what kind of Jesus do you want to see? - 5th sunday lent B

In the gospels there are many stories of people wanting to see Jesus.  There were the wise men who traveled far to see the new born king of the Jews when they saw his star rising from the east.  Herod also wanted to see Jesus although he had a more evil intent in wanting to.  Zaccheus also wanted to see Jesus but because he was small in stature he had to climb a sycamore tree.  Today we hear of Greeks who came to Philip with a request, Sir, we would like to see Jesus.

Who would not want to see Jesus?  If I was born at that time and have heard stories going around about Jesus, I too would have wanted to see Jesus.  What intrigued me however is not the fact that they wanted to see him.  What intrigued me was the reply of Jesus when Andrew and Philip told him that there were Greeks who wanted to see him.

What was the reply of Jesus?  He said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.  Whoever loves his life loses it.” 

Now what does this reply got to do with people who wanted to see him?  What is the connection?

I do not know but I can make a guess.  Probably people who wanted to see Jesus do so for a variety of reasons and many of these are just a curiosity wanting to be satisfied, plain and simple ozi - ozisero.  Or probably they wanted to see Jesus to see if what they heard about this wonder healer who can raise the dead to life, or this miracle worker who multiplies bread and fishes is real and true.  And so Jesus came in with this reply as if to ask Ok you came to see me, which Jesus do you want to see, what kind of Jesus do you want to see, what kind of Jesus do you expect to see?  And then he began to show him the real Jesus.  This is the Jesus you are about to see – In a little while he will be glorified on a cross, suffering the most excruciating torture the Romans had invented.  For unless the grain of wheat dies it remains just a grain, but if it dies it produces much fruit.  This is the Jesus you are about to see.

True enough in a week’s time he would be crucified and he would die but on the third day he will be raised to life.

Like the Greeks do you also want to see Jesus?  What kind of Jesus do you want to see?  Today if you go to churches the images of the saints are covered in violet.  If you go to the cathedral this is a bit impressive to the point of eeriness as if everybody suddenly goes on mourning or as some children would point out everyone seems to don a Halloween costume – spooky shall I say.  But this Sunday the church wants to train the eyes, to see not what we want to see, not what we expect to see, but to see what is true and real.

In the seminary I teach the Philosophy of Beauty, not because I am an expert but because no one wants to teach it.  So I always tell seminarians if you have girlfriends please show them to me so that I can tell you if they are worth leaving your vocation.  In the Philosophy of beauty you get to encounter the age old problem – is beauty in the object itself or is it in the eye of the beholder.  When I was in Boracay with some seminarians many years ago we saw some foreigners with their girls in tow and some seminarians cannot hold their tongue and commented on what they thought was an anomaly in their choice.  And to think that these are the people who built the majestic gothic cathedrals and the beautiful baroque.  No offense to our Spanish Sisters.

But it is the eyes, many times it is our way of looking, the perspective, that matters to many of us.  What do you want to see?  How do you want to see it?  What kind of Jesus do you want to see?  How do you want to see Jesus?  Today our second reading and our gospel are all telling us the real Jesus – as if in answer to our question - will the real Jesus please stand up?

As we enter deeper into lent we enter those days what is see and what we hear may no longer as pleasant –not even consoling.  We hear the words cross, suffering, passion, losing, dying, blood, loud cries, tears, death, thorns, insults, lashes, sacrifice, burial, tomb.  These may not be pleasing but this is the real Jesus.

Many weeks ago there was this controversy of Muslims complaining that the prophet Mohammed is being mocked and insulted in cartoons published in newspapers in Europe.  But do you know that everyday when we go to church you see Jesus mocked.  In your homes do you know that we are in a way mocking Jesus?  Where?  The cross is a mockery, it is an image of a humiliated Jesus, a mocked Jesus.  Crucifixion was used by the Romans to subjugate people, to instil fear on people.  Remember Spartacus how he and his followers were punished by Rome for rebellion.  They were all crucified hundreds of them and placed on the Appian Way as if to say to the whole world, go ahead rebel and you will die like this.  And yet we hold this greatest insult, we hold this greatest act of mockery, this greatest act of bullying in highest honor as if to taunt our enemies, to taunt the devil.  Why because we know that Christ was risen from the dead – we know that the love of God is more powerful than this insulting act of subjugation.  God’s love is greater than anything that is in this world.  So we taunt the devil saying go ahead insult me, make me afraid, go ahead make me suffer, go ahead humiliate me.  I have the cross of Jesus, and I taunt you with this cross of Jesus for I believe that God’s love is greater than all these sufferings, God’s love is greater than all these humiliations, fears, insults and defeats..

Today some of the girls have graduated – years back their parents, their friends and probably they themselves may have never thought that they could make it.  But now they did.  So hold yourself like the cross of Jesus and taunt the devil saying God’s love is greater and more powerful than all the sufferings that subjugate us to hopelessness.  God’s love is greater and more powerful than all the discouragements and fears that stifle our dreams.  Now we know that we can become conquerors also because of God’s who loves us.

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Today we celebrate the Birthday of St. Maria Vicenta – though she lived in a comfortable home with a family able to meet her needs, she chose a life of austerity and sacrifice.  Why is this so?  Why chose to live a life of sacrifice.  Because this is how Jesus lived his life and this is the Jesus that we will reflect on in this holy mass hoping that we too will encounter him in our celebration this morning.