Grain of Wheat: New Covenant, Death to Life

You can't say the things Jesus said and do the things he did and get away with it. The authorities won't stand for it. The people will eventually wander away. They are standing on the threshold of a dark calamitous time. And yet and yet Jesus speaks of that time as the time when he will be glorified. Some glory. He speaks of a seed falling to earth and dying, but then through death, that seed bears much fruit. [00:43:48] (34 seconds)  #CostOfFollowingJesus

This open heart surgery is not meant to harm. It is meant to heal what was once broken, to heal it with new words engraved on the heart, the new covenant, the word of God, Jesus. Psalm one nineteen gives close attention to those engraved hearts, keeping God's words contained therein and seeking with all my heart. It is about letting go of the brokenness that we carry. It is about allowing ourselves to move from death to new life. That is what is at the center of all of these readings. [00:40:18] (43 seconds)  #NewCovenantHeart

How many times have you heard people say, we want to see Jesus. We want to see good in the world. We want to see an end to poverty. We want to see every child of God know that they are loved. In a million ways, we echo the sentiments of those Greeks from two millennia ago. We want to see Jesus. But even in our need to see Jesus active and present with us, we need to let go of our notions of just where and when we think he should show up. We need to trust that Jesus is here. [00:39:10] (37 seconds)  #TrustJesusPresence

These men and women who sought Jesus did see him. They saw him with astonished and even horrified eyes because they saw him lifted up and they saw him crucified. They saw those outstretched arms on the cross, and they saw the resurrected life that followed. They saw the life that would draw billions into new life through the ages. The difficult truth though is that new life only comes from relinquishing the old one. [00:41:45] (40 seconds)  #RelinquishForNewLife

Then Lukac added by way of explanation. Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present. Jeremiah's description is arresting. His forward looking faith is based on the nearness of God. God would set aside the old covenant. And in its place, God would give his people a new covenant. A foundation would not be written on written laws and regulations, but the Lord would put his spirit directly into the hearts of the people. It would be based on the Lord's nearness. That's pretty close. God right in your heart. [00:34:14] (50 seconds)  #SpiritInOurHearts

Death on the cross is the sign of Jesus' fruitful work. Those who lose their lives will keep them forever. Now is the time for judgment of this world. Now this world's ruler will be thrown out. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me. What is that supposed to mean? Jesus is being thrown out of the holy city, Jerusalem. He is not throwing any of the world rulers out of office. [00:44:22] (30 seconds)  #LiftedUpDrawsAll

For God the father creator to allow God the son to be crucified, dead, and buried is for God to be pushed out beyond the limits of human expectation or human understanding. The cross is the ultimate dead end of any attempt at human self fulfillment, betterment, or progress. Hanging from the cross in humiliation and what seems to be utter defeat, there is nothing to be done by anyone to vindicate the work of Jesus or to make the story come out right by anyone that is except God. [00:45:23] (42 seconds)  #CrossDefiesExpectation

Letting ourselves receive that engraving upon our hearts and opening our eyes to see Jesus. This gospel passage, which began with people needing to see Jesus, ends with Jesus proclaiming, when I am lifted up, I will draw everyone to me, all people, no matter what race, no matter what religion, no matter what size, no matter how smart, no matter how tall, how short, how fat, how thin, no matter what, no matter anything, all people. [00:41:01] (44 seconds)  #JesusDrawsEveryone

This forward looking faith that we are introduced to in Jeremiah, it results in forgiveness. Jeremiah thirty one thirty four is it's a most comforting passage. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Wow. Gaining God's forgiveness is not a matter of following minute rules or loathsome regulations. It is knowing and trusting God. That trust can help us walk through incredible times. And now Christ calls us to a faith that looks forward. [00:37:27] (43 seconds)  #ForgivenessThroughFaith

A child in a nursery asked her mother, mother, what is love? She made no reply, but picked up the child and hugged her. Like water to a fish, like air to a bird, like dirt to an ant, like love to a child, such is the presence of God to those who love God. This forward looking faith would come naturally. The covenant described by Jeremiah was natural and internal. People were not forced to academically learn of God. Instead, they knew God naturally. [00:35:43] (43 seconds)  #LoveIsPresence

What an amazing narrative we had in Jeremiah today, one of looking forward. Real faith looks forward. While the people of God are told to remember what he has done for them in the past, no real progress can be made by staring in a rearview mirror. Jeremiah tells his contemporaries a time is coming. He helps them to look forward to a time in the future when their condition would improve. Jeremiah promised a new covenant. The new covenant would face the people forward and help them live life as it came toward them. This new covenant would be written upon their hearts. [00:32:47] (45 seconds)  #ForwardLookingFaith

It's hard to hear Jesus talk like this. I'm sure those who signed on with Jesus probably did not really wanna hear this kind of talk or walk behind him on the way to a cross. Perhaps perhaps harder still is to comprehend what Jesus means by this sort of talk. Surely, everybody around Jesus knew they were headed towards this disaster of his crucifixion. This is the dark time that many had predicted from the first. [00:43:18] (30 seconds)  #FollowingToTheCross

This morning's gospel opened with some Greeks, Gentiles, non Jewish people, wanting to see Jesus. They see Jesus giving his last teaching on his way to his death on a cross. And maybe that's the way of the truth of Jesus' crucifixion and death ought to be rendered. Maybe this is not something that we are meant to explain or even rationally understand, but rather we are to look upon it to see this mysterious drama unfolding before us. [00:46:05] (34 seconds)  #MysteryOfTheCross

Our passage from John begins with people's universal need to see faithfulness in human form. As Jesus walks processional into Jerusalem over palms strewn under his feet, some Greeks, that is Gentiles, non Jews, approach. And they approach the disciples and say, sir, we want to see Jesus. The one they talked to is Philip, the one who has a Greek name. Kind of interesting. Some Greeks, they come. They wanna get a firsthand look at this Jesus. And what do they see? [00:38:21] (35 seconds)  #SeekFaithInPerson

There's an Aesop's fable. Aesop told this old story. Here it is. A wild boar was busily wetting his tusks against a tree in the forest when a fox came by. Why are you wasting your time in this manner? Asked the fox. Neither a hunter or a hound is in sight, and no danger is at hand. True enough, replied the boar. But when the danger does arise, I shall have something else to do than sharpen my weapons. [00:36:57] (30 seconds)  #PrepareBeforeDanger

We began with Jeremiah, and we found God in the midst of making a new covenant with the people of Israel and the people of Judah because the old covenant, it was broken beyond repair. From death to life, that is our story. That is our song. For the new covenant to take root, God must renounce and forgive people's past sins and break open their hearts and write on those hearts. [00:39:47] (32 seconds)  #NewCovenantWrittenOnHearts

Jesus will be lifted from the earth, not with glorious acclaim, but he will be hoisted up on a cross. John says that in all of this enigmatic talk, Jesus was talking about what sort of death by which he must die. How can it be that death could be a way toward glorious fruition? How could Jesus say that this violent end would be the whole purpose for why he had come? [00:44:51] (32 seconds)  #DeathToGloryMystery

We are to see Jesus rather than attempt to understand this. And what we see what we see is the mystery of glory coming from an ignominious death. We see the one who was lifted up on a cross being exalted as savior of the world. We see the innocent victim somehow forgiving and dealing with our sin. We see the God whom we rejected and pushed away from us, drawing us near. [00:46:39] (38 seconds)  #GloryFromTheCross

This does not mean disciplined study of religious matters is useless. It simply means that God wants to be known by people everywhere, by all the people. God has given knowledge of himself to everyone. This comes about as we give ourselves to God through Christ. Knowing God this way establishes us and it strengthens us. In times of trouble, we will have already have a relationship with God that we can count on. [00:36:25] (31 seconds)  #KnowGodThroughChrist

How do we think about that new covenant? Well, a baby bird was heard to ask its mother. Mother, what is air? To this, she made no reply, but spread her wings and flew. A baby fish asked its mother. Mother, what is water? She made no reply, but swished her tail and swam. A baby ant asked its mother. Mother, what is dirt? She made no reply, but stretched her legs and dug the burrow a little bit deeper. [00:35:05] (38 seconds)  #FaithShownNotTaught