At the seminary I attended there was a fellow who was referred to as “Mr. Explanation.”  He earned that nickname because of the long, complicated explanations he gave in response to the simplest of questions.  Mr. Explanation’s expansive responses were detailed but rarely helpful.  I was reminded of Mr. Explanation when I read today’s Gospel. 

Some Greeks, that is, gentiles had traveled to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover celebration.  In the ancient world, Judaism held a strong attraction to gentiles who were disillusioned by the complexity and arbitrariness of pagan religious practices.  There weren’t large numbers of these people called “sympathizers,” but the phenomenon was widespread.  Some of them were so attached to Judaism that they made the difficult journey to Jerusalem for Jewish religious holidays. 

In today’s Gospel reading, a group of these gentiles addressed a simple request to the disciple Philip.  They asked, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” (Jn 12:21)  When the request was relayed to Jesus, he gave a response that would have made Mr. Explanation proud.  God intervened by means of a voice from heaven, but Jesus only paused briefly his long, rambling monologue.  

One might reasonably ask what the long list of elements in Jesus’ monologue have to do with the request by these gentiles.  Jesus mentioned wheat, hating one’s life, honor, glory, and his impending death. 

This rather complicated explanation does make sense, but only when one puts it in proper perspective; the proper perspective is the combination of the dry sense of humor of the author of the Gospel and the author’s profound theological insights.  Jesus’ response to the gentiles’ request to see him was, in simple terms, ‘You cannot see me until I die on the Cross.’  This response was both a subtle joke and a complete theological explanation of Jesus’ life and death. 

The subtle joke rested on the fact that the Apostles’ mission to preach to the gentiles did not (and could not) begin until after Jesus’ death.  The deep theology rests on the fact that it is impossible to understand Jesus’ life and teachings properly except in the light of his resurrection. 

In our world, there is a religious phenomenon very similar to the Judean sympathizers of Jesus’ day.  The news media report regularly about people who are not affiliated with a religion but who hunger for spirituality and meaning in their lives.   

Although these spiritual seekers don’t use the same language and concepts used by the gentiles in the Gospel reading, they might find the strategy of the gentiles to be helpful.  The gentiles seeking Jesus relied on his disciples to mediate on their behalf.  They weren’t saying, as people were often quoted in the 1990’s, “Have your people call my people, and we’ll do drinks sometime.”  Their request of Philip was more along the lines of a statement of respect and reverence.  They would not approach Jesus themselves; rather, they asked for the favor of an arranged encounter.   

Spiritual seekers today might profit from looking for a knowledgeable mediator who can give them direction in finding what they seek.  Further, believers might profit from this same strategy.  The season of Lent presents an excellent opportunity to seek guidance and direction for our daily walk of discipleship.  The Scripture readings this Sunday provide such guidance and direction. 

Concluding his response to the request by the gentiles, Jesus said, “Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.  And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”  He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.” (Jn 12:31-33)  The “judgment on this world” Jesus mentioned wasn’t judgment in a legal sense; rather, it was God’s decisive intervention in human history to provide the possibility of salvation for all people.  Now, by God’s grace, it is possible to live in God’s presence in this world and in the world to come. 

The author of John’s Gospel used a lot of ink to say that those who seek perfect goodness must look to uncreated perfection to find it and, finding it, they will be possessed by eternal goodness forever.  As I said above, John’s Gospel is somewhat similar to Mr. Explanation in that the author of the Gospel thought more words were better.  I tend to take the contrary approach, namely, that fewer words can often convey greater truth.  My alternative to Jesus’ rambling response to the gentiles might be something like, “What we cling to in this life will hold us forever.”