The Gospel extract this week takes us to the last days of Jesus' ministry. In the unfolding of the narrative, Jesus has recently raised his friend Lazarus from the tomb in Bethany. As a result of the impression which this sign has made on the people, Caiaphas and his Sanhedrin friends have agreed that Jesus should die, and have made their decision public, so that Jesus is a marked man. A celebratory meal has taken place during which Mary, the sister of Lazarus, has anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The next day Jesus has entered the city of Jerusalem on a young donkey amidst the acclaim of the pilgrims, an event which leads the Pharisees to comment that the whole world has gone after him. The scene which follows constitutes the conclusion of the public ministry, and rounds off the first part of the Gospel.

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 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 it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. (John 12:20-30)

Amongst those going after him are some Greeks who have come up to Jerusalem for the festival. As Gentiles they feel that they need intermediaries, and approach Philip, who has a Greek name, and who comes from a predominantly gentile area. With great openness, they are seeking Jesus; they wish to see him, an indication of incipient faith. Philip gets Andrew, his fellow townsman, who had been responsible in the beginning for introducing him to Jesus. It would appear that the coming of the Gentiles serves as a sign for Jesus, and becomes the springboard for another Johannine discourse. The Greeks and the disciples fade into the background.

Several times in the narrative so far, reference has been made to an enigmatic hour which lay in the future. Jesus now proclaims that the hour has come, the hour for his return to the Father through his death and exaltation, his being lifted up. A short parable, solemnly introduced, follows. A seed, if it is to bear fruit, must disintegrate and die. In a similar manner, Jesus must die, and his dying will be a source of life for many. The parable leads into a saying which has several parallels in the other Gospels. The self-giving of Jesus has implications for his disciples. The stark contrasts, love and hate, are typically semitic. Hanging on to what this life offers, absolutising the values of this world, living in and for oneself, such behaviour leads to ultimate loss. Willingness to abandon ourselves now, opens us to true and lasting aliveness. Another saying with Synoptic echoes comes next, linking discipleship and service. Following Jesus means being with him in his self-giving service, sharing the experience of the seed. Such servants will be honoured by the Father, and this will be a much more profound experience of being with.

At this point the words of Jesus assume a different focus. The theme of the hour recurs. The term hour is found in Mark's Gospel too in the context of the passion during the scene which we call the agony in the garden (14:35). In John's presentation of the passion of Jesus, there is no such garden agony prior to Jesus' arrest. The features with which we are familiar because of the Synoptic accounts occur at this point in John's narrative.

Jesus exclaims: Now my soul is troubled, expressing his horror and fear before the suffering and darkness of the cross. This tradition of the anguish of Jesus, found in the Synoptics and also in Hebrews (5:7), contains echoes of Psalm 42. In Mark Jesus then prays that the hour should pass him by. In John the words of Jesus are similar: What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? In Mark Jesus prays that the Father's will, not his own, should be done. Here in John too, Jesus recognises that the whole purpose of his life and mission demands that he should go through with whatever the hour will bring. Many times during the ministry he has expressed his commitment to the task given him by the Father who sent him into the world. His self-giving in love to the Father will now find its fullest expression, and this will bring us salvation and eternal life. So Jesus prays that the Father's name be glorified (or hallowed). The uplifting of Jesus will bring about that glorification.

The hour of Jesus, his being lifted up, which is the climax of his life, the culmination of his mission and the turning point of history, has two complementary aspects. It is the hour of judgement, when the prince of this world, the power of evil, is dispossessed and defeated. It is also the moment through which Jesus will gather or draw all people (or the whole of reality) to himself. Such a saving gathering will include the Greeks. This image of oneness in Christ expresses the purpose and result of the crucifixion, the kind of death he was to die. At the supper Jesus uses the symbolism of the vine and branches to explore the depth of this oneness.

Our Gospel extract today plunges us into the paschal mystery, the dying and rising of Jesus. The words of Jesus in the earlier verses and his experience as articulated in the subsequent verses of the reading are uncomfortable and uncompromising. As disciples we are caught up in his hour, his self-giving and service. We are challenged to accept the paradigm of the wheat grain, so that it forms the pattern of our daily lives. We are called to lose ourselves in surrender to God and self-giving to others, and trust that in and through the various kinds of daily dying, our real life will grow, and we will be sources of life and blessing for others.

The struggle of Jesus in the face of suffering and death is such a solid and important element of our tradition. It shows the depth of his humanity, his being one with us. It reveals the implications of the Word's becoming flesh. Whether we are anxious and fearful about physical pain, surgery, illness, aging, or whether we are struggling with difficult decisions which we'd rather avoid, or with failure and humiliation, we can find comfort in knowing that Jesus has been there. It is natural to be afraid, to experience anguish, to seek relief. In this we are one with Jesus. We are also invited in the end to join him in surrendering in loving trust to the Father's will, so that in our lives too the Father may be glorified.