Encountering the Word
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…†[Full text: John 12:20-33]
Contemplating the Word
On the surface of it, there is an apparent non sequitur in today’s reading. Why should the fact that some Greeks have turned up wanting to see Jesus cause him to say ‘the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’? What is it about the Greeks?
It relates back to an earlier reading in this Lenten series (see Sunday Week 4). There Jesus reflected on his immanent suffering and death, where he would be raised up like the bronze serpent in the desert, held aloft so that anyone who was bitten could look on it and be saved. Jesus, by being physically held aloft (i.e. raised up) on the cross becomes the one upon whom anyone can look for salvation. Anyone.
Now the Greeks have arrived, and Jesus takes this as the sign that God’s plan of salvation for all is being fulfilled. The Greeks represent us all: the non-Jewish people who are ultimately to be included in God’s plan to restore all things in Christ. So Jesus, upon hearing of the arrival of the Greeks, says ‘now the hour has come’.
Of course, this raises the obvious (and, I must say, perennial) question: why did Jesus have to die to fulfil God’s plan? Doesn’t this paint a very harsh picture of God? Couldn’t God have found another way? These are important questions, as not only is our understanding of God potentially undermined by misunderstanding what is going on here, but so is what God requires of us also in doubt. After all, as noted previously, our lives will inevitably reflect the pattern of Jesus’ life.
To understand the need for Jesus’ death from God’s point of view, you have to be prepared to acknowledge the central problem human beings have when it comes to God. It begins by noting the obvious: we are not God. The major problem stems out of this fact. Not only are we not God, but we choose to act in ways that indicate that we believe we are. Every time we do something selfish, destructive, or harmful etc. we make the implicit statement that who we are what we want is of paramount importance. Often without realising it, we are making the statement that we are the centre of the universe.
This is not real. You may be pretty special, but you are not the centre of the universe. God is. This tendency to usurp God leaves humanity in a difficult position: stuck in unreality concerning who we are, and completely unable to do anything about it by ourselves. In fact, the only one who can rescue us from the delusion within which we all reside is…God.
Enter Jesus. The only way that God could assist humanity to bridge the gulf between our unreality and the reality that only God expresses, was by becoming human and restoring our connection to that which is true, good and beautiful. God needed to act in the person of a human being capable of living in such a way that none of the futility of sin and unreality was manifest in him. The self-preoccupation of humanity could only be negated by the complete selflessness of a human being prepared to give his very self to God. And so Jesus needed to die – not because God needed him to, but because we do.
The bridge between God and humanity, historically broken, is restored in Christ. Human beings could not (of themselves) restore the bridge, as they were the ones who had broken it. Only in Christ, true God and true man, could the relationship be restored. God had to do it for us. In Christ the truth is acknowledged – that humanity is powerless and broken. In Christ, another truth is also acknowledged – that the sinfulness and weakness of humanity is not beyond the power of God to restore.
Salvation is for all. This straightforward statement carries with it the energy that has directed the missionary endeavours of the Church for over 2000 years. Those, for whom the encounter with Christ has been real, cannot but speak about that experience. The failure to speak (i.e. to proclaim with our lives and our words) calls into question the reality of the Christ-experience in the first place. It is not for no reason that Pentecost is described as ‘rushing wind’ and ‘tongues of fire’: this is imagery that depicts energy and transformation.
Enthusiasm goes a long way, but the message we proclaim needs to be contemplated, and the way that we present that message needs to be thought about. For example, evangelisation does not mean haranguing people into seeing things the way we see them. There is a world of difference between issuing an invitation and engaging in bullying tactics.
The problem comes when we focus on the end point and not on the journey. When we do this, we operate out of a conviction that everyone should believe certain things and should live a certain way. While this might be to some degree true, the fact is most people don’t arrive at this ‘end point’ overnight. Indeed, some don’t arrive at that point at all this side of the grave (that’s what Purgatory is for). Instead, most people most of the time, can only contemplate the next step in their journey. God is calling them, but their road to God will be long and winding. Our tendency to want to leap frog them along that road may work for us, but is disrespectful of them and ultimately counterproductive to the work God is doing with them. This is God’s work, not ours.
How many people in the history of Christianity have walked away from their nascent faith because somebody (or the Church) imposed on them ideals for which they were in no way prepared? Do we demand of people who have not as yet started to get fit that they get out there and run a marathon?
With this in mind, Pope Francis challenges us to understand that calling others to faith requires a particular set of predispositions on our part, for otherwise people will close off from the message we proclaim. We are to be people who manifest “approachability, readiness for dialogue, patience, a warmth and welcome which is non-judgmental.â€(Evangelii Gaudium 165).
Spend a few minutes in prayer to the God who is as close to you as your breath. Ponder the reality of God’s presence and contemplate the thought that God has something for you – a plan that is as unique as you are. Don’t worry about what that plan is nor about what you are to do. Your role is simple: sit in God’s presence and wait for him.
Remain silently in God’s presence for as long as you feel inclined or opportunity will allow. Then bring before God any sincere prayers of intercession that you have. Instead of asking God to do things for you, ask that he might achieve whatever he wishes through you.
Finish by praying the great yet simple prayer of praise to the Blessed Trinity: Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
