Facing the Fire
John 12:20-26
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
One morning recently, as I was driving my fifteen-year-old to school, I asked them where they got their news. While of course some of it comes from TikTok–they are 15 after all–they said mainly they listened to what they heard classmates talking about at school and made sure to look it up.
I’m not sure what the breaking news story was that day, I just remember wanting them to be prepared before they got to school. Most likely it had something to do with the LGBTQIA+ community, a reality that hits close to home for my non-binary child who attends a fine arts magnet school.
The part of the conversation that remains imprinted in my memory is this:
I told my child that right now it feels like there’s a forest fire sweeping through, burning down everything we care about. Nothing feels safe from the destructive flames, and all it leaves behind is smoldering ash.
At this point my child was nodding along, feeling the char of the fire touching people, ideals, and rights they hold dear.
And yet, I went on, the destruction of the fire is never the end of the story. New life always comes after death. If we’re talking about a literal fire, new grass, moss, and ferns begin poking out of the ground within a few weeks, and within a year, trees and shrubs are taking root.
What about when the fire is figurative? When death and destruction come for our way of life, the principles we hold dear, and threaten the safety of those we care about? Yes, we try to fight the fire with all the tools at our disposal, but sometimes the fire still comes, and nothing is left in its path but ash. Sadly, this is the reality many of us face these days.
Jesus knows a little bit about death and new life. In our passage today he tells his disciples, “‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.’”
Or, as T.S. Eliot says, “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
What does it look like for us to trust in that promise of new life? Here in this final week of Lent, the cross looms large and casts a long shadow. We know the heartbreak that is coming on Good Friday, and even though it hurts, we will face the pain of the cross.
We abhor the death, destruction, and pain that is sweeping our country and world, and we weep that there’s nothing we can do to prevent it.
But Jesus promises that death is never the end of the story. It is where we start from.
At the end of our conversation, my teenager said, “I can face the fire, as long as I know new life is coming.“
May we all trust in the promise of new life for ourselves and for our world. Amen.
prayer
O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an
instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life:
Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly
suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior
Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Daily Lenten meditations each have a companion morning prayer video offered by the same clergy. View the YouTube playlist to find this meditation’s companion video, or to watch others.