Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Gospel: John 12:20-33
Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time to celebrate the Passover festival. Here Jesus’ words about seeds planted in the ground turn the disaster of his death into the promise of a harvest in which everyone will be gathered.
20Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very 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. 25Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
27“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
The Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
(A note about the worship service in which this sermon was preached. Before the sermon at the beginning of worship two children were baptized. After the sermon a group of new members was received into the community.)
Grace to you and peace from God our creator, from our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and from our Sustainer, the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The doorman opens the port hole on the giant door of the castle. “Who rang that bell?” Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tinman and the lion all respond together, “We did!” “Can’t you read?” the doorman asks. “Read what?” “The notice.” “What notice?” “It’s on the door as plain as the nose on my face.” (Remember this scene from the Wizard of Oz?)
Then the doorman looks down and sees no notice and fumbles around for it, hangs it out the port hole, and slams it shut. The sign says, “Bell out of order. Please knock.” So Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tinman and the lion all knock on the door, and out pops the doorman again, “Now that’s more like it. State your business.” Dorothy speaks for all of them, “We want to see the wizard.” “The wizard! HA!” the doorman responds. “Nobody can see the Great Oz. No one has ever seen the great OZ –not even me. I’ve never seen the great and powerful Oz.”
Dorothy responds with a very curious question, “Well, if no one has seen the great and powerful Oz, how do you know there is one?” “Well, because um, well I don’t know, uff…” The doorman hems and haws until Dorothy interrupts him, “Please, please, sir. I’ve just got to see the wizard. After all, the good witch of the north sent me.” “Prove it,” the doorman demands. The scarecrow pipes up. “She’s wearing the ruby slippers she gave her.” The doorman looks down and sees the glittering ruby slippers. “Oh, she is! Well, bust my buttons. Why didn’t you say that in the first place? That’s a horse of a different color. Come on in! Come on in! The castle door opens and that wonderful music comes up….”Ha, Ha, Ha…Ho…Ho…Ho. And a couple of tra, la las…in the merry old land of OZ.”
(Now in case you are wondering, this sermon is intentionally whimsical! I say this in light of the fact that the vast majority of my sermons are quite serious. However, this Sunday we are going to have a bit of fun with the gospel text.)
“Now among those who went up to worship at the Passover festival were some Greeks. They came to their port hole and knocked. Out popped Philip from Bethsaida in Galilee. “What do you want?” The Greeks responded, “We wish to see Jesus – the great and powerful Jesus who has been performing miracles, feeding thousands, driving out demons, forgiving sins, turning water into wine, raising the dead back to life. We want to see that Jesus with our own eyes!”
Then the disciples play telephone to get to Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew, then he and Philip finally got the message to Jesus, and Jesus answered them, but not the Greeks. He never speaks directly to the Greeks who were the ones asking for Jesus! Unlike in the previous story, the doorman, Philip does not open the gates of the castle to let the Greeks in. Instead Jesus sticks with his own – Philip and Andrew and others as he launches into a complicated, difficult, head-scratching theological discourse that must have left those within hearing range shaking their heads and rolling their eyes.
“Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life?” What is Jesus talking about? “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.” What is Jesus talking about? “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.” What is Jesus talking about?
“We just want to see Jesus.” Again, the Greeks to Philip who arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover festival – who had heard so much about Jesus. They just want to see Jesus.
(Back to the Wizard of Oz – lest we take ourselves too seriously.) Upon their return to the great and powerful Oz after receiving their marching orders for how their wishes were to be granted – Dorothy to go home (“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.) The scarecrow to receive a brain. The tinman to receive a heart and the lion to receive some courage. “Please sir,” Dorothy says to Oz. “We’ve done what you told us. We’ve brought you the broomstick of the wicked witch of the west. We melted her.” Dorothy holds up the broomstick before placing it on the floor. “Ah. You liquidated her – hey? Very resourceful.” “Yes sir.” Dorothy responds, “And we’d like you to keep your promise. If you please sir.” “Not so fast. Not so fast. I have to give the matter a little thought. Go away and come back tomorrow.” “Tomorrow, but I want to go home today!” The tinman pipes in, “You’ve had plenty of time already.” The wizard thunders back, “Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz. I said, come back tomorrow.” Dorothy, “If you really were great and powerful, you’d keep your promise.” “Do you presume to criticize the great Oz? The great Oz has spoken.”
Now Toto does his thing. He notices the curtain, run towards it, grabs it in his mouth and pulls it back. “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. The great and powerful …..has spoken. Ah…um…uff.” The great and powerful Oz unveiled. An ordinary man.
“Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life?” Is Jesus hiding behind a curtain of confusing words, words, words? “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.” Is Jesus hiding behind a curtain of riddles? “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.” Is Jesus hiding behind a curtain of theological mumbo jumbo?”
We just want to see Jesus? And instead of seeing Jesus, those Greeks must have been among the crowds who heard the booming voice of God himself! Jesus finally cuts to the chase and says to God in verse 28, “Father, glorify your name.” Then that booming voice (not accompanied by smoke and flames like the great and powerful Oz!), then a voice came from heaven saying, “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder.”
OK, but more words – booming thundering words this time – but just more words. “We just want to see Jesus! We want to see you glorified as you say? Where is the glorified Jesus the Greeks are looking for? Where is the radiant, healing, miracle worker you are looking for? If you were really great and powerful you would keep your promise.”
That’s the moment, Toto runs to the screen, grabs it in his mouth and pulls the curtain back. The smoke and the mirrors and the flames die away and what’s left? Who is behind the curtain? Who is behind the curtain?
We just saw who is behind the curtain. Little people. Her name is Grace and his name is Liam, and as the water was splashed on their little heads and as God’s words thundered from the heavens, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” the curtain pulled back and revealed Jesus in all his glory!
We just want to see Jesus! You have no further to look than at these two beautiful children of God name Grace Anna and Liam James.
We just want to see Jesus! You have no further to look than the baptized children of God whom we are welcoming today into our fellowship: Martha and Kristen; Anders; Nicolette and David; Jaclyn and Michael; and Andrea and Fiona.
We just want to see Jesus! You have no further to look than at the one sitting next to you this morning!
We just want to see Jesus! You have no further to look than in the mirror. Jesus said at end of all those words he spoke to Philip and Andrew, “And I, when I have lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” Today, as God’s people gathered around the baptismal font…today as God’s people gather around the altar, Jesus is lifted up and revealed – revealed in all his glory.
You up for one more reference – attempted reference – to the Wizard of Oz? You up for it? Feel free to groan – if it doesn’t work – but I’ll try. It’s as if Dorothy when trembling before the great and powerful Oz held up in homage not the broomstick of the wicked witch of the west, but rather the cross of Jesus on which Jesus was not liquidated but killed by the likes of us – the very people Jesus came to save.
Dorothy holds up to God the empty cross on which God lost God’s Son so we might live – so Grace and Liam might live a new life washed in love of God forever – no matter what – no conditions, no strings attached. An empty cross and a Jesus alive in Grace and Liam forever, in Martha and Kristen, Anders, Nicolette and David, Jaci and Michael, in Andrea and Fiona forever. Jesus alive in you and me forever. Amen.