“EMBRACING THE STORY BEHIND THE GLORY”

JOHN 12:20-33

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.

21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

No guts.  No glory.  Isn’t that the way the saying goes? The meaning behind the saying is simple. If you want to succeed you have to be willing to roll your sleeves up and sweat a little.  No guts. No glory. 

Bo Schembechler lived by those words.  It’s one of the reasons why he was a successful football coach at the University of Michigan. Bo Schembechler also insisted that his football players live by those words. One of the ways he motivated them to do that was by putting a sign. He put the sign up over the door leading into the team’s locker room.  The sign promised his players that their sacrifices would be worth it.  The sign said, “Those Who Stay Will Be Champions.”  One morning when the coach arrived at his office he discovered that someone had edited his sign a little.  Underneath the words, “Those Who Stay Will Be Champions” someone had written, “And Those Who Quit Will Be Doctors, Lawyers and Captains Of Industry.”

No guts.  No glory.  It’s a simple recipe for success and it’s true for athletes, politicians, soldiers, doctors and lawyers as well as businessmen and women.  It’s also be true for you especially if you’re facing a big challenge, or if you have an important decision that has to be made or you want a dream to come true.  No guts. No glory.   By the way Jesus lived by those words.  You can see that by looking at the speech he gave in the Temple. He gave the speech a couple of days before he sat down with his disciples for the Last Supper.

It all started when some Greeks went to Philip and told him that they wanted to see Jesus.  The reason why they went to Philip instead of one of the other disciples is simple. Philip is a Greek name.  So, they probably figured that Philip would be sympathetic to their request.  Philip may have been sympathetic to their request but he responded to their request like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.  He didn’t know what to do.  So, he ran and asked Andrew what they should do.  Andrew was the one who brought them to Jesus and what did Jesus do when they got there?

Instead of getting acquainted and having a pleasant conversation Jesus launches into a speech that would have made General George Patton proud. Jesus launches into a speech about death and dying and making sacrifices.  Jesus says to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified… Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

In other words, “No guts.  No glory.”

Jesus knew that for him the path to glory was through the gut wrenching pain of the Cross.  It was his destiny but he also made it clear to everyone that he wasn’t a masochistic messiah.  He wasn’t looking forward to all that gut wrenching pain. That’s why Jesus says to them, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven (saying): “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

No guts.  No glory.  Now some people don’t like the guts and the glory that you see in the Cross.  That’s why the Da Vinci Code was so popular.  The premise behind the Da Vinci Code is that somehow Jesus didn’t die on the Cross.  It was all an act.  Instead of dying on the Cross Jesus and Mary Magdalene actually got married and lived happily ever after.  Some theologians also don’t like the guts and the glory that you see in the Cross.  It’s the reason why some theologians are suggesting now that the Cross is nothing less than cosmic child abuse.

You can see this new fangled theology in a letter that appeared a while ago in the magazine “Christianity Today”  In that magazine there is an advice column similar to Dear Abby.  The name of the advice column is Dear Eutychus and the letter that I’m referring to asked a simple question, 

Dear Eutychus:

Our preacher said, on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think?                                Sincerely, Bewildered

Dear Bewildered:

Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails using 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross, hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear through his heart; embalm him; put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens.                                   Sincerely, Eutychus

Some people have a problem with the Cross but I don’t.  That’s because in my mind what happened on the Cross is similar to what happened to a boy who used to steal comic books. The boy’s father was a Lutheran pastor and author by the name of Walter Langerin.  The first time Pastor Langerin’s son stole a comic book from the library he asked the librarian to scold him so he wouldn’t do it again.  The second time Pastor Langerin’s son stole a comic book he gave the boy a lecture himself.  He sat his son down and sternly reminded him that stealing is a sin.  Then to drive the point home he took his son’s comic books and one by one threw them into the fireplace.  The third time Pastor Langerin’s son stole a comic book he decided that he didn’t have any choice. “I had to spank him,” he said.  So, he took his son into the study and it wasn’t long before he discovered that the old saying is true.  You know the old saying that I’m talking about.  It’s the one that says, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.”  Looking back on that difficult moment Pastor Langerin says, “as soon as I was done, I left the room.  I went out to where our piano is…in the hall, and I burst into tears.  And blessed Thanne, my wife, she came over to comfort me, with her arms around me.  Well, I cried at the thing I had done, and then I went back into the room to hug Matthew.  Now, this is fortuitous, because I tell you the truth: A number of years later, while the family was driving in the car: out of nowhere, Matthew says to me, ‘Dad, do you know why I stopped stealing comic books?”  I said, ‘Yea, I finally spanked you.’  He said, ‘What!’  And he looked at me.  He said, ‘No, Dad…It’s because you cried…’”

Some people look at the Cross and they think that Jesus faked it and pulled the wool over our eyes.  Some people look at the Cross and think that it’s cosmic child abuse and encourages violence in our society.  I look at the Cross with all of its guts and its glory and I see God’s grace at work. That’s because it isn’t hard for me to believe that there were tears in Christ’s eyes when he looked down from the Cross and said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

That’s the true story behind the guts and the glory and it’s the reason why you can face those challenges.  It’s the reason why you make those difficult decisions.  It’s the reason why you can muster up the courage and the determination to make those dreams come true.

Why do I say that?  I say it because when you understand the story behind the guts and the glory you begin to realize that you are loved.  Not only that but you begin to realize that the love that was in him is also in you and you begin to realize it can bring out the best in you.

It’s similar to what happened one day when Leonardo da Vinci asked one of his students to finish one of his paintings.  The student was shocked by the invitation and insisted that he was both unworthy and unable to finish the painting.  After all da Vinci was a great artist.  He was a nobody.  Da Vinci was a genius. He was a man of ordinary talent.  Da Vinci listened to all of the reasons why the student couldn’t possibly finish the painting and then asked, “Will not what I have done inspire you to do your best?”

Jesus asks the same question of each and every one of us.  Will not what I have done inspire you to do your best?”  No guts.  No glory.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 29, 2009