Scripture: John 12:20-36
- I don’t follow basketball closely, but I came across an interview with Giannis Antetokounmpo
- better known as the “Greek Freak” who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.
- Giannis is a highly decorated athlete in the NBA,
- He’s 6’11”, with a wingspan of 7’ 3”;
- He was born into a Nigerian-Greek immigrant family and spent his childhood hawking watches on the streets of Athens before he found basketball.
- This past year he signed a $186 million dollar contract with the Bucks.
- But what interested me in the interview was where he was asked what he does to prepare himself for a competitive game: Here’s what he said:
- I try to spend time with my kids before I go to the arena. I take a nap. I make sure when I wake up from my nap that I eat. When I get to the arena, I prep my body to the best of my ability. I shoot some shots, then I go back to the locker room, try to slow down my mind and heart rate, calm down as much as I can. When I go out there again to warm up with the team, I see my kids—my two sons and my daughter. I kiss them. I kiss my fiancé. Then I’m ready to go out there and compete. No matter what the outcome is, I feel ready, well prepared, and I feel loved.
- Giannis is not a great athlete because of his wingspan. He’s great because he knows how to prepare himself, body and soul, for the game or battle he’s chosen to in engage in.
- He practices; stays calm; surrounds himself with love.
- And though he wants to win, it’s more about playing the game, no matter what the outcome is.
- I don’t know if Giannis is a good role model for Christians, but I do think his wisdom has something to offer us.
- Of course, we’re not here to talk sports. We are now into week 5 of Lent, and today’s scripture is about Jesus preparing for his own battle with the powers of Jerusalem, both Roman and Jewish.
- Tension is mounting; leaders are wondering if they should arrest Jesus.
- But he’s also getting more popular, even with some Greeks (people who are not Jewish by heritage) come to the disciples asking to see Jesus.
- This is a symbolic turning point in John’s Gospel. It tells us the movement was growing beyond the Jewish community;
- That was something even Jesus may not have expected to happen.
- Most of us might see this as a signal that it was time to spread the message more and grow the movement.
- But weirdly, Jesus interprets it as the beginning of the end for him personally.
- He starts telling cryptic parables about his own death.
- Which might seem counterintuitive to us,
- but remember that as a prophet, Jesus always had a long view,
- The near term may look bright, or threatening,
- But either way, he’s looking beyond his own life time.
- So now, while the movement is just starting to take root, he describes himself as a single grain of wheat in God’s field.
- At the same time, we hear him being conflicted about accepting arrest and death.
- He says we’re supposed to hate our lives and be willing to lose them
- But I think Jesus loved his life, his friends, his ministry;
- You can hear him struggling out loud with what looks like a coming failure or even death.
- But he’s also holding out for a vision of something better coming for the world. He’s sees that and believes in it.
- And that vision is what he chooses to be obedient to.
- This Lent, we’ve been considering what makes for peace in a violent world; and how we respond to the battles all around us.
- In the adult education class Rom did about Just Peace, we were reminded that the work of peace means we cannot avoid or dodge significant conflict.
- The work of building peace means that we have to practice, prepare for and engage in non-violent confrontations that courageously address the differences that divide us;
- in hopes of finding some common ground to build on.
- Or, in some cases, to face down something that is clearly evil and say no to it.
- And that takes discipline, courage, honesty, surrounding yourself with support, and having compassion for your opponent.
- This is what Jesus did. And we will see this in the passion narratives of Holy Week:
- Yes, he turns over of the tables in the Temple, inviting controversy,
- But he also engages in hard conversations with people very different from him, like Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman, and even Pilate, listening and staying true to his message.
- He refuses to resort to violence, or let his disciples do so
- He prays for the robbers and persecutors around him;
- His message and actions during his own battle are consistent with his whole ministry and message up to that point.
- We are all facing some kind of battle or another in life:
- Difficult conversations with loved ones or co-workers or in the church
- Rallying and lobbying for someone else’s rights.
- Maybe you’re fighting a battle with a health diagnosis or an addiction
- We need ways of preparing ourselves spiritually for the battles the world puts in front of us.
- Think for a minute about a recent battle you’ve had to engage in:
- Was it your battle to fight? How did you know?
- Did you hold fast to your message and mission or get sidetracked by emotion?
- Did you consider the bigger outcome, besides just a personal win?
- Are you willing to engage your opponent in a way that isn’t hurtful, but that stays open to their humanity and the struggles they are facing?
- Do you care for your body in the struggle: take a nap, eat some healthy food, seek out hugs and support?
- Do you withdraw from the battle when necessary to care for your soul and talk to God, like Jesus did when he hid from the people?
- Most of all, do you trust that, whatever the outcome, you are held by the love of the One who has already promised to finish the battle for you?
- You don’t have to win; just stay in the struggle.
- It’s difficult to look beyond present circumstances to see that your small life is making any difference.
- But even Jesus had to learn that a faithful life is not really about winning, but about facing conflicts with integrity and trusting God with the future outcome.
- I want to close by sharing another quote from Giannis, from a video of him that went viral about a year ago:
- The Bucks won a championship a couple years ago, after 50 years! And the next two years, they lost.
- So, an interviewer asked him, after they lost a playoff game, if the season was a “failure”. And he was visibly annoyed by this question!
You asked me that question last year! He said.
Do you get a promotion every year? No. So, every year is a failure? No. Every year you work, you work towards a goal…It’s not a failure, it’s steps to success. Michael Jordan played 16 years. One year was a championship. The other years were failures? Why are you asking me that question? It’s the wrong question. There is no failure in sports. There’s good days, bad days, some days you are able to be successful, some days you’re not… You don’t always win…. We’re going to come back next year, build good habits, try to play better…and hopefully we can win a championship.
You also, are not failures. You are taking steps toward God’s success, in God’s time. You are seeds of God’s reign of peace.
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