I Want to See Jesus, Can You See, Hear Jesus

John 12:20-33

5th Lent  -  April 1, 2001

 

Children:

Bring in different pictures of Jesus.

Which one looks the  Most  like Jesus?   -  Vote.

Which one do you like best?  Why?

Does anyone know what Jesus looked like?

Did anyone have a camera back then?

Is it important (what Jesus looked like)?

Is it important to God, what YOU look like?

What IS  important is what is in Jesus’ heart.

What IS  in Jesus’ heart?

Love and Forgiveness.

 

Sermon:

 

A pastor was once showing a group of Sunday School children...  a  PAINTING  of  JESUS.

 

“Now, Children,”  the pastor explained...

“You must understand that this painting came from the  Artist’s  IMAGINATION...   He didn’t really  KNOW  what  Jesus  LOOKED  like.”

Whereupon  one of the  children  Spoke  Up...

“Well,  Pastor...  It  Sure  LOOKS  like   JESUS  to  ME.”    (repeat)

              (pause)

Have you ever  WONDERED... what  Jesus  LOOKED  like ?

It is  STRANGE...  the  Bible tells us a  Great  DEAL  about  Jesus...   But  NOTHING....

Nothing...  about  what Jesus  LOOKED  like.

Some have  speculated that perhaps  Jesus  was  BLACK...

There were a lot of  Dark-Skinned  people...  in 1st Cent. Palestine.

 

But...  No  one  Knows...

What if Jesus  was  short  or  Overweight... or  HOMELY ?...

No  one  Knows.

That’s a  Thought...  isn’t  it ? ...

I’ve never  Thought  of  Jesus  as  Round and  Jolly  looking...

But  No one  Knows...

 

The  Bible  doesn’t  Tell  us.

              (pause)

I  would  like  to  SEE  Jesus ...  face-to-face...

 

if nothing  else... just to see what he  LOOKS  like...

 

and to find out just how Close or  Far  Off 

my  Mental  PICTURES  of  Jesus  ARE.

I would like to  SEE  Jesus.

              (pause)

In our  Bible  lesson for today...  a  group of  GREEKS...

wanted to  SEE  Jesus...

 

and so they asked  PHILIP... one of Jesus’  Disciples:

“Sir, we would see Jesus...

(Can we  Please  See  Jesus ?)

We don’t even  know  if they ever  GOT  to  SEE  Jesus...

Because the Bible doesn’t  TELL  us...

 

We  DO  know... that NOW... the  whole  WORLD... wanted to  SEE  Jesus...  

 

even the  Greeks...  the  Pagans...  wanted to  SEE  Jesus.

And the Bible tells us... that it wasn’t  until  the point that  the  WHOLE  WORLD... was coming to  Jesus...

trying to  SEE  Jesus...

It wasn’t until  THAT  point... That Jesus knew his  work on earth was  Finished...

and that he had to go to  Jerusalem...  to  Suffer  and  to  DIE.

              (pause)

EVERYONE...  Wants  to   See   Jesus...

The  Whole  WORLD... Wants to see  Jesus.

              (pause)

One of the  OBVIOUS  ways that we can see  Jesus...  is through  THIS.            (hold up  BIBLE)

It may not tell us what Jesus  PHYSICALLY  Looks like...

 

But the Bible   DOES  tell us  About  Jesus...

 

It tells us about  Jesus’  HEART...  

and  his  MIND... and his  SOUL...

 

His  LIFE...  His  DEATH... and his  Life  AGAIN.

              (pause)

If you want to  See  Jesus...   Read  THIS.       (hold up Bible).

              (pause)

Another  OBVIOUS  way to  SEE  Jesus...

Is in the  Faces  of  Godly  People...

 

I  Think  that I caught a  GLIMPSE  of  JESUS...   last week...

When someone  VOLUNTEERED  to help teach  Sunday School.

...  She  Volunteered  without even being  ASKED  first.

              (pause)

I saw  Jesus... in  MANY  faces...  at the funeral of young Pat Cole  Friday...

 

(Joshua’s soccer-friend  Died this past week after a long and hard-fought battle with cancer  ...   And I saw  Jesus  in the faces of  Many  of the people at his funeral). ...

People  Holding  one another...

People  Encouraging  one another...

People  Crying  with  one another

              (pause)

I  Saw  and  Heard   JESUS    SEVERAL  times during the week...   through  Several  different  people...

But I  WONDER  how many times...  I   MISSED   Jesus.

For... there is yet  ANOTHER  way to see  Jesus...

 

A more  Difficult  way...

but perhaps  a more  Important  way...

Jesus  told us that we can  SEE  Jesus...

in the  Faces  of  PEOPLE   in  NEED...

 

Not just in the people who do  GODLY  things  FOR  us...

but through...  People... in  NEED.

Remember the words of Jesus:

“When you do it unto the  LEAST  of these,  you do it unto  ME.”

              (pause)

It is  IRONIC... but  when we follow God’s  WILL

and  help  people in  NEED...

 

THEY  will  see  Jesus  through  US...

But  We  ALSO...  will see  Jesus  through  THEM...

Some people say... that we  MEET  God...

When we  SHARE  God.                            (repeat)

              (Long  Pause)

We  ALL  want to  See  Jesus...

We  ALL  want to  Hear  GOD.

              (pause)

The  BIBLE  tells us... that  God  IS  Talking...

and that  Jesus  IS  Visible...

 

WE... however... may not  Recognize  the  Face...

or   Hear  the  Voice.

              (pause)

If we look back at our Gospel lesson for today...

We see that just after the Greeks came looking for Jesus...

 

Jesus  PRAYED  to  God... and  God  ANSWERED...

A   Voice  came  from  Heaven...  declaring  that  God will  Glorify  God’s  Name...

Some  of the people there  Thought... that it was an  ANGEL ...

something  supernatural...

 

Others  Thought... that it was just  THUNDER...   Noise.

Very  Few... if  ANY...  heard  GOD.

God was  Speaking... but no one  HEARD.

              (pause)

We  SEE  the  Face  of  Jesus...  in one of the  Least...

But we may  Think that it is  just another  Drug Addict  on the  street...

We  HEAR  the  Voice  of  God...  in a  Cry  for  Help...

But  Think... that it is just  NOISE... just  Thunder...

someone  BEGGING.

              (pause)

It is rather  EASY  to  See  Jesus  in the  Faces  of  Loved ones...

 

Or to  HEAR  God  in the  Voices of those who say  “I  Love  You.”

It is much more  Difficult  to see the face of  CHRIST...

And  Hear  the  Voice  of  God...

in the  LEAST  of  God’s  Children.

              (pause)

Two weeks ago I saw the face of Jesus... in the face of a very  TIRED-looking young man  from  Africa. 

Daniel  had spent the better part of 24 hours on Airplanes and in Airports...

Starting in  Kenya... and ending up... of all places ... in  Syracuse, NY.  ...

To  Begin  a  New  life... in  America.

Daniel was  Tired... and  Confused...

But  Happy  to see  Abraham...

A friend  from  Sudan... who arrived a couple of weeks earlier...

And he was happy to see  15 or 20  Strangers... from several  Churches...  who were  Sponsoring  his new life here.

              (pause)

I saw  Jesus...

And I think  Daniel  saw  Jesus  also.

              (pause)

The next morning... we got to do it all over again...

And I saw the face of Jesus in the  SMILING  face of  David...

Who was a little more  Rested...

Having laid over in  New York City overnight.

               (pause)

And we will get to do it again  Tuesday...

when we get to  greet  Ma-JAR.

We will get to see  JESUS...

And if we are doing our  Job...  Ma-JAR  will get to see Jesus  also.

              (pause)

Some years ago... the  NYC  Fire  Dept...   had a great  Parade.

The most  Exciting part of the parade... was not the  Fire Engines...  or the  hook and ladder  trucks...

No... the most  exciting part of the parade...  was   simply

3  Busses...   Full  of  people.

The  people  were  young and  old...    male  and  female...

black  and  white...

3 busses  FULL  of  just...  PEOPLE...

But on the outside of the busses  was a  Banner:

“All of these people were  SAVED  by our  Fire Dept.  from  burning  buildings.”                 (That’s  Powerful)

              (pause)

If  our  CHURCH  were to hold a  Parade...  How many  Busses  Full of  People... would there  be ?

How many people have  We  pulled...  from  Destruction ?

              (pause)

To someone  about to  perish  in a  burning  building...

The  Face  of a  Fire-fighter...  is the  Face  of  CHRIST...

 

To someone... Suffering  in a  Nursing  Home...

The  VOICE  of  a caring  Church member...

is the  VOICE   of  God.

 

To a  TEEN  contemplating  Suicide...

the  Hand of  Youth Group Leader...

is the  Hand  of  Christ...

 

To a  CHILD  who  knows  Nothing  about  God...

a  Sunday School  Teacher... is the  Face  of  Jesus.

              (pause)

When was the last time...  someone  Saw... or  Heard...  JESUS...   through   YOU ?

              (Long pause)

 

I think it is safe to say that we would  ALL  like to  SEE  Jesus.

We would  ALL  Like  to  HEAR  God.

When we leave this place...  God  WILL  speak  to  us.

 

We  MAY  simply  DISMISS  what  we  HEAR ... as  Noise  or  Thunder...

 

OR ...  we may  Recognize...  the  Voice  of  God...

 

And we will  Also   SEE  Jesus...

We  May  DISMISS  the  Face  of  JESUS...  as just another helpful friend... or just another  person in need...

But if we  look  Closely...   we  WILL...   see  Christ.

And when They look back at  US...

If  WE  are doing  Our  Jobs as  Disciples...

THEY  will  See  Jesus...   Also.       (Let us Pray)    (Amen).

 

       (Hymn #463 – “Lord Speak to Me”)

 

Let us Pray:

Loving God:  We long to  See  your  face... and to  Hear your Voice.  And yet, so often, Lord, we Fail to see and to hear you... even though you stand in our midst  and talk to us every day.  Help us, we pray,  to   SEE  you ...  in your  Creation... in faces of Holy people... and even in the faces of the  Least.

Help us, we pray, Lord... to  HEAR  your voice... in  Your Holy Word...  In our Own Conscience...  and even in the cry of those in need.

Loving God,  Open our  Eyes  and our  Ears  and our  Hearts...

To the Blessings of your  presence.

Through Christ Our Savior.   Amen.