Monday of Holy Week
Read John 12:20–26
Sometimes I wish I didn’t have a Greek name. Apparently I must have Greek features, too, because today I got stoppe
d by a group of Greeks. Again.
We’re in the Court of the Gentiles, and some God-fearers single me out and ask if they could meet Jesus. I snag Andrew, and we ask Jesus. But his response is odd. With more resignation and determination than I’ve ever seen him have, he says the time has come for him to be glorified. I’m stymied. Isn’t glory a good thing? Then he starts talking about seeds dying. I think: Here he goes again. You’d think after three years, I’d be able to get his metaphors. Then he starts talking about honor and service. Let me try to put this together. Outsiders seek Jesus; Jesus is glorified; something dies; new life happens; people serve Jesus; God honors them.
I still don’t get it.
Jesus, give us wisdom to understand your great plan, both for and through us.
Text by Jodi Craiglow
Video from First United Presbyterian Church of Belleville, IL