Tuesday of Holy Week

A Holy Week Reflection on John 12:20-36

He refused to die. His name was William McGonagall. He was a Scottish poet mostly read because his poetry was terrible—notoriously bad.

His acting must not have been much better. He paid a theater to cast him as Macbeth in Shakespeare’s play.

When it came time for Macbeth to die in a sword fight, he thought the actor playing Macduff was upstaging him. When they reached the final scene of Macbeth, McGonagall refused to die.

As a former English major, I judge the man.

But as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I wonder if we do the same thing: Do we refuse to die?

* * *

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.

Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, Jesus says, and where I am, my servant will also be. 

* * *

 When we follow Jesus in the way of the cross, we die and rise with him. “If we join Christ in a death like his, we will certainly join him in a resurrection like his.” And sometimes, we want to skip over the dying part.

North American Mainline Protestants are sometimes accused of skipping Holy Week—moving from the Hosannas of Palm Sunday to the Alleluias of Easters.

There is an embarrassment and indignity to the cross that we find hard to bear. Holy Week is a time for us to join in a death like his.

Jesus moves towards the pain and suffering of our world on our behalf.

And everything that we know about God—everything we know about sacrifice, love, mercy, and resilience—is because God chooses to encounter death.

Yet, I’m afraid that we try to live Christian faith the way poet tried to portray Macbeth: We would prefer to skip death. We would prefer not to journey to the cross.

* * *

I am challenged by these words of Jesus: “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.”

Faith, I believe, calls us to live abundantly. Jesus want us to bear much fruit—to contribute to human flourishing and well-being.

Jesus healed the sick and restored life. Jesus doesn’t ask us to love death. Jesus wants us to live as if death has lost its sting. That’s the life is trying to give us.

In the biblical tradition, you are blessed to be a blessing. There is a giving of one’s self for others.

Life doesn’t flourish because we STOCK UP and HOARD; eternal life is when we FREELY give ourselves AWAY. The molten CORE of the LIFE that Jesus GIVES us is SACRIFICIAL LOVE.

How do we move towards loss, suffering, and grief equipped with the love of God?

Get ready to answer that question over and over again. I imagine that sometime in the coming year that is going to be expected of us.

The church will have an opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to culture. It might be a slim window of opportunity. Will we introduce the church as a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life?

I hope so because we are here today from one single grain—named Jesus Christ—who fell into the earth and died.

And the fruit that came from that harvest did the same thing.

Again and again and again.

It’s our turn.