John 12:20-36

Dear Friends:  Please take a look at John 12:20-36 before Sunday, because this is the passage we are going to dwell on for a few minutes in our service message.  It is the story of a group of Greeks (read "non-Jews", or citizens of secular society) who seek Jesus out and want to see Him.  They approach His disciples, who in turn approach Jesus.  Interestingly enough, the story never tells us whether or not they get a chance to talk with the Master, but it does allow Jesus a platform to continue to teach the people some important truths about God.

 

In this story Jesus instructs those listening of a very fundamental fact of agriculture.  When a seed is planted in the ground, it has to "die" -- that is, it has to cease being a seed and germinate -- before it can bear fruit as a fully mature plant.  Likewise, Jesus is saying, He also has to die before His followers can receive the Holy Spirit and become faithful disciples, transformed by God's power into the image of Christ.  Like the glass that is filled to the brim with water, something has to go out before what is fresh can come in.

 

The season of Lent is a time of both letting go and grabbing hold.  We are called to let go of unforgiveness, anger, deceit, unfaithfulness, jealousy, and a host of other things that can keep us from receiving God's Spirit.  These things have to die from within us.  And once they are gone, we can receive the renewing and refreshing life that only God can give.

 

This Sunday we are going to talk about this process, and hopefully find some ways together that we can better make this a Holy Lent, and boldly go forward to "let go and let God."

Five loaves of bread and two fish feed 5,000

Dear friends: 

Coming up are the following Anglican District of Virginia events:  the Men's Retreat, the Women's Retreat, and subscribing to the free e-letter.  I encourage you to take advantage of these events if at all possible.

 

This Sunday we find ourselves winding through Lent, and going through the Gospel narratives along with it.  Before you know it, it will be time for the excitement of Palm Sunday, the despair of Good Friday, and the absolute joy of Easter.

 

But before then the lectionary reading finds us in Galilee, alongside the Lake (John 6:4-15).  A crowd had heard Jesus speaking and teaching that whole day.  Now they were hungry, and didn't have anything to eat.  What was to be done?  No one had enough money to buy food for these 5,000 men, plus an undetermined number of women and children.  So Jesus took what He had:  five loaves of bread and two fish.  And He miraculously turned it into a feast for thousands.  The crowd was so excited by this turn of events that they tried to make Jesus King right then and there.  But obviously they didn't understand the way we do.  We know that Good Friday and Easter lie ahead, the only way to and through the Kingdom of God.

 

There is a lot going on here, and we'll discuss a couple of things on Sunday, but in preparation for Sunday let's make a quick observation.  John is very purposeful in telling this story in such a way that the reader thinks about Moses and the miracle of the manna in the Wilderness.  He tells us that the incident occurs at Passover (the feast that celebrates the Exodus of the people of Israel out of Egypt).  Further, Jesus commands that all the scraps of bread be gathered so nothing is wasted.  If you remember, Moses also told the people, after they had complained of hunger and had received the manna from Heaven, that they were to gather any scraps for dispossal.  None of the manna would last into the next day. 

 

The Gospel writer is telling us that Jesus is the true bread of life.  The manna in the Wilderness held body together for a day.  But Jesus is the true bread:  with Him, we are given true life for eternity. 

 

Be sure to look over this passage for Sunday, because we are going to go on from here to discuss Holy Communion, and how our faith in Christ holds it all together!