John 12:27ff -- homily: death as power

John 12:27-36a: “When Jesus is Lifted Up”

By Loy Mershimer

How are we to make sense of a world which holds such grandeur and beauty, and yet…a world in which such great evil is also present? Every sunrise and sunset paints beauty upon the skies, yet each day’s news reports bring evidence of a world gone wrong.

In yesterday’s news, a Florida couple was caught by law-enforcement agents in Utah. The couple is suspected of torturing their five adopted children. [1] In Alabama, a mother was accused of killing her three children, each child found on the floor of her apartment. [2]

How is it that this world can be as beautiful as a painted sunset, or a newborn baby’s smile, and yet so ugly that people actually torture [and kill] babies?

Some people look at the evil…throw up their hands and say, “God cannot exist.”

How are we, as people of faith, to deal with loss of innocence, presence of evil…that we face every day? Are there answers?

Jesus, in the Gospel of John, painted the issue in terms of a power struggle: in His words, a war of light vs. darkness [cf. vv. 35-36]. What we see in our world is a reflection of that cosmic struggle. In other words, the beauty that shines in a baby’s smile is a reflection of the Goodness that created the world; the ugliness of those who torture and kill innocents is a reflection of the evil, the chaos that seeks to overturn God’s creation.

Jesus not only talked in terms of a power struggle, He also acted as if His death on the Cross was the central act in the war against evil. Today’s Gospel text is of Jesus on the way to the Cross. Jesus talked of the death He was going to die, and the people essentially replied, “How can you be Messiah and die?”
Verse 34: The crowd answered him, “We have heard…that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

But Jesus seems to say, “Not only is Messiah, the Son of Man, going to die…it is for this reason that He came, and in His death He will conquer death; His death will cast down the prince of evil.”
Verses 31-32 [verses that strike at the heart of our spiritual reality]: “Now is the judgment 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.”

Here is a mystery: Jesus acted as if His death, being lifted up on the Cross, was the exact thing that would judge the dark powers in the world. He acted as if His Cross would in some way bind the forces of evil. “Now the prince of this world will be driven out; and when I am lifted up…I will draw all people to myself.”

Mysterious words…here we brush up against the mystery of the Cross, the paradox we talked about last week: How is it that God frees us from sin and death’s control…yet does so through the Cross: weakness, self-giving, sacrifice and death?

But this is exactly what we find! The weakness of God on the Cross is the very thing that liberates us from the chaotic forces. It is the name of Jesus that conquers the powers. It is true, as Scripture says, “The demons believe…and tremble” at the power in the Name.
The Cross is the central act in the real War on Terror!
It is one thing to see cosmic evil reflected around the world; it is quite another thing to encounter evil in personal life: sin, failure, brokenness… It is here that we experience the power of the Name: Jesus!

If the name of Jesus is spoken honestly, as a prayer of the heart, there is infinite power!

I’ve seen the name of Jesus free people from dark spiritual control, break addictions…
I’ve seen the name of Jesus repair relationships, broken beyond hope.
I’ve seen the name of Jesus bring physical healing…
Living in comfortable suburbia, we don’t hear much of spiritual encounters…but if we just scratch the surface of our rampant anxieties and dis-ease…often we’ll find a deeper spiritual issue, in need of Christ’s power…His name.

Since we are human players in a cosmic struggle of light vs. darkness, then what is our plan of battle? How do we partner with light? Jesus answers…
Verse 35: “Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you.”
Verse 36: “While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”
The great challenge is for those who say they have light, to actually walk in the light…to believe in the light and become children of light.
Or, as John later writes: “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin” [1 John 1:7].

Wow! Walk in the light…believe in the light: this is how we partner with God. See this ‘walking in light’ in…

An executive, who for the sake of Christ chooses honesty…even when no one would know the difference.
A husband who carries the Cross, and chooses faithfulness to his wife, even when temptation is freely, secretly offered.
A mother, who faithfully prays for her children, and then lives that life, even when the world does not see.
A schoolgirl, who quietly resists the false pressures of a sell-out world, even when giving in would be far easier.

It is here that the miracle of fellowship and cleansing comes.
It is here that the attraction of Christ becomes a subtle and irresistible force…transforming one life at a time.

We are in a power play, where forces of evil range about our world. We see these forces every day, but today’s text witnesses that the opening act of freedom has already been accomplished. “The prince of this world is judged…” And we proclaim this victory in our days, in little ways, as we walk as children of light. Our lives begin to answer the question of evil…

This is how we share Christ's present and future victory: When we lift Him up in personal life, when we begin to live the meaning of His death, His light.

Thus we receive the promise of Christ: “When I am lifted up, I will draw…all…to Me!”

Herein is the victory that overcomes the world! This is our answer, Parkview!

Amen.

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[1] http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/topstories_story_035204614.html
[2] http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,146513,00.html