March 17 –
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Focus Scripture:
John 12:20-33
Thunderclap
or Angel Shout?
Ignaz
Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician of German descent who lived in the 19th
century. Dr. Semmelweis worked during a time before our modern era when common
practices of our time had not yet been adopted. Dr. Semmelweis had a hypothesis
that childbed fever, an illness that killed many women, could be reduced.
Through his observations, he thought that maternal mortality could be reduced
with doctors simply washing their hands.
Today, especially after what we experienced and were told to do to slow the spread of COVID, it seems almost impossible to believe that the value of handwashing would be debatable. Today we understand a lot more about germs and how diseases spread. This was not the case in the mid-19th century. Not only was the idea not understood, it was widely ridiculed.
The grim
truth is that doctors would move from examining corpses directly to treating
women in childbirth, all without stopping at the handwash station in between.
The result was a large number of nearly always fatal illness that killed an
estimate 6-9 women out of 1,000 childbirths. It was a huge number, something
that made childbirth something to be feared.
Semmelweis
made it a practice to wash his hands and also insisted that others did the same
before treating women giving birth. As you might guess, the illness was cut by
more than 80%. You might also guess that word spread, physicians started
washing their hands, and the scourge of childbed fever faded into history.
You would be
wrong.
The story is
more awful than that. Not only did physicians not follow his lead, they
ridiculed him and resisted what was so plain to see. And when we he was gone,
they went back to their old routine: dirty hands that killed lots of mothers. Even
though the evidence was compelling, right in front of their eyes, they refused
to believe.
In John’s
gospel, we encounter a similar mindset, even if it is addressed only indirectly
and by inference. There were plenty of people who wanted to see Jesus. Today’s
detail of Greeks wanting to meet him is just one of many scenarios. Let’s look
at the context of this, because it makes what Jesus says later that much more
significant.
First, consider
the opening details of the text. We are told that Greeks came to see Philip,
who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. If we look at the map, Bethsaida is at the
north end of the See of Galilee, and there were many gentiles living there. It
could be that they wanted to see Philip as a liaison, a man they felt more
comfortable approaching as Philip, like them, came from a gentile area. Or
there might have been a language barrier that Philip was able to help them
overcome. We are not clear on this, but scholars suggest both are possible.
Whatever the
case, Jesus was drawing people from an ever-growing area, this time to the
Passover festival in Jerusalem. We must imagine that this, along with the
triumphal entry that we will celebrate next week on Palm Sunday, must have been
a major irritant to the Pharisees.
With this
detail of an even more diverse crowd of people flocking to Jesus, he lays out
what will happen and his willingness – actually, ubrestrained commitment – to
fulfill God’s plan in his death and resurrection. The seed must go into the
ground and rise up for this purpose to be fulfilled.
Jesus has
spent years teaching, preaching, healing, and showing exactly who he was and
is through his mercy and grace. Many believe. Many do not. If we are not
clear on this, let us ask ourselves, “Why did some hear angels while others
heard thunder?”
Here is why:
People heard what they wanted to hear. If they were seeking our Jesus in faith,
they heard God’s voice that they interpreted as angels speaking. If they were
sceptics, looking for Jesus to do something, anything, wrong, they heard
thunder. But all heard something. God cannot be ignored!
Obviously,
we see the same behaviors today. For example, despite all the science and what
our eyes show us, there are those flat-earthers out there. Please, show us
where the edge of the earth is so we can avoid falling off!
Seriously,
though, what are we to make of this Jesus, this person who said he was the Son
of God who came to save the world?
What do we
do about this Jesus who preached, healed, and performed miracles throughout the
Gospels?
What do we
do about this Jesus who died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the
third day?
What do we
do about this Jesus who the appeared to so many in the weeks that followed his
resurrection to be sure that everyone understood what was happening?
Our choice
is no different than the choice that was presented to people 2,000 years ago. They
could choose to believe Jesus based on what they saw, heard, and experienced.
Or, despite all the evidence that was right in front of them, they could deny
Jesus, deny his divinity, deny his purpose as savior of the world.
And we can
make the same choice. So, what’s it going to be? Jesus is Messiah, or
Jesus was just a nice guy who helped people? Jesus is Son of God, or
Jesus was just some unbalanced person with a huge ego? Which is it?
Before you
answer, recognize what God was doing then and what God is doing now.
Then, before
his physical death, Jesus was doing everything possible to connect with people.
Through his continuous work, Jesus was showing us who God is and what God does.
God creates us, loves us, and does everything to show God’s grace to bring us
to God for eternity.
Listen to
these words again in verses 29-32:
The crowd standing there heard it and said
that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered,
“This voice has come for your sake, not for mine (emphasis added). Now is the judgment of this
world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted
up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” – John 12:29-32
(NRSVue)
Even as the
cross was looming, Jesus was doing everything possible to help people
understand his mission. Jesus among them, the voice from above, and everything
else were for the sake of humanity. Really, could it be any more apparent who
Jesus was and is?
Now it’s up
to us. Handwashing or suffering? Salvation or death? Really, this is the
question of Lent. Do we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Lamb of
God who came to take away the sins of the world, or was he someone less, now
gone but not forgotten.
Please look
forward the way that Jesus was looking forward in this text. He was looking
toward the future. He was committed to the mission, and he was clear as to what
would happen as a result: And when I am lifted up from the Earth, I will
draw all people to myself. ALL.
Again, the
question is this: Will you be part of the ALL, or not? Will you believe the
evidence of scripture and tradition, God alive and working in our lives today?
Will you believe what Jesus said was true? Or do you refute what is in front of
us two millennia later, that Jesus is alive and drawing us ALL to him?
Choose to
wash your hands. Choose to affirm that the earth is round. And choose to
believe that Jesus Christ is the living Son of God who is always working in us
through the power of the Holy Spirit to raise us up as Jesus was raised up. Listen
for angels, not rolling thunder.
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You are welcome to join the congregation of First United
Methodist Church of Shelton (CT) in person or online at 10 AM Eastern Time any
and every Sunday. Services are streamed live, and past services are recorded.
The church's web address is www.UMCShelton.org.
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Questions? Comments? Feel free to post your thoughts.
Please keep it civil. Peace to you, and thanks for reading. - Bill Florin
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