Lent

March 20, 2021

Scripture Reading:
John 12:20-33

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. John 12:20-26

I do not recall ever seeing the connection between a Greek, most likely a gentile, wanting to talk with Jesus and the discourse that follows. It seems a little out of place. I get what talking to a Greek has to do with planting seeds. Why must Jesus die for the spread of his Word to happen?

We get caught up in our routines of life. We can miss the things that really matter. We parse our lives in service to God like a tithe, giving God 10% of our resources—money, time, and talent. The tithe was established to support the functions of the priesthood. The percentage amount did not apply to our love and service to God. Of course, for most of us, God does not get 10% of anything. Only 5% tithe, and 80% of Americans only give 2% of their income*.  Christ calls us to dedicate everything we do to God’s service. While that seems like a lot to ask, in Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus is quoted as saying,

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Getting our priorities straight always makes for a more abundant life**. Changing our preferences to match Christ may indeed result in the death of previous priorities that we once worshipped. Yet, God loved us so much that he was willing to sacrifice for our sake God’s Son, Jesus, the Christ, who was indeed a blameless good seed.

The more complicated truth is even with Jesus’s death and resurrection, we continue to shift our priorities away from the life of living and loving like Jesus to following those earthly idols such as self-righteousness and greed that kill our souls***.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we stray from the pathway you have set forth for us. Lead us toward loving your abundant life. Amen.

*https://nonprofitssource.com/online-giving-statistics/church-giving/#:~:text=Only%205%25%20tithe%2C%20and%2080,state%20that%20they%20regularly%20tithe.
**John 10:10
***Matthew 10:28

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.