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"Seeing Jesus"
The Rev. Catherine Wright
Year B Lent 5
March 29, 2009
St. Mark’s Episcopal
Glen Ellyn, IL
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-13
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
We wish to see Jesus.
It has been difficult these past couple of weeks, and this
past week even more so. For those of you who have not yet heard,
I have accepted a call to be the rector at St. Andrew’s
in Elyria, Ohio. I am excited about the congregation there.
I believe it to be a good place for me to be a rector. I believe
my family and I will be able to make a good life there. But
it is very hard to leave St. Mark’s and Glen Ellyn. We
really like it here. We really like all of you. We had hoped
to stay here for a long time, but that is not how things worked
out. So now we are planning a move and that is no fun. We leave
this afternoon to try and find a new neighborhood and home.
It is difficult and painful to make the transition, even when
we know it is the right thing to do. It is hard to say goodbye
to you here, even as I believe I am called to be there.
But a good friend said something very reassuring to me as we
were discussing the move. She said – you will find good
people there. There are good people everywhere and you are very
good at seeing the good in everyone. She was reminding me, in
her own way, of that part of our baptismal covenant where we
promise to seek and serve Christ in all people. Where we promise
to be Jesus spotters, to recognize the presence of Jesus in
those around us and to treat others as Jesus deserves to be
treated.
In our Gospel lesson for today, the Greeks who are looking
for Jesus come to Philip, who goes and tells Andrew and the
two of them go to Jesus. This is significant -- who the Greeks
go to first when seeking Jesus. Andrew is the disciple who had
been following John the Baptizer, and when he heard what John
had to say about Jesus he began to follow Jesus. He was one
of Jesus’ first disciples and it was based on what someone
who Andrew trusted had told him. Philip was the first disciple
that Jesus called. Jesus found Philip and said to him “Follow
Me” (John 1:43). So we have in this scene one who follows
based on the comments of another and one who follows based on
the call of Jesus directly to him. And the Greeks who are looking
for Jesus come to Philip, the first one called to be a disciple
by Jesus, who goes and gets Andrew, the first one to follow
Jesus. These two ways of coming to Jesus- the recommendation
of another, the calling of Jesus directly to us. In this congregation
I am sure there are those of us who became Christians due to
the recommendation of another- our parents often. And there
are those of us who felt a stirring and see that as Jesus calling
to us directly. It is both of them- both ways of becoming a
Christian- that are present when Philip and Andrew go to tell
Jesus that the Greeks are searching for him.
And it is this sign, that non-Jews are searching for him, that
lets Jesus know that everything is on track and it is finally
time. Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus three times says
that it is not his time yet come. At Cana, Jesus said to his
Mother, “My hour has not yet come.” Later in Jerusalem,
“They tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him,
because his hour had not yet come.” Finally, in the temple,
“No one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.”
but here after hearing that the Greeks are looking for him he
declares that “The hour has come for the Son of Man to
be glorified.” It is time folks. The word has spread outside
our little group. Outsiders, non-Jews want to see me.
So how do we see Jesus now? On youth trips we would ask at
the end of the day where kids had seen God that day. At first,
they may not really know how to answer the question. But those
that have done it before pipe up and soon the kids have really
caught on. By the end of the trip they are well trained in watching
for and spotting God during our daily activities. So how do
they learn to do it? They listen to others- they hear where
others are spotting God. They keep their God goggles on- they
keep in mind that they are watching for God. How do we do it?
Listen to others, offer your own times when you are aware of
God. Like a Where is Waldo picture, the more you look for Jesus,
the better you get at finding him. In the kindness one person
shows another, in a babies wiggling fingers, in the first green
shoots of spring, in the love between a couple, in mosquito
nets being bought and protecting people around the globe. In
lights turned off last night in honor of the earth. Pretty soon
you become aware that God is all around all the time and you
are seeing God everywhere. Sure enough, what my friend reminded
me is true: God is everywhere and you are very aware of that
wonderful reality.
For St. Patrick’s Day this year I changed my signature
block on my email to include part of his Breastplate prayer-
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when
I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
It reminds me that God is all around us. That God is with us.
That we are joined together throughout all time and places-
we are one in Christ whether we are living in the same village
or across the globe. Covered by mosquito nets or buying them
for others we are all God’s handiwork, we are all wanting
to see Jesus and we are all found by him through his own calling
or being sent by others. Christ promised the people there when
he is lifted up from the earth will draw all people to himself.
Those outstretched arms of Christ on the cross are drawing all
humanity to himself. He surrendered his life back to the giver
of life and was given the strength needed. That is the promise
of the Gospel- that the power of sin is never greater than the
power of God. That Good always wins over evil- but we have to
be willing to relinquish our hold on stuff that we value but
that stands between us and God, to let go of life as we define
it to find the life God wants for us. We all wish to see Jesus
and we all have a grain of faith from childhood, an immature
grain, that needs to die in order to become a fully mature faith.
Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel that "Where I
am, there my servant will be also". This is not just a
promise to be with us, but a promise that WE will be in those
places where the world needs God. So if we are in an unexpected,
difficult place- planning a move, or struggling with bills,
unemployed or in poor health- then we should be asking not how
come I am here, or what would Jesus do, but what is God already
doing here and how can I be a part. What is God doing with me
in this place? How can I use my being in this difficult place
to help others, to draw others to Christ. Put on our God Goggles
and see Christ. Help others to see Christ. No matter where we
go, he is there, drawing all people to him.
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