John 12
Jerusalem
is full of people who are gathered for the Passover celebration. There are
people everywhere. Think of the sounds of children, family reunions, animals
being bought, sold, and traded. There is the smell of bodies, dust, excrement,
cooking, and perfumed oils that some use to disguise the odors. There is a rush
to purchase food, oil, wine, and charcoal.
Of course, there are
also Romans- soldiers and their families. They look on at the sudden rush of
people in from the countryside with alarm. Where did all these people come
from? Will they bring trouble? Will an influx of people make it difficult to
get some of the food and goods they prefer? Better also head out to the market.
There
are non-Judean Jews coming in for Passover as well. If valid worship or
sacrifice can only occur at the temple, they also make the pilgrimage. It seems
that some of them have heard of this itinerant rabbi, Jesus, of whom it is said
that he raised a man who had been dead four days. When the Greek Jews come into
town, they go seeking out Jesus. They say to Philip, “Sir, we
want to see Jesus.” (Philip is a Greek name, so he may be or appear to be Greek.)
We
want to see Jesus. Why might they want to see him? To find out if all they have
heard is true? Perhaps they need a miracle. They may be interested in learning
from him or simply very curious looky-loos. When they see Jesus, though, they
will be confronted with the deepest question that comes to all who meet him.
Will they follow him or will they just be in his fan club? Will they be
admirers or disciples? Will they want the connection at the foot of the cross
or only as the palm parade is going by?
In
an article called “Followers, Not Admirers”, the theologian Søren Kierkegaard
writes,
“It is well known that Christ consistently used the expression “follower.” He never asks for admirers, worshippers, or adherents. No, he calls disciples. It is not adherents of a teaching but followers of a life Christ is looking for…. What then, is the difference between an admirer and a follower? A follower is or strives to be what he admires. An admirer, however, keeps himself personally detached. He fails to see that what is admired involves a claim upon him, and thus he fails to be or strive to be what he admires.”
A true follower of Jesus is an imitator of Jesus. It
is important to remember that God had spokespeople prior to the Incarnation. That’s what a
prophet is, a mouthpiece for the Divine. Therefore, it was not necessary for a person
of the Trinity to pour the power and strength of being eternal into a fragile
human body simply to impart lessons through teaching. Jesus’ teaching matters
because it explains his deeds.
The words of Jesus- in conversations, in teaching,
in prayer- make connections between what the Divine character always was and how God expects those who are led by the Spirit to respond. But the words
were never the thing, because anyone might have taught in the name of the Lord. Within the
Apostle’s Creed, we have very limited verbs about Jesus- born, suffered,
crucified, died, buried, and rose. These verbs are concrete because they
require a body.
A
body is unit of action. Jesus, with a body, is God prepared for action in the
flesh. The body is not merely a receptacle of information. We are not merely
encased spirits, biding our time. We are bodies in motion. We have been brought
into a body, the Body of Christ. How we will respond to that inclusion, though…
how we will respond to the gift of grace… how we will respond to always being Easter
people, even on this side of Holy Week… that response is up to us.
And,
so, will we be followers or admirers? Being an admirer is nice. You still get
the identity: “Oh, I love Jesus. I like to sing about him. Love to talk about
him. Read his book sometimes, even.” So, if someone came up to you and said,
“Sir, madam, we wish to see Jesus.” What will you show them: a hymn, a Bible, a
catchy bumper sticker? Is it enough to be in Jesus’ fan club?
In
Fourth Gospel, it is said that those who have seen the Son have seen the
Father. In today’s passage, Jesus asserts that anyone who is truly his follower
will serve him. Logically, then, if Jesus is being served, he is present. Where
true followers of Jesus are acting in service in imitation of him, he is there.
And if he is there, then God is also being revealed. All of this happens
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
To
reiterate: if you are imitating Jesus' actions in
service, he will be present to be served (in the situation in which you are
acting). If he is present, the whole Trinity is there because they are fellow
travelers always. Thus, when one is a follower, an imitator, a disciple, and is
asked, “We wish to see Jesus”… the answer will be clear because his presence
will be felt in the act of service.
Crucially, imitating Jesus will quickly separate the
followers from the admirers. Eventually, admirers feel the pinch of knowing
that Jesus does some things, says some things, and likes some people who are
sometimes outside the edges of propriety. Jesus will be seen, unashamed, with
the dying, the dead, the diseased, the depressed, the deserted, the
demon-possessed, the downtrodden, the drug- addicted, the dastardly, and the
desperate. He will see them for who they are and where they are and acknowledge
them of as children of God, dealing with their needs before he makes any
expectations of them.
Following
in those footsteps, truly committing to that level of kindness, gentleness,
peacefulness, and honesty in our daily lives can be tough and frustrating.
Furthermore, it does not really win a lot of friends and influence enemies. It
mostly gains disdain from some, confusion from others, and a lot of God work
that you carry in your heart because you worry that people will think you are
crazy if you share it.
Today
is the martyrdom date of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian. He
was committed to what he believed were basic Christian principles of the church
in the early days of the Third Reich, which included welcoming, evangelizing,
and baptizing non-Aryan Christians. As Adolph Hitler’s regime grew in power,
Bonhoeffer was part of a splinter church within Germany that focused on
resisting the church being an arm of the power of the state, particularly of
state violence. Bonhoeffer sought to teach and preach in both Britain and in
America at different times, but ultimately returned to Germany because he
believed that he had to be a part of resisting evil there in order to be able to
live in the Germany that he perceived would be rebuilt after the war.
He
was arrested for being a double agent and then his significant role in a plot
to kill Hitler was discovered. He was hanged on this date in 1945 in
Flossenburg concentration camp, one month before Germany surrendered. During
his time in prison, he continued to write to friends and to his family, as well
as some theological thoughts. These letters and papers from prison were
smuggled out and published as a book by the same name. Within one letter,
Bonhoeffer reflects,
“We have learned a bit too late in the day that action springs not from thought but from a readiness for responsibility.”
The
admirer of Jesus is always ready to think about him. The admirers on that in
Jerusalem waved palms and smiled. They could have pointed Jesus out to the
Greek passersby and said, “There he is. Ain’t he great.” As the week went on,
the admirers of Jesus would have been among those who frowned at the woman who
wept over his feet and dried them with her hair. He shouldn’t have let her
touch him, they’d have said. The admirers would have been aghast at Jesus
washing the disciples’ feet or proud to be included, but having no intention of
repeating the incident. They may have tried to blend into the crowd or
disappear at the crucifixion. Ultimately, admirers will end up disappointed
with the true Jesus. He’s too much or not quite enough or right time, wrong
place or wrong time, right place. They sure do admire him, but…
The
followers of Jesus, the disciples, those on the Way of Christ have come to
accept that faith is not the absence of doubt. It is action in spite of doubt.
The followers have already assumed the readiness for responsibility that
Bonhoeffer mentions. They waved their palm branches, but only with one hand
because with the other they had escorted a leper, a bleeding woman, a child,
sex worker, a blind man, a refugee, a centurion, or a hesitant Pharisee to be within reach
of Jesus. For the followers, commentary on the goodness of Jesus is strange
because sometimes the many ways in which they encounter him through service are
not always good, by the usual definition of that word. They are, however,
always holy.
In
the week ahead, whether you attend services or pray through the daily readings
or simply try to make it through your regular to-do list, ponder in your heart
whether you are a follower or an admirer. Are you all in or are you watching
from a distance? Does this week get to you because you realize that imitation
of Christ demands a solidarity in these events that is truly spiritually and
emotionally overwhelming? Or is this a week to be with other fans of God’s
work?
When
someone says to you, “We wish to see Jesus,” how do you respond? In word or in
deed? Will you be an admirer or a follower?
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