Jesus said, "I am..."
I can be – am – a Smart-Alek at times. When Meg or one of my kids asks me where I am, I will often say, “Here.” “Here” is the only place we can be. We are never “there.” So, yes, that is a Smart-Alek thing to say, but there is an underlying fact of life in it that frames how I’d like us to approach Mark’s Passion narrative.
We need to stop; stop and recognize where we are. We always live at a point in time. It is always, “now,” in the present, in the moment that everything happens for us. It is as though we are always in the middle of the hourglass, the current moment being the grain of sand that is passing through.
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We want to see Jesus.
One of the real challenges of living in Central Florida is dodging all the tourists. Our roads get clogged, but it’s not just that they are busy. A chunk of the people on them aren’t sure where they are going. They know they have to take a left turn in 10 miles so “slower traffic keep right” doesn’t matter to them. Or they will suddenly realize that left is a right and veer across three lanes to make it. This inspires others to treat the highway like a slalom course, zipping back and forth. It’s a challenge. And I’m no different when I’m in a strange place, unsure of where I’m going.
Who are these Greeks? We don’t know! They could be Greek-speaking Jews from distant places visiting Jerusalem on a Passover pilgrimage. They could be Greek-speaking Gentiles from just about anywhere who are there for the celebration, interested or merely curious observers. John tells us that they want to see Jesus, but he doesn’t tell us why. Do they seek his healing touch? Have they been attracted by the spectacle of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem? Are they sensing the tension in the air? We don’t know. And we don’t hear whether or not he actually meets them.
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4th Sunday in Lent
Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
Today’s gospel is part of a larger conversation that Jesus has with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He senses that Jesus is ushering in the kingdom of heaven, and he wants to know more. Jesus tells him that he must be born again if he wants to experience the kingdom of heaven. He explains how this will take place by reminding him of what God told Moses to do to prevent his fellow Israelites from perishing from a mortal snake bite. God instructed Moses to make a snake out of bronze, attach it to a pole, and lift it up so that it could be seen by anyone who might slowly but surely die from the lethal venom of a snake bite.
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