"Save Me From This Hour"?
John 12:20-33
Cynthia O'Brien
April 2, 2006
JN 12:20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
JN 12:23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
JN 12:27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!"
Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
JN 12:30 Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
Chum Sophan is a young woman who lives in Cambodia. Her parents were trying to make a living raising pigs, but the pigs would usually get sick and die before they were old enough to take to market. This upset Sophan, but there was no opportunity for her to get the education she would need to make it work. She couldn’t make it on her own. She needed someone to save her. Then Church World Service came to work in her village. They selected Sophan to train as a Village Livestock Agent to provide preventive care and treat animals. They also gave her a small loan to build a pig pen and buy one sow. Now she’s one of 28 trained Village Livestock Agents in her district, and a successful pig farmer. She has a reputation for healthy pigs and other farmers are lined up to buy from her. Her family has gained the skills they need to work with animals and to generate income for their whole family. Her prayers have been answered; the Lord saved her and her village.
We count on the Lord to save us, and we praise God when our prayers are answered. But there was one man who did not pray exactly as we would. In John chapter 12, Jesus said,
JN 12:27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'?
YES, save me! Here is where Jesus should quote the Scripture “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” Every other human being prays to be saved from suffering. We pray to be spared an untimely death. We pray to be relieved from pain.
We do practical things every day to back up these prayers. We try to prevent diseases. We stop smoking, get annual mammograms and eat foods that contain antioxidants. We buy cars with good crash-test ratings and pray for protection driving to the coast. And when we find ourselves in some kind of foxhole – literally or figuratively – we pray, pray, pray to get out alive. “Father, save me from this hour!”
Then if God does save us, we not only have our life back, but we have a great story. A testimony of the glory of God. We quote the Scriptures: “In my distress, I cried to the Lord, and the Lord saved me.”
Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Hallelujah! I can hear the disciples thinking. God is going to save us! Jesus is going to be glorified. This will be the event of the year! How will Jesus show his glory? Will he do a great miracle? Will he heal someone, or raise someone from the dead? How will he be glorified? The disciples can’t wait to see Jesus glorified.
But the more Jesus talks, the more confused his disciples get. Jesus is talking about seeds dying, about men losing their lives. Even though Jesus says he is about to be glorified, he says, “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”
SKIING
Dave Barry can’t decide whether he wants to ski or be saved from skiing. He wrote recently about how he and his son have such different approaches to skiing that they can no longer ski together.
Quote: “(My son) skis via the Downhill Method, in which you ski down the hill; whereas I ski via the Breath-Catching Method, in which you stand sideways on the hill, looking as athletic as possible without actually moving muscles (this could cause you to start sliding down the hill). If anybody asks if you're OK, you say, ''I'm just catching my breath!'' in a tone of voice that suggests that at any moment you're going to swoop rapidly down the slope; whereas in fact you're planning to stay right where you are, rigid as a statue, until the spring thaw. At night, when the Downhillers have all gone home, we Breath-Catchers will still be up there, clinging to the mountainside, chewing on our parkas for sustenance.”
What should Dave say as he stands sideways on the hill – “Save me from this hill?”
You skiers and snowboarders know: There is a reason that you fill up your gas tank, go to the rental shop and pay 25 bucks to rent your skis or board. There’s a reason you drive 37 miles up to Timberline and pay 46 bucks for a lift ticket. There’s a reason you wait 15 minutes in line and ride a thousand feet on the Magic Mile Express, get off and get on the Palmer chairlift and ride another 1500 feet up to the top where you stand at 8,540 feet elevation.
Now what shall you say? Save me from this mountain? No, the reason you went up there was to ski DOWN. That is the point of all you have been through until this moment.
Jesus said, It was for this very reason I came to this hour.
ESTHER
Remember the Jewish girl in the Old Testament, Hadassah, who was made Queen Esther of Persia only to discover a plot to kill all the Jews? Her uncle Mordecai said, “You have to approach the King and tell him this is wrong.” But she said, “The king will kill me if I do.” Mordecai replied, “Well, if you don’t save us, God will save us another way. But who knows but that you have come to royal power for such a time as this?” What should Esther do? Go quietly back to her rooms, after understanding that her whole reason for being there was to step out in courage?
Jesus said, It was for this very reason I came to this hour.
Now for anyone who is paying attention, Jesus explains more about this hour in which God will glorify him.
Jesus said, 31 I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
CRUCIFIX
Imagine a young couple in a jewelry store, shopping for a gift for her great aunt for Easter, comparing cross necklaces, and one turns to the other and asks, “Do you think we should get the cross with the man on it or without the man on it?”
The cross that shows Jesus on it is called a crucifix, and we think of it as a primarily Catholic image. The plain cross is thought of as a mostly Protestant image. Which one shows Jesus’ hour of glory? The crucifix, with which we meditate on Jesus suffering, or the empty cross, signifying the resurrection?
Personally I’m more comfortable with the resurrection. But I find it interesting that Jesus, when he talks about his hour of glory, does not talk about the resurrection. When he talks about being lifted up from the earth, it is not his resurrection or his ascension into heaven. John makes it clear this is about the kind of death he was going to die. Jesus’ hour of glory is the hour of his death.
Jesus’ hour of glory, he says, is when he is lifted up on the cross, when he is humiliated and tortured, when he dies slowly by suffocation and exposure. This is the hour he will not ask to be saved from. This is his hour in which he draws us all to him. This is his hour of glory.
What is your hour of glory? It is when you take up your cross and follow Jesus down the hard path. It is when you make an unpopular decision that you know is right. It is when you suffer in order for someone else to be happy. It begins in this hour right here, when we hear his word, when we believe it in our minds and hearts, and when we seal it in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. In this hour, we share in this glory of Christ’s suffering and death. He draws us to this table to share his suffering with us. As we eat the body and drink the blood, we are tangibly reminded of his hour of glory. We are bound to him.
Paul wrote to the Romans: We were therefore buried with Christ through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
And he said to the church at Corinth: Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
When we gather at the Lord’s table, we find reason that we are here. We find the courage to follow Jesus. We remember our responsibility to those who are in need. We find the strength to do the hard things that we know we must do.
The Lord answered Chum Sophan’s prayer. But who was it that sacrificed to give the money so that Sophan could get the training she needed to support her family? You did, just a few years ago. You and 11,000 other Presbyterian congregations gave to One Great Hour of Sharing. The money for her training can be traced all the way back here, because we are the people who care.
We might have said, “Lord, save me from this special offering!” But Jesus didn’t say that, and neither do we. Jesus said, “No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
For what reason did you come to this hour?
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