Brace For Impact

Sermon- Year B-5 Lent-March 29, 2009
The Cloud of Unknowing,
"O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen.
In the season of Epiphany there are 3 stories that we are always supposed to remember-the coming of the 3 kings; the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan by John, and the 3rd one is the changing of water into wine in Cana. This lesson is read every 3 years on the 2nd Sunday of Epiphany. The interesting thing about th is gospel reading, is what Jesus says when Mary, his mother asks him to do something about the shortage of wine at the wedding. He says to her, “My hour has not yet come."(John 2:4)
Jump ahead 3 years. Jesus has been walking around the countryside, preaching, teaching, healing. And his fame is growing. He comes to the town of Bethany where his friends live, and when he arrives he learns that his good friend, Lazarus, has died. Even though Lazarus has been dead 4 days, Jesus raises him.
The Pharisees realize that Jesus is becoming a force, a power. And they are afraid. The gospel reading for today begins with a bunch of non Jews, Greeks, it says, coming to Jesus disciples saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Jesus’ fame is spreading. He is becoming more threatening to the powers that be. Now, even Gentiles, non Jews are starting to want to see him. The disciples come to Jesus to tell him that foreigners want to talk to him. And Jesus responds, 23 “The hour has come.” We’ve been waiting since the second chapter, since the wedding in Cana. All this time, Jesus has been preparing for this moment. His hour, his time, his destiny, has arrived.
It’s time for Jesus either to walk away-or finish the job. We don’t get much of a sense of this in the gospel of John, but this has to be a terrible moment. Jesus knows that to go forward means death.
All of his life has been preparing for this moment, this “hour”, but how hard this had to be.
I thought about this when Flight 1549 went down in the Hudson River on Jan. 15.
Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger spent 6 years in the air force and 27 years flying for US Air. He pulled off this one in a million crash landings on a river with no deaths. And when asked about this amazing landing he said, that he believed all of his life was preparing him for that moment, that hour.
When we hear the greater story of the gospel-not just the piece for a Sunday morning, but the whole story, it’s somehow supposed to get through to us, that everything Jesus had been doing, going through, was preparation for this hour, this moment. From the birth in a barn, the baptism at the Jordan, the premature miracle at Cana, and the raising of his friend Lazarus. Everything he had been through and experienced was preparing Jesus for this trial and challenge.
And the same is true for us.
In the great book, “I Heard the Owl Call My Name” a young Anglican minister who is with the Native people in Canada is watching the salmon one day as they return to spawn-and then die. A young First Nation girl is watching the fish with him, and she begins to cry as the salmon lays its eggs and then is dragged downriver to its death. He reassures her-as sad as it looks to them, the great fish had fulfilled its mission. It had lived the life it was meant for. It had come to its hour, and as much as their heart ached for its end, the whole life of the fish had prepared it for just that moment.
It’s getting close to the 40th anniversary of my high school reunion. A funny thing has happened-I have been in touch with dozens of people from my past that I haven’t talked to in 4 decades. And every conversation begins this way, “tell me about your life”. Think about it, how do you sum up, briefly, 40 years? What do you say about your whole life?
This question will come up a lot the next 2 weeks, because it has really started me thinking-when we start summing up our lives, we tend to list only the most important things, the high points. But what is important? What makes the list as we tell people about our lives? What are the moments we choose as most important?
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” And Jesus answers, now is my time, this is what I have been preparing my whole life for. He describes himself, the Son of God -as a grain of wheat. A small insignificant grain of wheat. Can you imagine? It would be like Barack Obama describing his purpose in life was to be a bowler.
And Jesus says, this is what I have been preparing my whole life for, this is my hour. Don’t think that just because we are finally at our moment, that it is easy or that it’s joyous. Ask Sullenberger, “boy, you must have been glad to finally reach this landing?” Ask a salmon, “Are you excited about laying your eggs and dying?” Say to Jesus, “well, it must be a great day for you, finally arriving at the crucifixion!”
When we reach our moments, our hours, it doesn’t feel wonderful. I think it’s the moment when we realize that this is what all of our life has been preparing us for. It is difficult-it is hard, and it is always, always, scary. Listen to Jesus’ words: 27“Now my soul is troubled. Listen to Sully’s words as he meets the Hudson, “Brace for impact.” It doesn’t matter if we are 8 or 80, it doesn’t matter if it is a recognizable huge moment or an anonymous small one, it doesn’t matter if we have failed in the past at great moments or succeeded. All that matters is who we are when our moments come. And I believe most of us have a whole lifetime of moments-not just one.
This is Jesus’ hour. This is his moment. This is when he has to walk away from all that he was meant for, or when he has to fulfill his purpose. It is not a glorious moment. It is not an easy one. It’s just the moment that he has prepared all his life for. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” And when he hears it Jesus knows what that means, “My hour has come.” Brace for impact.
John 12:20-36
20Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They cam e 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.