Seeing Jesus, by Rev. Randy Barge

“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. Very 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. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

“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. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 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. 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 12:21-32

“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” That is an understandable request. There are many people in our world who have heard of Jesus and wish to see him. It is the responsibility of those of us who are pastors, to help our congregations see Jesus. And of course, it is the responsibility of all of us, as the church, as the body of Christ in the world, to help those outside of the community of faith see Jesus.

Seeing Jesus is not always easy. In fact, in the gospel narratives, people seem always to have trouble seeing Jesus for who he really is. And that continues even today. There are some people who see Jesus primarily as a miracle worker. Someone who performs signs and wonders. And that is the only Jesus that they are prepared to see. There are other people who see Jesus primarily as a great teacher, a great dispenser of timeless truth and wisdom about how to live their lives. And that is the only Jesus that they are prepared to see. Still, there are others who see Jesus as a great proponent of social righteousness, a champion of the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden, and that, too, is the only Jesus that they are able to see.

I am not knocking any of this; Jesus is all of these things and more. But according to John’s gospel they are not the best way to see Jesus. The best way to see Jesus, if we really want to see him, is to see him when he is lifted up. That is what Jesus himself says, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” Lifted up.

When I was a teenager, I used to harbor fantasies about being lifted up, hoisted on the shoulders of jubilant teammates after sinking the winning basket in the NCAA Championship tournament. It’s a fantasy that I still entertain from time to time. But when Jesus speaks of being lifted up, we all know what he is talking about. He is talking about being lifted up, on the Cross, in an act of self-giving love for the sake of the world.

Lifted high on the Cross, the radiant glory of the love of God is visible for all to see. It is a love that came to be in solidarity with all the victims of violence, cruelty, prejudice and injustice. It’s a love that was not afraid to face down the hatred and contempt of a broken world and absorb it all into itself. It is a love that was willing to suffer and die in order for us to be reconciled to God and to one another. Perhaps the best way for me to help others to see Jesus, is my own willingness to walk in the way of that same self-giving love.