Disciples in the Dirt: John 12:20-33 - Fifth Sunday of Lent

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.
27Now 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. (NRSV)

Image courtesy of amenic 181 / freedigitalphotos.net

Imagine getting a phone call from your 5-year-old son’s kindergarten teacher that he refuses to finger paint… because he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty…  And getting this same call numerous times from the elementary school art teacher for the very same reason…

My parents don’t have to imagine this.  For reasons I still don’t fully understand, I hate getting my hands dirty—or being dirty in general.  I was always offended by my school friends whose Tonka construction trucks were caked in mud—because I kept mine in showroom condition.  Most recently, I stunned our youth as they watched me eat pizza with a knife and fork. 

Whatever the deep-seeded reasons may be, I avoid dirt at all costs…  But then again, don’t we all?

Hand-sanitizer dispensers have become more ubiquitous than trash cans.  Bathing has become a daily ritual, whereas it was a monthly ritual a little more than a century ago.  Much of this is for the sake of our health and wellness—but I also think it’s because we all hate dirt.  And as they say—“cleanliness is next to godliness”—or is it?

Take Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel—“unless a grain of wheat falls into the [dirt] 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.”

You don’t have to be a clean-freak like me to be a little disturbed by these words.  Just the fact that Jesus says that you must hate your life in order to save it—to pour our lives into the dirt.  The way I see it, that’s not the way to get happy.  Happiness is living your best life now. 

In this day and age, to be happy is to be living a life that is the envy of others—to own the best things; to have the most fun; to be successful.  One of our strongest desires is to be people who have it all together, and who can please everyone all the time.  Consequently, this all puts a great deal of pressure on us, so that we don’t have the time or the energy for anything or anyone who would stand in our way. 

Who wants to get dirty with other people’s problems or shortcomings?  Who wants to get dirty by even being around people who are different from us—particularly those who are experiencing the kind of lives we despise most?  Who wants to be sick or dying?  Who wants to be poor?  Who wants to be neighbors to people from the wrong side of the tracks, who’ve been in trouble with the law?

Trouble is, we all fall into “the dirt” sooner or later—sometimes as the consequence of our sins, but sometimes not…  In an instant, our lives can be shattered by death or an illness; by the loss of a job or a relationship; or even simply by the fact that we’re imperfect persons and can’t please everyone.  In this life, you can have it all one minute—and lose it all in the next…

Losing it all can feel a lot like dying.  But the call to discipleship is dying, too—and what’s so difficult about it is that it is a voluntary dying.  It’s like pouring the finest wine out into the dirt.  This is exactly what happens on the cross—the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, spilled into the dirt.  A life so full of compassion, love, and truth is taken in the utmost cruelty of humanity.  But by the grace of God, his life and his death are not in vain.  The precious body and blood spilled into the dirt takes away the sin of the world, and draws all people to himself.  New life from God springs forth from the dirt.

This is a truth that changes everything.  For starters, it means that when we fall into the dirt, and the life that we’ve always known dies, God raises us up into a new life that bears the fruits of faith, hope, and love.  The waters of baptism wash of all the dirt of sin, to be born anew.  Fact is, we’re closer to Jesus in the dirt than we can ever be apart from it!

It is for this reason that we must listen as Jesus calls us into the dirt, to follow him with lives of self-giving and self-sacrificing.  This demands a vulnerability from us that we’re not inclined to take on, because there are risks involved.  Acts of faith do now always bear instant fruit.  Serving others never guarantees success—or even a thank-you.  And we’ll never have to look very hard for reasons to stay out of the dirt of discipleship: “It’s not a good time.”  “I’ve never done that before—therefore, I can’t.”  “Other things are more important.”  We’ll always be more inclined to pursue happiness on our own terms, rather than believing and trusting in the promise of Jesus.

But the truth Jesus wants to show you is that the Kingdom of God grows out of the dirt.  Life flourishes where there’s mercy and forgiveness.  Life flourishes as the faith of Jesus binds together in worship, in prayer, in serving, and mutual self-giving.

You are a seed—and if you’re not in a dirt, you’ll die because you’ll never live the life God intended.  But Everything God desires for you will be lost.  In the dirt, you’ll be born anew, along with the rest of the world.   Jesus is in the dirt.