Raul Garcia III

5th Sunday in Lent

March 18, 2018

Let us pray:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you

Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Amen.

It’s interesting to read in our Gospel that they are having this festival and several

groups have turned out and some of them want to see Jesus. As we read the gospel

reading some Greeks came up to Philip and asked we wish to see Jesus. Even though

they don't know in a few days Jesus will be crucified. But yet there were some people

who still believed and thought Jesus was going to set up an earthly political kingdom.

Others like the pharisees just disliked Jesus.

Jesus was in the prime of his ministry. Blessings, miracles and all sorts of other things

that people were taking notice. Makes you wonder why in the beginning of this Gospel

text some Greeks wanted to see Jesus. They ask Philip, We wish to see Jesus.

My feeling is that Jesus was striking a chord within different people, who were not

like the disciples, and they wanted to be a part of it. Maybe, they wanted to also

follow Jesus. Because if you look back a couple chapters in the Gospel of John in

chapter 10:16 it says, “16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must

bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and

one shepherd.” Jesus was thinking about outreach ministry. Jesus knows that there

were others who wanted to enter a relationship with Him. And those others who

Jesus wants to have a relationship with is all of us. Like in the children’s sermon

I talked

about worry. We all have worries in our lives. Where do we take our worries? Sometimes

our worries leads us down dangerous roads, but sometimes our worries can lead

us to God. God created us in his own image and knows every hair on your head

or in

my case my face. He wants us to turn to Him. When we need to go grocery shopping

we don’t go to Dick’s Sporting Goods for that? If we need nice comfortable shoes

we are not going to Cub Foods and look for shoes. We go to experts. We go to the

people who know what they are doing. So why not when we have worries we take

it to God. During the season of Lent is about us reflecting on the cross. We are preparing

ourselves for a celebration on Easter Sunday. Sometimes it’s hard for us to reflect

on the cross when there is so much on our hearts and minds. Maybe we have lost

a husband or wife, son or daughter, brother or sister, you’re looking for job, lost a job,

lost a pet, health is poor, you’ve lost a close friend, your sense of purpose, a peace

of mind. We feel lost. So we come here to church so we can get something out of worship,

we come so we can get a blessing be it financial, relational and spiritual. We came

to hear an encouraging word and some assurance that everything is going to be

alright. Sometimes we have to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves. You are

probably saying how much more can I lose? How much more can I endure? The

Gospel is not just about you coming to Jesus as you are, it’s about all of us being

baptized in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That we are a beloved

child of God loved beyond measure. Jesus knew what was ahead for him. So Jesus

tells us in verse 24, 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.

I have a story to share with you:

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which

he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other

pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long

walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years, this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half

pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its

accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked

pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish

only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer

one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you”.  

The bearer asked, “Why? What are you ashamed of?” The Pot replied, “For these

past two years I am able to deliver only half of my load because this crack in my

side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because

of my flaws, you don’t get full value for your efforts”.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion, he said,

“As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along

the path.”  As they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming

the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it somewhat. But

at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so

again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side

of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known

about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of

the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them.

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s

table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace

his house.”

In a few minutes we are all going to gather for communion and in a few minutes

we are having our 5th graders partake in this sacrament for the first time. To know

that when we receive this precious gift of the body and blood of Jesus we are forgiven

of all our sins and we are going to be okay.

Everything is going to be alright.

We each have our own unique flaws.  We’re all cracked pots. In this world, nothing

goes to waste.  You may think like the cracked pot that you are inefficient or useless

in certain areas of your life, but somehow these flaws can turn out to be a blessing

in disguise. God uses us as we are.

Remember that we are all forgiven children of God and we are all a beloved child

of God loved beyond measure.

Amen.