The Fifth Sunday of Lent is a great time to get up close and personal with the generative power and value of death. This week’s reading is a fascinating Johannine mash-up for those more familiar with the synoptic Gospels. Jesus’ proclamation that those who love their lives will lose them, and those who hate their lives will gain eternal life (v. 25), echoes his teaching in the other three Gospels about taking up our cross and following him (Matthew 10:38; Mark 8:35; Luke 14:27). Verses 27-28 are a nod to the Garden of Gethsemane, or perhaps a rebuttal to the synoptic Gethsemane tradition where Jesus prays, with some minor variation, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me …” (Matthew 26:39; Luke 22:42; Mark 14:36). John’s Jesus proclaims that he will not ask for this cup to pass him by (John 12:27). And then we get an oddly-placed voice from the heavens – the only heavenly declaration in John’s Gospel, which seems to serve the same purpose as God’s verbal endorsement of Jesus at his baptism (Mark 1:11, et. al.) and his transfiguration (Mark 9:7, et. al.), in the synoptics. What is unique to John’s Gospel and to this morning’s reading is this fascinating little parable in verse 24 about the grain of wheat that must fall into the earth and die to bear much fruit. There’s nothing else quite like it in any of Jesus’ “seed teachings.” (See Mark 4 for the parable of the sower, the seed growing secretly, and the mustard seed for examples.) Here, the same illustration holds a different message: death is a necessary precondition to life. This truth is evident when we look at the natural world, but it feels backward and counterintuitive to our experience of human life, which, of course, is Jesus’ point. This parable also invites us to value what is communal over what is individual. We who are members of the Christ-believing community are encouraged to imitate our teacher and die to ourselves to participate in the new life of the kingdom (v. 25). No one harvests a single grain of wheat; on its own, it’s mostly useless. Yet harvested sheaves of wheat can create the very Bread of Life. God uses the power of our collective discipleship, the work of our community, to bear much fruit in the world. We’ve heard similar messages elsewhere in Scripture. The sage who wrote Ecclesiastes tells us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil … Though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold chord is not quickly broken” (4:9, 12). Jesus promises that “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20). Paul writes to the early churches, “I thank my God every time I remember you (Philippians 1:3) and “You are the body of Christ,” (1 Corinthians 12:27), but our English translations obscure the fact that “you” here is second person plural. To use Southern vernacular, what Paul actually says is “I thank my God every time I remember y’all,” and “Y’all are the body of Christ.” The greatest value and the greatest efficacy lie in the community. ... Read the rest of the commentary on the website.
Thank you to this week's writer Ginna Bairby. | 
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