Sermon for March 17, 2024: Saying No to Single Grains based upon John 12:20-33

​John 12. 20-33
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Some Greeks Wish to See Jesus
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 honour.

Jesus Speaks about His Death
‘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. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

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     ​Single grains? What’s all this talk of single grains? Is this some kind of recipe? Are we talking about cereal? Cereal is good, but that’s not what we’re talking about this time. We’re talking about seeds and what it takes to grow.

     We’ve already heard one story that took place around Passover back at the beginning of John. Now it’s a different Passover and it is closer to the end. As we get closer, you will see Jesus prepare his friends for what’s coming. And, you will see Jesus meet new people who need to see him to understand him. In today’s reading, he does both. You might expect this reading to come after next week’s. This is an encounter that follows the events we call Palm Sunday. But, Holy Week is full. We should talk about this now.

     Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay reminds us in her commentary on this text that when we talk about a grain, we are talking about a seed, and often a particular kind of seed with hard covering we might call a hull. The hull protects parts of the seed that will become a plant. That part’s called the germ. In order for the germ to grow into a plant, the hull has to break. If the hull isn’t broken open under the right conditions (in good soil, with water and light to coax it out), the plant can’t grow. The grain can never become more grains. It will simply exist as a dried-up bit of potential. It will have no new life. This story is to tell us that the hull is about to be broken open.

     At this Passover, some Greek people wanted to meet Jesus. Alicia Myers says in her commentary that they were probably Gentile God-fearers who followed some Jewish teachings, including going to the temple for Passover. Cheryl Lindsay is inclined to read them as Greek Jews, given that the author of John was writing to an audience of Jewish people who followed Jesus, it’s more likely that they are intended to be Jewish. Either way, they had heard about Jesus, and came to Philip to ask “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” The teaching that Jesus would offer them and the rest of the crowd gathered that day would be the last bit of public teaching he would offer.

     I’m not sure what the Greeks were expecting when they went looking for Jesus. I have a feeling that they hoped to hear his wise and strange parables or receive healing. That’s what many people looked for when they came to see Jesus. I’m not sure that they or the disciples were prepared for Jesus to speak of his death or of his troubled soul. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies it bears much fruit.”

     It is not always easy to grow. There’s more than one parable about seeds not having the right conditions to grow into healthy plants. Sometimes seeds fall on hard places, like rocks, and get eaten before they have the chance to grow. Sometimes they fall in places where they only have a little of what they need, and start to grow, but can’t flourish. I once saw a tomato plant growing out of a gap in a sidewalk in the middle of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Sure, it had some dirt and water and light. But I don’t think it was going to produce much. Some seeds, like giant sequoia seeds, even need fire to help them flourish. The fire opens up space for saplings on the ground, helps to break open the cones the seeds form in for protection, and clears away leaf litter so the seeds land on the bare dirt they need. If you’re like me, it’s hard to look at a burned- up forest and remember that the fire is a necessary thing. The seed can’t become trees without it.

      A good leader gives their team the opportunity to opt out of a hard action. Not every seed is made for the fire. Not everyone is willing to be in the dirt.  Jesus says that a seed must fall in the dirt. A hull must be broken. No fruit can come without a change... a loss of the seed’s original form. “Those who love their life must lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” To truly grow, the grain must return to the dark earth, and trust that it will find the resources within the dark earth to nurture it into new life. Barbara Brown Taylor once said, “The great hope in the Christian message is not that you will be rescued from the dark but if you are able to trust God all the way into the dark, you may be surprised.” To follow Jesus is to become a seed, broken open in the rich darkness, fed by what we find there, reaching for the light that we hope is beyond.

     Rev. Dr. Lindsay says, “Jesus did not come to be a single grain.” Even in the moment when Jesus tells the gathered crowd that his heart is troubled, what is weighing on him will not stop him. John, more so than any other Gospel, shows Jesus fully aware of what loyalty to his mission will mean for him. Just because he is troubled, he isn’t looking for reassurance that he is on the right path. He knows he is. And, the voice from above helps make sure his disciples also know. What will come may seem like the end. It won’t be.
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     This question of Christians seems quite pressing: what is preventing us from following Christ into the rich darkness of this current time? What hull is surrounding us, offering a measure of protection while we mature, is no longer of use. Rev. Dr. Lindsay says, “A single grain may be comforted within its protective shell.” But, a seed in a hull of comfort and stability cannot grow. In this scripture, Jesus isn’t telling his followers to be as comfortable as possible. He tells them that they must be ready to be broken open in the darkness of the Holy What’s Next. What this world needs now is seeds ready to grow through conflict into peace.  As Rev. Dr. Lindsay says, “our privilege, power, and prestige may be used for this hour.” May we cease to protect a single grain. May we let that grain fall, trusting that the Living Water will grow in us many grains for the nourishment of this world.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Cheryl Lindsay: https://www.ucc.org/sermon-seeds/sermon-seeds-single-grains/
Karoline Lewis:

• https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fifth-sunday-in-lent-2/commentary-on-john-1220-33-3
• https://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=3566

About the Giant Sequoia seeds: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/giant-sequoia-needs-fire-grow/15094/
An interview with Barbara Brown Taylor: https://religionnews.com/2014/04/14/barbara-brown-taylor-encourages-christians-embrace-darkness/
Alicia D. Myers: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fifth-sunday-in-lent-2/commentary-on-john-1220-33-5