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20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 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. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever 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. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. 34 The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” (John 12:20-36) Reflection As I was reading the Biblical text, I found that there was so much there to unpack. I am sure you found the same thing. I was particularly drawn to the opposites and the voice of God coming from Heaven. Of course, we have the history to understand more of what is being said. If I was a follower of Jesus at that time, I am sure I would have been as clueless as they appear to be throughout scripture. Jesus talks a lot of times using farming language which would have been helpful for the people then. The dying of the grain so more can live is a great visual and analogy. That gives a little clarity, but it still is hard to process. No one truly wants to die so more can have life. That is where we see glory. Having a voice come down from heaven would seem to clarify the situation even more. It certainly would have astounded me and stopped me in my tracks. I would have wanted even more clarity then. Speaking of darkness into light would bring me a little comfort because I would have felt a little better about feeling clueless and gaining more knowledge. Truly following Jesus and being in the light would have helped when the darker times that were to come soon. I truly hope the followers took all to heart what Jesus was saying so when he was crucified, they could lean on the promises of better things to come. --Charlene Rineer Prayer: Glorious God, we thank you for the hope that Jesus brings us. Thank you for speaking from heaven to give the earlier followers some clarity. Help us as we look to scripture to strengthen our faith. As we are children walking in the light help us share that light with the world so they can believe in the promise of eternal life. AMEN Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Holy Week brings the liturgical and biblical past into the present.
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