Daily Dose of the Word of God - John 12: 27-29

Justin Paul-Lawrence, Executive Director

Transcript

JPL 0:07

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC’s Daily Dose of the Word of God.  It’s Friday, October  31, but Sunday is coming. I’m Justin Paul Lawrence.Happy Reformation Day. 508 years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenburg. We’re in God’s word today partly because of his courage and devotion.Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John, as we journey through the Bible this year with the spotlight on Jesus and with the Apostle John as our guide. Here is Jesus speaking in John 12:27-29

JPL 0:22

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.”

JPL 0:59

When I was a kid, I loved thunderstorms. We lived on the edge of the prairie in Minnesota and you could see giant storms, sometimes almost black with rain, rolling in from miles away.  Thunder was always with us. And we could see it coming. I also lived in the Pacific Northwest for 4 years. And one December I heard something amazing. Thunder. You see it rains a lot in Vancouver, but it never seems to thunder. And it was just one clap - but I remember it vividly- along with a bluish flash of lightning illuminating the imposing face of Grouse Mountain. I’m guessing that the Ancient Near East is a lot closer to Vancouver than to Minnesota in that thunderstorms (as opposed to dust storms) are not that common. And yet, Thunder is what the crowd reached for when they heard the voice from heaven. That rare thing, or even rarer, the voice of an Angel. Needless to say they were impressed and confused. They didn’t expect this coming. Their hosannas in the triumphal entry were for an earthly king, not a cosmic one. What the voice said was even more interesting - “I have glorified it and I will glorify it again”. To say that God had glorified it is an understatement. So many of the stories of the Israelites are about the glory of the I AM, YHWH, the God of the Angel armies. The glory of the Delivery of the people from Egypt through the wilderness into a land flowing with Milk and Honey. The glory of choosing of the youngest son David to be the king, not the strongest, oldest or best looking. The Glory of the contest with the prophets of Ba’al, when the fire consumes the offering, the altar and the water. And the Glory of the still small voice speaking to Elijah on Mount Horeb, Not in the Strong Wind, Earthquake or Fire.  Glory, Power, Majesty, all the way down. And now: “I will glorify it again”. 

JPL 2:31

Wow. YHWH is on the move, here in the person of Jesus - I mean he talks about being the Son of Man, but this means that something wondrous is about to happen again - at least at the level of glory of the exodus or the prophets. The glory is coming. And Jesus submits to this glorification - the cross and all that goes with it, the sacrifice to bring a glorious resurrection. And of course, those who heard this voice, this Thunder, this angel, have no idea what is coming. But Jesus does. That’s why in the next verse he talks about the voice being for their benefit, not for his. His purpose is clear. For us this can be the challenge. We want to see God’s Glory - to encounter God in worship, to see lives changed, to see real fruit in our relationships. We await God’s glory, god’s presence, god showing up in our time and space. It is coming. While I don’t have a vista out over the prairie to watch God’s thunder rolling in, I do know that the Glory is coming.  There are signs all around. Keep watch.

JPL 3:10

Let's Pray. Lord, we know of your glory in the past, but we never know what glory you will bring in the future. Help us to expect it, to see and to hear it, whether it is a whisper, or a thunderclap.