Transformation of presence

Jeremiah in my mind is a large man with brown skin, brown eyes, dark windblown hair and at least seven feet tall, big feet, strong arms and a generous tender heart. Belying his size, his voice is soft. His words flow from a depth of experience of suffering, of disappointment and hope, of failure and faith. He speaks of what he knows and his knowledge is not limited to rational facts, intellectual knowledge, but is born of a deeper awareness of spirit, emotion, and vision. He has hope that despite the failure of the covenant people to obey the laws of God or to be steadfast in the face of adversity, God is merciful and will forgive their sin. Jeremiah knows that harsh resentment and cruel punishment awaits one who speaks truth to power.  He knows the pain of exile but he is so aware of God in the core of his soul that he sees God in the exile with God’s people. Thus he can write: “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the lord: I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts: and I will be their God and they shall be my people”.

Inner transformation from the heart rather than the head! The law of God written in the heart! What would that be like? Would it rob us of our prized autonomy or our pride of independence? Or would that law of love and mercy flow from the heart of us toward those whose words wound and whose rebuff isolate? Would that law in our hearts soften us toward the stranger? Would the law in my heart make me more responsive to the needs of others, more generous in giving for the relief of hunger and sickness? Would it change my perspective on the irritating and frustrating events so that I, like Jeremiah, could see God present in the difficult moments?

I suggest that Jesus is the word in our hearts. Because he was human in every way that we are and completely in tune with the will of the Father, we can know God in a relational way rather than on a rules based obedience. Even the Greeks representing all the Gentiles want to see him.

When the Greeks said to Philip, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” Philip passed the message to Andrew and together they told Jesus. The response was strange at best: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much bruit. Those who love their life lose it and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

John does not spend words on the value of the cross as symbol and sign of forgiveness of individual sins, nor does he proclaim a form of substitutionary atonement, meaning a pure victim is offered as a substitute for the guilty. Rather, John in our text today says that the crucifixion of Jesus judges the world by which he means the fallen realm – those estranged from God.

In saying, my hour has come, Jesus is acknowledging his mission and his vision of the redemptive plan of the Father.  Jesus’ suffering is part of the economy of salvation.  Bishop Tutu told the people that apartheid would fall because righteous suffering cannot be denied its goal of salvation.

When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to me. These are powerful words to the community of Christ. Every time I hear this passage, I think of the giant two story statue of Jesus on the hill overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is called Christ the Redeemer, created by a French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa. It is 30 meters (98 ft) tall and stands on an 8 meter (26 ft) pedestal.  The arm span is 28 metres (92 ft). The statue weighs 635 metric tons. It stands at the peak of Corcovado mountain peak overlooking the city of Rio. As a symbol of Brazilian Christianity the statue has become an icon for Rio de Janeiro and for Brazil.

Under the shadow of this statue of Christ the Redeemer lies one of the cities with the highest levels of income inequality in the world, home to some of the world’s poorest people. In 2007 Brazil made a dramatic turn in the direction of income equality. They created a cash transfer program to reduce poverty and increase children’s education. For people living in extreme poverty the government paid them a stipend if they met these conditions: children under age of 17 had to attend school regularly, pregnant women had to visit clinics for prenatal and antenatal care, and parents had to be sure their children were fully immunized by age 5 and get growth check-ups annually.

Academics from the University of Minnesota and University of Sao Paulo found in 2012 that the program had led to improvements in children’s school enrollment and advancement, translating into higher incomes for them as adults and further reduction of poverty and inequality in the city and country.

Jesus said simply, “The time has come for me to be glorified.” The cross represents righteous suffering in that the Son of God takes up the whole of the human situation with a depth of love so great that no force of evil can overcome it. The disciples may not understand beforehand but in time they will fully understand that the cross represents victory over sin and death. It is the icon of reconciliation and reunion. It represents love in its purest form: self-gift.

Jesus suffered in solidarity with all who suffer. Through his innocent suffering he has won the right to ask us to hold on a little longer until morning comes with new resurrection life.

Thus in response to human need, in solidarity with the weaknesses and fragility of human life, Jesus completes the work of redemption, writing in human form the law of God on our hearts. It is an invitation to an eternal relationship that transcends all the difficult experiences and temptations of our human life. The prologue of John sums it up in saying: the word became flesh and dwelt among us.