Lifted Up and Letting Go: John 12:20-33 - Fifth Sunday in 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.

  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. (NRSV)

ears of wheat by Piero Fissore on flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Someone once asked me, “do you hunt?” To which I replied, “only for bargains.”

A while back, I was browsing the clearance racks, where I discovered a button-down shirt from a high-end designer label—original price $400, clearance priced at $29.99. I tried it on, and the look and fit were perfection.

But when special occasions came along to wear the shirt, a little voice in my mind kept saying: “you’re going to spill mustard on it!” So, I wore something else. Still, I was proud to have a shirt of that label in my closet.

Sometime later, I decided to wear it—but that I couldn’t even get my arms into the sleeves. Hopefully, the person who received it from our clothing closet loved it less than I did, because I loved it too much.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” To be clear, Jesus is not suggesting that you should hate being alive. Your life is a gift of God. But you will not live forever. You can waste your life trying to gain and protect the life you want to live.

Jesus says, “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.” In other words, if you keep the grain inside a jar, it will remain as it is. It’s actually wasted, because it never realizes its true purpose. 

Conventional wisdom would suggest that Jesus’s death was the biggest waste in human history. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, and taught people to love one another. People loved Jesus so much that they wanted to make him a king. 

But if Jesus had done what the people wanted, he would’ve wasted his life. Jesus wasn’t born to sit on human thrones, or to rescue people like a divine superhero. Remember—every life Jesus touched; every body he healed; ultimately died. His miracles and teachings revealed to the world who he was—but they didn’t save people from death and the devil. 

The only way for Jesus was the way of the cross. The only way was the way of total surrender: pouring out his life, his love, his power like fine wine in the dirt. Jesus’s life was not something for him to possess, or even for people to possess. Jesus’s life was a gift to give away for the world.

What are you doing with your life?

Some live their lives imprisoned by fear, never taking any chances, any risks; doing whatever it takes to avoid mistakes, failures, and embarrassment. Some see life as an endless fight, and the only way to “live” is to win every battle, no matter how petty or insignificant it may be. Life is but a competition to be the best, have the best, and do the best. Some seek life in possessions, believing that if they can’t have this or if they lose that or give anything away, life will become unlivable. Some spend every ounce of energy trying to control everything and everyone around them according to their wishes. Chances are, you have many of these impulses warring within your own mind, each pulling you in different directions, but never toward the Lord.

If your life is ruled by your fears and ambitions, you are wasting it. The greatest dangers to your soul are not the bad things that happen to you. The greatest dangers to your soul are the things you cling to—to preserve your life, to exercise control, and to glorify yourself. You can love security, you can love things, you can people, you can love your accomplishments to your own destruction. 

Death, change, loss, challenge—these are all inevitable. Yet these are the biggest ways God’s graciousness happens in your life. It’s all about letting go… and letting God.

Letting go, embracing change, and welcoming challenge are not in my nature. In my mind, the good life is a life with no surprises or setbacks; just smoothness and success. But that is also a life without Jesus—because I never needed him. And if everything in my life went the way I wanted it to, I would probably not know Jesus at all. 

Jesus said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” That is especially true for those who’ve been rendered helpless by their sin and suffering. But every Christian needs to practice letting go—taking what which you cling to for the life you want to live, and pouring it out before the cross. This is how you open yourself up to God’s grace. 

For you are not made whole by what you gain, attain, or control. Life in Christ is not about survival or making a name for yourself. You are made whole by what Jesus gives you through his cross and resurrection. To let go is to open your hands, your heart, and your life to receive from Jesus what you cannot gain through your own willpower or strength.

The Christian faith is not about Jesus helping you to live the life you want. It’s about Jesus helping you to live the life he wants for you. God can do more with your life than you can. God can do more with your gifts than you can. Resurrection life is greater than any life you can gain for yourself. To let go is to open your hands, your heart, and your life to receive from Jesus what you cannot live without: God’s unconditional love, and the promise of resurrection.