5th Sunday of Lent homily

The lingua franca, common language, of the Roman Empire was Greek. Most of the world spoke some Greek for trade and commerce. Jesus and most of his disciples spoke Aramaic, though they may have known a smattering of Greek . But Philip, coming from a part of Galilee with a large Greek-speaking population, knew the language as did Andrew; Andrew is a Greek name – Ἀνδρέας. The Greeks who want to see Jesus go to a Greek speaker with their request. Some Greeks want to see Jesus – what is the big deal? But these Greeks represent the world beyond Israel; the world is being drawn to Jesus. The world is being drawn to God’s revelation in Jesus.

This leads to Jesus’ proclamation – ‘Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’ At various times in the Gospel Jesus has said that his hour had not yet come; now it has.

This moment points to all that is to come – Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Jesus speaks of himself as the grain of wheat that must die to produce an abundant harvest. He tells his disciples to follow him in this dying to self, in becoming people for others.

The Lord asks whether he should ask the Father to save him from this hour, but he answer himself; his whole work has been leading to this moment so he prays, ‘Father, glorify your name.’ The voice from heaven responds that he, the Father, has been glorified by Jesus life and work and will be glorified by what is to come.

Jesus reveals that the power which has held sway over the world is being overthrown and that when he ‘is lifted up from the earth’, he will draw all people to himself. A new people will be formed at the foot of the Cross drawn by the revelation of God’s love in Jesus.

The hour is come – the hour for Jesus to be lifted up – for the revelation of his glory which is his Father’s glory. The lifting up is Jesus’ return to the Father by way of the Cross. The lifting up of Jesus is the revelation of God’s glory and this glory is love.

The glory of God is love, love to the end. And this what will draw all people, the love of God made flesh and lifted up. God’s glory is love. He comes to us with nothing else. What else can there be on the Cross – human sin and cruelty play a role certainly, but Jesus goes there in love and the faithfulness which keeps Jesus on the path which takes him to the Cross is love. The love of the Father and the Son for the world. God’s glory is love.

Jesus draws all to himself and invites us to share in his glory: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ The life of discipleship is working out what that means every day. The next two days we celebrate two great saints and we see in them the glory of love, of dying to self and serving others. God’s glory is love. Our God has no other glory and so we have no other glory, we have no other glory; other glories are fake.

We are often in Philip and Andrew situations, we are the disciples who share life with colleagues, family, friends and speak their language. We are called to die to self, to love them so that they want to see Jesus; that they too come to know the love of God which is his glory and that of his Son lifted up for all people.