John 12:20-33

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.

21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24 Very 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.

25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

27 "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.

28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."

29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."

30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

INTRODUCTION:

Years ago a boy had a crush on girl in his high school freshman class named Laura Mae. It was a farm community and everybody planted gardens. They also protected them with scarecrows. Each family tried to make its scarecrow the most lifelike and original.

Riding home on the school bus one afternoon, they rounded the curve near Laura Mae's house and her parent's garden came into view. There in the middle of the rows, was a figure dressed in an old straw hat, ragged overalls, and a faded checked shirt. A hoe was stuck under his right arm, adding authenticity.

In an effort to gain favor with the girl he loved, this boy said, "Laura Mae, your Daddy never has to worry about crows in his garden; anything that ugly will keep everything away." And right at that moment, the 'scarecrow' began hoeing.

Laura Mae is married now, but not to that boy. (1)

It's spring and it's planting season. Folks have already planted gardens. Certain things have to be planted early, like potatoes and English Peas. You want to plant them as soon as the threat of frost is past. It's been a about 20 years since Mary and I planted a garden. There was a time when we put out a big garden every year. But that was before I went into the ministry.

Even after I entered the ministry, we tried for the first few years to plant a garden but it seemed like every time we got the soil really worked right and a good crop coming on, we moved. I really don't think there was a connection but we decided to quit taking chances.

Why all this talk about planting? Well, last week we planted the seeds for our capital campaign. And we've adopted the parable of the mustard seed as our theme for the campaign; it's imagery, it's promise and it's challenge to trust God completely.

In essence, the passage from John is about seeds and harvest though maybe not at first glance.

I. THE STORY:

A. First, let's look at the story. This passage is pretty complex, there's lots of stuff going on here.

Jesus and the disciples are in Jerusalem for Passover. While there, a couple of Greeks go to Philip and ask to see Jesus. Philip goes to Andrew and tells him that these people from Greece want to see Jesus. Andrew drags Philip along and they go and tell Jesus that these people from Greece want to see him.

And then it seems that the Greek people drop out of the picture completely. It appears that Jesus ignores them and instead goes off on tangent about the cross.

In actuality, this is the moment Jesus has been waiting for. It's almost as if the coming of these folks from Greece and their asking to see him, was his cue for everything that would follow. And whether they realize or not, Andrew and Philip hear not only the game plan for the salvation of the world, but the marching orders for all Christians and God's confirmation of the events about to happen.

Jesus foretells His death on the cross and the purpose of His death which is the salvation of the whole world. Not just the Jews but the salvation of the whole world, including the Greeks and gentiles.

In this passage, Jesus describes the cost of discipleship, how we are to be involved and the ultimate purpose of it all.

He says we are to be involved by taking up our cross and following him as servants. And the ultimate purpose of all of this is to Glorify God through lifting up Jesus for the world to see.

B. We're not called to lift him up on the cross again. He did that voluntarily for our sakes. We are called to lift up Jesus by telling the story of the cradle, the cross and the empty tomb. Those images we have of the mission and message of Jesus.

But even more importantly, we're called to lift up both the person and teachings of Jesus through the way that we live. When we do this, then we will fulfill the purpose even Jesus came to fulfill. And that is to Glorify God.

How do we do that? We do it by being good servants.

II. THE GLORY:

A. We do it by living both, the Story and the Glory. John Wesley gave this wonderful piece of advice to the people called Methodists. He gave it both for inspiration and instruction. Wesley knew that our purpose in life is to glorify God.

He wrote in his, Rule of Conduct: "Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can."

That's the whole concept of this passage. It's the concept of a faithful and faith filled life of servanthood. Jesus says: "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor."

We're called to serve and to follow. And if you boil it all down, To Serve IS To Follow.

What does that mean? What does that look like? The best way I know how to describe what I mean is through examples and stories.

B. A graduating student at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, had just received his appointment from the bishop. He was grousing and grumbling because the appointment didn't fit what he felt he deserved. Another student, in a loving but unsympathetic way patted him on the back and said, "You know the world is a better place because Michelangelo didn't say, 'I don't do ceilings.'"

He lifted up Jesus for his friend to see because he understood that To Serve Is To Follow.

And if you stop to think about it, that's the spirit of servanthood. The world is a better place because a German monk named Martin Luther didn't say, "I don't do doors."

The world is a better place, because an Oxford don named John Wesley didn't say, "I don't do fields."

Go from the beginning of the Bible to the end, and you will see over and over again the story of men and women who had servant hearts, minds and spirits. And the world is a better place, because:

Moses didn't say, "I don't do rivers."
Noah didn't say, "I don't do arks."
Jeremiah didn't say, "I don't do weeping."
Amos didn't say, "I don't do speeches."
Rahab didn't say, "I don't do carpets."
Ruth didn't say, "I don't do mothers-in-law."
David didn't say, "I don't do giants."
Mary didn't say, "I don't do virgin births."
Mary Magdalene didn't say, "I don't do feet."
John didn't say, "I don't do deserts."
Peter didn't say, "I don't do Gentiles."
Paul didn't say, "I don't do letters."
Jesus didn't say, "I don't do crosses."

They all had servant hearts and spirits and in living their lives the way they did, they glorified God.

They all understood that To Serve Is To Follow.

C. To see Jesus, to lift him up for others to glimpse his grace and power was a vital tradition in the early church. When describing the early Christians to the Emperor Hadrian, Aristides wrote:

"They love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to the person who has nothing; if they see a stranger, they take him home as a brother or sister in the spirit, the Spirit of God." (3)

They lifted up Jesus in everything they did. They understood that To Serve Is To Follow.

D. I'm reading a book by Rebecca Pippert, entitled, Out Of The Salt Shaker and Into The World. In it she tells the story about a student she met while in Portland, Oregon. She writes:

"He was brilliant and looked like he was always pondering the esoteric. His hair was always mussy, and in the entire time I knew him, I never once saw him wear a pair of shoes. Rain, sleet or snow, Bill was always barefoot.

While he was attending college, he had become a Christian. At this time, a well-dressed, middle-class church across the street from the campus wanted to develop more of a ministry to the students. They weren't sure how to go about it, but they tried to make them feel welcome.

One day, Bill decided to worship there. He walked into this church, wearing his blue jeans, tee shirt and, of course, no shoes. People looked a bit uncomfortable, but no one said anything. So, Bill began walking down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church was crowded that Sunday, so when he got down to the front pew and realized there were no seats, he just squatted down on the carpet, perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship, but perhaps unnerving for a church congregation.

The tension in the air became so thick one could slice it. Suddenly, an elderly man began walking down the aisle toward the boy. Was he going to scold Bill?

My friends who saw him approaching said they thought, "You can't blame him. He'd never guess Bill is a Christian. And his world is too distant from Bill's to understand. You can't blame him for what he's going to do."

As the man kept walking slowly down the aisle, the church became utterly silent, all eyes were focused on him, you could not hear anyone breathe. When the man reached Bill, with some difficulty he lowered himself and sat down next to him on the carpet.

He and Bill worshipped together on the floor that Sunday. And there wasn't a dry eye in the congregation. (4)

That older gentleman served and glorified God that day through simply sitting on the carpet in the aisle of his church. He lifted up Jesus for everyone to see that day. He understood that To Serve Is To Follow.

E. One more story:

It sounded like thunder. There wasn't a cloud in the sky that morning. The noise grew louder. The earth seemed to vibrate.

Nine long grain trucks, several farm trucks, a fuel truck, seven enormous combines, and numerous cars rumbled down the highway. This was obviously a procession. A procession with a mission.

This was the day of the harvest bee at the Swensen farm. Thelma had had a stroke again and wasn't showing much progress. Harry wasn't very steady on his feet anymore since his hip surgery last month. A few friends had called each other and decided to help Thelma and Harry out. They called some others.

The group had gotten an early start. The weather was being cooperative and the wheat was ready. Thermoses and water jugs were filled. Everyone had a job to do.

They worked through the morning. At noon, it took the women an hour to set up tables with food; it took thirty minutes for it all to be eaten. Hot dishes, salads, breads, and cookies were devoured without ceremony.

This group lived in the same area. They were all neighbors and most were farmers. The weather couldn't have been more perfect: not too wet, not too dry. It would be a bumper crop for most. It was certainly a bumper crop for Harry.

This had all come about because last Sunday the pastor announced in church that Thelma had suffered another stroke. The men had gathered outside after church to share harvesting stories when one of them mentioned he would swing by to see if Harry needed help. Another said he'd join him and then there was a chorus of volunteers. Soon there was a small army formed to take on Harry's crop. It had been planned in a matter of minutes. It didn't take long for the news of the plans to spread.

At the end of a long day the engines finally stopped. Sandwiches, salads, and cookies were served again. A hush came over the group. There was nothing much to say. The harvest had gone smoothly. Everyone had known what to do.

It seemed like a small effort for each one. Only one day out of their lives. Just one day to help Harry. One day to be a helpful neighbor. One day to be a witness.

The fieldwork was finished; their relationships weren't .God had blessed their community. God had blessed their harvest. (5)

They lifted up Jesus in everything they did. They understood that To Serve Is To Follow.

CONCLUSION:

It was only one day in His life. Just one day to help the world. One day to be a helpful neighbor for a world dying in sin. One day to be a witness for God about God's great love for us.

The fieldwork was finished. Jesus had trained the twelve. And the relationship wasn't over yet. They just didn't know it at the moment. But they would. In a few short weeks they would come to understand that To Serve Is To Follow.

God would bless them, their communities, the communities in which they ventured to preach and before long communities all over the world, including our community. God would and does and did bless their harvest. And all it took was one cross and one day in the life of His Son who understood that To Serve Is To Follow.

Our challenge is finding out how God wants us to serve. Because To Serve Is To Follow.

1. PROGRESSIVE FARMER Jan 1991 (Birmingham, AL)

2. Homiletics Annual CD, 1999 Edition

3. Parsons Bible Illustrator for Windows, 1990-1997, Parson's Technology Inc.

4. Rebecca Manley Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker and Into The World, (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1999) Rocket eBook edition., p 582.

5. A Blessed Harvest, Emphasis, March-April 2000, Sermon Prep Version. (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH)

Homiletics, Mar/Apr 2000, Volume 12, Number 2. (Communications Resources, Inc., Canton, OH)

Lectionary Homiletics, Volume XI, Number 5, April 2000, (Lectionary Homiletics, Inc. Midlothian, VA)

www.SermonWriter.com (Copyright, Richard Niell Donovan, 2000)

Dynamic Preaching, Apr/May/Jun 2000 Vol XV, No. 2. (Seven Worlds Publishing, Knoxville, TN)

Preaching Magazine, Jan/Feb 2000, Volume 15, Number 4. (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)

The Clergy Journal, May/June:1999, Volume LXXV, Number 7, (Logos Productions, Inc., Inver Grove Heights, MN)