Fifth Sunday of Lent
John 12: 20-33

Glorify thy name!

Jerusalem was teeming with people. Pilgrims from all parts of the Mediterranean world had come to celebrate the feast of the Passover. Among them were two adventurous God-seekers who had journeyed all the way from Greece. These Greeks were not Jews and were among the first of the Gentiles to seek the God proclaimed through Jesus. The Greeks’ fascination with Jesus had become intense when they learned that Jesus had raised a man called Lazarus from the dead.
The crowds moved slowly among the sprawl of stalls and stands where the sellers camped at the Damascus Gate. The two Greeks made their way inside the walls of the city searching for the Temple courtyard. They wandered through the winding streets, passing shops which wafted their sharp aromas of leather, spice, and fruits.
When they reached the Temple, the Greeks searched among the crowd for Jesus. Asking around, they said: “Have you seen the one, they say, who raised a man from the dead over in Bethany?”
“You mean Jesus?” one of the Jews confirmed.
“Yes, we’d like to meet him,” the Greek replied.
“He’s over there with his friends,” the Jew smiled, pointing across the courtyard to a large group of young men who were laughing and talking together. The Greeks crossed over to the outside edge the group. Philip, who himself was just arriving, looked over at the two foreigners. One of the Greeks caught Philip’s eye. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
“You’re Greeks?” Philip asked.
“Yes, we’ve come a long way to find him.”
“He is the one standing at the top of the steps. Wait here, I’ll see what I can do,” Philip said. He began working his way through the crowd toward Jesus. He found Andrew at the bottom of the Temple steps and told him about the two Greeks. Together, they went up the steps and told Jesus. He nodded and his eyes scanned the crowd. When Jesus saw the two Greeks standing at the outer edge of the crowd, he began to preach. He was looking directly at them as he proclaimed: “The hour has come...”
That day Jesus told how a grain of wheat must die to bear its fruit. He spoke of how believers must die to receive eternal life. He reassured his followers that his Father would honor them. He revealed his human fear of accepting his Father’s will, but his divine resolve to accept his own imminent death.
Then, shouting to the sky, Jesus prayed: “Father, glorify thy name!”
Like a great roll of thunder, a voice came booming back from the heavens: “I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.”
The two Greeks stood transfixed, overwhelmed in silent rapture. They had not only found Jesus, but in the thunder they had heard the very voice of God!

Like the Greek adventurers, each day of our lives we must journey to our own “Jerusalem.” There we are challenged to find Jesus in our midst. We might encounter “Philips and Andrews” who will help us to discover him. If we seek, we shall find. And when we find him, when we recognize him, if we wait in love and silence, we, too, will be privileged to hear the thunderous voice of God speaking deep within our own hearts.