SCRIPTURE: John 12:20-33
TEXT: THEME: INTRODUCTION These rains, over the last few weeks has caused my grass to grow. But along with more grass, weeds. So, I have taken to weeding, a little at a time. First, I cut the grass back, then weeded to make a flower bed to plant roses, and now the weeds in my lawn, under the clothes line and under the bougainvillea. Some of my grass have become a weed growing in the cracks of the sidewalk and in planter beds. See what happens when seeds get watered. Jesus is seeing a spreading of his message, like seeds cast abroad, as travelers from Greece have made it to Jerusalem during the Passover. SCRIPTURE There were foreigners in Jerusalem for the Passover who wanted to see Jesus. They ask Philip, Philip goes to Andrew and they both go to Jesus. This is reminiscent of the calling of disciples (When Philip goes to Nathanael). When Jesus hears of the Greeks who want to see him, he realizes how widely word of his ministry and message has spread. There is a critical mass of believers across demographics. Now he can safely predict his death, knowing that this faithful core will be able to figure out what has happened and continue in this mission of God. This is John’s version of the Caesarea Philippi where Jesus is recognized as the Christ and begins his journey to Jerusalem for the last time. In Mark, after Peter rebukes Jesus for talking about his death, Jesus says something very similar to picking up their crosses to follow, ”Those who love their lives will lose it and those who lose their lives will keep it,” The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. We see shades of the Prayer in Gethsemane as “the stalk of grain is being cut off and falling to the ground.” Seeds from this dead stalk will take on a life of their own and bear fruit. The Baptismal voice speaks from heaven as a sign of God’s glory. Lifting our eyes to the location of God’s glory in Jesus. These innuendos and subtle references made in this passage makes it difficult to read, like flipping from one station to another on the TV, but if we stop to connect Jesus’ stories to this passage, it becomes a culmination of Jesus’ ministry and teaching summed up in a few verses. This is what you need to know as disciples, as Jesus is in Jerusalem for the last time. This is the turning point of the Gospel of John as the rest of the gospel will focus on the last week of Jesus’ life, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. APPLICATION Jesus scatters all kinds of seeds of faith in our lives, through his teaching, the encounters people have had with Jesus, those conversations of light and dark, being born again, worshiping in spirit and truth, no condemnation but sin no more, the resurrection and the life, what do those seeds of faith look like as they germinate in our lives? Our focus is on living now, not trying to escape death. Jesus draws us into a relationship with God where there is healing, love, forgiveness, revelation and teaching. This leads us to living our lives participating in the activity of God’s mission. We are called to participate with what God is doing in our world. I think that this is where the church of the future will be. We want the world to come to us, to gather in our sanctuaries, and to fill our programs. I am discerning God doing something different by being outside of our 9 to 10 worship service. Over the years we have had a few families that have come to us through the Preschool. Our involvement in the Preschool, on its board, chapel time, Preschool Sundays and working at the county fair Soda concession is all part of us having Church, as opportunities to be seeds of faith planted in these people’s lives even for that short amount of time. Not for evangelism, but to be an example of someone who has Christ in them. I see this in the Food Pantry. This is a busy ministry, of picking up food from the Food Bank, shopping the sale items at stores to fill our shelves, sorting out donations, turning all of these into healthy and generous portions to hand out to people. Getting to know these folks, chatting with them, and being Christ to them for this brief encounter of sharing is church. Music at Wailuku Union Church has brought a different audience to our sanctuary, for a different purpose. We began each concert with a short devotion and prayer, and are church for them for about 5 minutes, and in the reception in Dodge Hall afterwards we have gotten to know some of these patrons of the arts. These times will be coming back soon. Our Worship services have become 45 minutes long, on Facebook, with limited in person seating. Churches were one of the places where the virus was spread in the last two weeks. So, we wear masks, wash hands, keep 6 feet apart, and connect on Facebook, Zoom aloha hour, and text and call each other. Our welcome has become extended to anyone who tunes in, we are church together, apart and at different times. This is what Jesus’ ministry does, it draws us to God and it draws us together as community, with a sense of belonging, acceptance, to grow spiritually and to minister. But this is blossoming outside of the confines of the building, outside the one-hour Sunday worship into something more fluid. And this happens when we let the seeds of faith that Jesus has planted in us, germinate and give life, where we are. In our families, we minister to each other in the grace before a meal. Having gratitude and praying for each other. This is church. I had a couple calls with churches asking what the Wailuku Mission Housing is about, and how we got here, and how it is going. I got to share about this amazing congregation that is taking the word of God seriously and not only talk about it but is doing something together to live it. Being the church in our community. CONCLUSION I severely trimmed my bougainvillea hedge a few months ago and killed some of my plants when I cut the roots. I thinned out the branches and now my hedge looks a little more like a giant bonsai. I dug up the weeds with the cu-cu’s on them under the bougainvillea before they dropped. One plant can lead to hundreds. That sounds like what Jesus had in mind. Faith planted in us has the opportunity to bear fruit at all times, in all situations, inside and out of the ‘church'.
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