A homily by: Fr. Gene
Tucker
Given at: Trinity
Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday,
March 25, 2012
“OFFERS”
(Homily text: John 12: 20 - 33)
Ever think
about the number of offers that are made to us every day?
All the
advertising we see or read is, in essence, an offer of some sort….an offer to
buy something, try a new product, hire someone to provide a service for us, and
so forth.
With each offer that comes our way, we have to make a choice: we can accept the offer (hire the company, buy the product, etc.), or we can say, “No, thanks.”
Part of our
acceptance or rejection of the offer has to do with the worth or value of the
product or service being offered. For
example, this morning, I have three envelopes with me which were received in
the mail recently. One is for a lawn
service, and was addressed to the former owners of our house (or to the “current
resident”). So immediately, I know that
– for one thing – the lawn service company hasn’t updated its records, so
perhaps this is a “mass mailing”, and therefore, less valuable. For another, the envelope didn’t carry first
class postage, another clue that it might not be a very valuable offer. But on the other hand, the return address
shows that this offer came from a very reliable and reputable company. So if I were to analyze the worth or value of
this offer, I’d have to take all of those factors into consideration. After I’d done that, then I’d have to decide
if the offer is something that I need, or, put another way, I’d have to ask, “Is
this service something that is valuable to me?”
Though we
may not be aware of it, we go through this process many times each day, when we
are in the store, when we are sifting through the day’s mail, when we drive
down the road and see signs and billboards.
Today’s
gospel reading presents us with an offer:
Jesus offers us Himself.
He says,
“Unless a grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it
dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12: 24)
Of course,
reading on a little farther, we see that He is referring to His own death,
which will take place shortly.
Describing that death, He says, “And I, when I am lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men to myself.” The
gospel writer makes it clear that Jesus is referring to the manner of His death
(see verses 32 – 33)
Jesus’
offer is the offering of Himself upon the cross. His own self-offering makes possible “much
fruit”, which, in John’s gospel account often represents the life of the body
of believers who will come to have new and eternal life as a result of His
sacrifice.
Jesus uses
a common agricultural metaphor here, and it reminds us of some of His other
teachings which use such commonly known examples from daily life in ancient
times. We could think of the Parable of
the Mustard Seed, to cite but one example (see Mark 4: 30 – 32). There, Jesus compares the growth of the body
of people who will come to believe in Him to a single, small mustard seed,
which, when planted, brings forth a large shrub.
We are
asked to evaluate Jesus’ offer.
The usual
questions arise, just as they do with any offer that might come our way:
- Is this offer something valuable?
- Is the source of the offering reliable?
- Is this offer something that I need?
Moreover,
Jesus tells us that His death is a victory over the “ruler of this world”, that
is, the evil one and all the powers associated with the evil one.
So, Jesus’
offer is quite valuable, offering us eternal life, union with Him and with the
Father, and a chance to be on the winning side of the battle between God and
the forces of evil.
“Is Jesus a
reliable source?” The old saying maintains that “Talk is cheap.” Anyone can make claims, even outrageous
ones. But to assess the reliability of
the claims that Jesus makes here, we would have to have some proof that what He
says is backed up by some action(s) that would assure us that He is who He says
He is, that He is “one with the Father”, that He has the power over death and
evil.
Where is
that proof? Actually, Jesus provides a
hint of it in his illustration of the seed which falls to the ground…He says
that, when the seed falls into the earth, it dies, but it gives birth to new
life in the form of the plant which will arise and bear much fruit. The proof is the resurrection, which will
take place on Easter Sunday morning.
It is the
fact of Jesus’ resurrection which assures us of Jesus’ identity, His power, and
His ability to conquer death. All of the
miracles that He did, which were signs of His divine power, now make sense in
this, His ultimate miracle and sign, the resurrection.
Finally, then,
we must ask, “Do we need this?”
Absolutely,
we do….we need the new and eternal life that Jesus offers. For it is sure that we cannot save ourselves,
we cannot lift ourselves up from the bonds of sin which separate us from God’s
holiness and break down the barrier of sin which prevents us from being with
God the Father. We need to claim the
power of Jesus’ resurrection as our guarantee of new life with Him and with the
Father.
So, how
about it?
Perhaps we
ought to do some introspection as Holy Week approaches. Could we assess Jesus’ offer and our response
to it, asking the three questions we began with earlier on?
- Have I assessed the real value of Jesus’ offer of eternal life?
- Do I believe that His promises are reliable?
- Do I need that new and never-ending life that He offers to everyone who comes to Him in faith?
AMEN.
