Becoming more at home through the small or larger deaths
Series: Welcome home | Bible text: John 12:24
On Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Death and resurrection are part of the normal spiritual rhythm of every follower of Jesus. Spiritual growth cannot be had without the minor or major deaths that occur in every life.
Easter clearly shows us that God’s resurrection power is greater than death. It is equally clear to us that life emerges from death. A beautiful example of this is the Jericho rose, where life emerges from seemingly dead undergrowth through a little rain. In Israel, almost all churches face east, towards the sunrise, testifying to the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
God directs
Jesus makes it very clear to his disciples that his death will not be an industrial accident. On the eve before his crucifixion he said: «There is not much time left for me to speak to you because the ruler of this world is already very near. He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father wants me to do, so that the world may know that I love the Father.»(John 14:30f). The ruler of this world is Satan. He plays a completely subordinate role in the whole scene. He will think himself victorious when Jesus dies, but it is someone else who directs. Hard to believe, but the Father of Jesus is pulling the strings, even though it is to the death for Jesus. Even more: it is part of the love affair between Father and Son.
When we go through difficulties and crises in our lives, it may be that our heavenly Father is directing us. Out of love, he allows minor and major «deaths» to draw us closer to him.
Life arises from death
Jesus clearly states that the rhythm of death and resurrection is universal: «I assure you: A grain of wheat must be sown in the earth. If it does not die there, it will remain alone – a single seed. But its death will bring forth many new seeds – a rich harvest of new life.»(John 12:24). All our lives will bring rich harvests through smaller and bigger deaths. Death and resurrection are part of the very normal spiritual rhythm of every follower of Jesus. An essential teaching of Jesus is that life comes from death – that when we lose life, we gain it (Matthew 16:25). Spiritual growth cannot be had without the minor or major deaths that occur in every life. Martin Schleske: «We do not have the choice not to die. A seed either remains and dies or it falls on fertile soil and dies – so that the seed becomes a germ and the germ becomes a plant. There is a dying towards death and a dying into life. We do not live towards our death, but we die towards our lives.»
When we embrace this rhythm, when we affirm this fact, we approach life differently. Then crises can become times of profound change. New possibilities emerge. And new insights about God and ourselves. We grow in faith and become more at home with the heavenly Father.
I invite you to consider the following four questions the next time you (or someone close to you) find yourself in crisis:
- How could the crisis help you to recognise what is dying in your life?
With pain and obstacles, my first reaction is anger and rage. I cannot imagine that this could have anything to do with God’s act of love with me. Therefore, I lament his absence and reject Satan. When I ask this question seriously, I discover that God often has a lot to say.
- How could you re-evaluate or re-shape the situation to make it a fruitful time of discovering God rather than missing Him?
If I encounter a problem, I want to solve it immediately and eliminate it – as quickly as possible. Such a question acts like a delay. It forces me to interpret the crisis as God’s normal spiritual programme for human beings – his rhythm of life for becoming more at home with him.. We should think less in terms of «healed» and «not healed» but ask about the experience we are going through.
- What signs of resurrection do you perceive?
Our culture teaches us to flee, fight or push away pain and loss rather than face it. Because that is hard and difficult work! But if we patiently keep at it and go through this process with God, the voice of God’s love gradually becomes clearer and more audible.
- Who could be a wise companion for you to help you see what God wants to do in you and through you?
Sometimes I wonder what would have become of Mary if she had not had her cousin Elisabeth in her crisis with the unwanted pregnancy. Elisabeth was her companion while the new life took shape in her womb.
«But we carry this precious treasure in fragile vessels (clay vessels), namely in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our strength comes entirely from God and is not our own»(2 Corinthians 4:7). Kurt Spiess literally experienced this sentence: great weakness and fragility. He painted a picture of this. On the right side, the power and dynamism of the Holy Spirit is visible. On the other side is a fragile vessel. It often happens in life that something dies or breaks. But little by little we can become aware that it is precisely where pieces break away that God’s golden treasure becomes more and more visible. The Holy Spirit shows us the gold in the midst of our broken pieces. And this gold suddenly shines. God’s grains of gold shine through our cracks.
Yes, it is true: We live and die. But it is equally true that we die and live – to become more at home with Him.
Possible questions for the small groups
Read Bible text: John 12:24; 14:30,31
- According to the text given, who directed the death of Jesus? What is the role of God? What is the role of Satan?
- What could be «lesser or greater deaths» in our lives concretely?
- Talk about the four questions that came up in the sermon and apply them to your personal life!
- Death and resurrection are part of the normal spiritual rhythm of every follower of Jesus. What influence could this sentence have on your life?
