Him in the grain of wheat fallen to earth and dying. They are to find Him in the one who is lifted up from the earth and loses his life. It is there that He is glorified.
Here’s a tip for understanding John’s Gospel: Whenever Jesus' conversation partner fades in the background, Jesus is no longer talking primarily to that person anymore but instead has turned his attention to the reader. The same, I think, is true here. Who are these Greeks? We are.
And so today Jesus asks us, “Want to see me? Want to REALLY see me as I am? Look to the cross. It is there that I am glorified. It is there and only there that you will discover who and what I am all about.”
“What am I about? I am about doing the Father’s will no matter what the cost. What am I about? I am about being the sacrificial lamb that atones for your sins. What am I about? I am about loving unconditionally and at all costs, even to the point of being betrayed and beaten, mocked, spat upon, scourged, stripped, and nailed to a cross to prove it. What am I about? I am about mercy, forgiveness, in place of anger, hatred and revenge. What am I about? I am about redemptive suffering . . . by my stripes you have been healed. Want to see me? Look to the cross for there you will find truth - for the cross is proof positive that everything I taught and every claim I made about myself is true . . . and the truth will set you free. Want to see me? Look to the cross because it is there that I have been glorified. Want to see me? Look to the cross. It has become my royal throne.”
Amen, amen, I say to you,
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.
WE WANT TO SEE JESUS! You do and I do. And we have come to the right place. For it is here that the grain of wheat falls and dies, and becomes the Bread of Life, the Eucharist. It is here that the sacrifice of Calvary occurs over and over and over again before our eyes, in an unbloody way, for that is what happens at each and every mass. It is here that Jesus offers Himself up to the Father anew. It is here that our sins have been atoned for. It is here that total, unconditional love is poured out upon us. It is here that blood and water gush forth from Jesus’ pierced heart and bathes us in His mercy.
She feverishly pounded on the door to gain entrance to that upper room where the Eleven hid themselves from those that had crucified their Master. Their three-day vigil of fear and grief was suddenly startled by her words: “I have seen the Lord!” She had been to the garden tomb early in the morning. The stone at its entrance had been rolled away. And, as she departed the garden, she heard Him call her name: “Mary.” Joy radiated out of every cell of her body as she exclaimed: “He is no longer dead! He has arisen!” “WE WANT TO SEE JESUS,” shouted Peter and John. And they ran to the tomb and peered in. There they saw no body, but only the blood-soaked reminders of His crucifixion. And they saw and believed.
In the next two weeks, as we shout “hallelujah” and wave palm branches, as we gather around a table and eat His Body and drink His Blood, as we stand on a hill with His mother and His beloved disciple and gaze up at the cross, as we squint into the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning, may we too SEE and believe.
