Fifth Sunday in Lent
Some Greeks were among those who had come up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and made a request: “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Human One to be glorified. I assure you that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their lives will lose them, and those who hate their lives in this world will keep them forever. Whoever serves me must follow me. Wherever I am, there my servant will also be. My Father will honor whoever serves me.
“Now I am deeply troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, save me from this time’? No, for this is the reason I have come to this time. Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
The crowd standing there heard and said, “It’s thunder.” Others said, “An angel spoke to him.”
Jesus replied, “This voice wasn’t for my benefit but for yours. Now is the time for judgment of this world. Now this world’s ruler will be thrown out. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” (He said this to show how he was going to die.)
John 12:20-33 (CEB)
If you were asked to identify one theme from the Gospel stories of Jesus, what would it be? Odds are, it might have something to do with service.
It seems Jesus’ message of loving self, neighbors, and even enemies is most clearly exemplified through acts of service. Healing the blind. Caring for the poor. Encouraging the widow. Including the orphan. Washing the feet of his disciples…including the one who would betray him.
And while service is certainly central to the Christian life, it can very easily become a self-serving exercise. We often find ourselves serving not so much for what it does for others, but for the reward we receive for ourselves.
This week at New Wineskins, we’ll mark the 5th Sunday in Lent with a conversation about serving as spiritual practice, what our service means to ourselves and our world, and how service is an essential building block of beloved community.
Please join us this Sunday, March 17, in the New Wineskins Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom as we continue our Lenten journey toward Easter and Resurrection with a conversation about serving selflessly.
6:00pm ET: Happy Half-Hour (informal meet & greet time)
6:30pm ET: Presentation & conversation begin
This week’s discussion video from The Work of the People helps us recognize the depth of service when it comes from our own poverty and as an act of gratitude.
Click here to view this week’s discussion video (email address required)
Lent 2024: A Journey Into Self-Awareness
Many of us have experienced Lent as a season of repentance and self-sacrifice…of giving something up or letting something go.
But what if we saw it instead not as self-sacrifice, but self-awareness? What if we use these six weeks as an opportunity to know ourselves better and seek the kind of transformation that Divine Love invites us into?
This year for Lent, we’ll be exploring various spiritual practices designed to awaken us to who we are and what our place might be in the ongoing love project of transforming the world.
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