Don Friesen
Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) and Edward Lear (1812-1888), masters of nonsense, both wrote amusing rhymes, but they also suffered from undiscerning critics who persisted in looking for hidden meanings behind the apparent foolery. Both writers insisted, however, that the apparent foolery was just that foolery! In fact, Lear went out of his way to make his nonsense incapable of misinterpretation.
The origins of the nursery rhyme, "Pussycat, Pussycat," is not seditious nonsense, but it does have some basis in history. It dates back to sixteenth century England, when the Tudors were on the throne. One of the attendants to Queen Elizabeth I had a cat that roamed throughout Windsor Castle, and on one occasion it ran beneath the throne where the Queen was sitting and brushed against her foot. It startled the Queen, but when she realised it was only a cat she decreed that the cat could wander about the throne room, on condition it kept the throne room free of mice!
Greek Seekers, Greek Seekers, Where Have You Been?
The Windsor Castle cat fared better than the Greek seekers in our Gospel reading.
And then a most perplexing thing happens: Jesus starts talking about horticulture! The text says, "Jesus answered them" (John 12:23) meaning Philip and Andrew, not the Greeks only the answer seems to have nothing to do with the request! "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.'" (John 12:23-24) O------kay, but would you like to meet the Greeks?
Now, it could be that Jesus was pre-occupied with the events unfolding before him. Perhaps he was distracted, and the Greek pilgrims' request never really registered with him. There was already a plot against him (John 11:53) and immediately after the disciples bring the Greeks' request to him Jesus starts to ruminate about his death, and then goes off to be by himself, (12:27-37)
Jesus' answer is weird. It makes sense that as John composed his Gospel he would include those times when Jesus spoke of his death, particularly this close to the crucifixion, but then why include the part about the Greeks at all?!? The key may be in the verse preceding our passage, where the Pharisees, themselves perplexed that their plot to kill Jesus was faltering, say, "We are not succeeding at all! Look, the whole world is following him!" (John 12:19, TEV) "The whole world has gone after him!" (JER)
A Parade of People Eager to See Jesus
The broader context of John's Gospel reveals a parade of people eager to meet Jesus, or if not eager to meet him, happy, after the encounter, that they met him. In chapter 2 we see Jesus at a wedding (John 21-12), where his transformation of water into wine signals a time of renewal ahead; and in the temple, where his table-turning signals a return to basics and to reverence. (2:13-22) In chapter 3 Jesus and Nicodemus have a frank conversation, although the same enigmatic element is here; we don't know if seeing Jesus did the trick for Nicodemus, though there are hints later on that he may have become a discreet believer. (7:50-51; 19:39)
In chapter 4 Jesus meets a Samaritan woman who tried to avoid talking to him. Jesus persisted, however, and in the end she becomes an enthusiastic follower and evangelist, telling her neighbours to "come and see" (John 4:29) this intriguing man. The encounter with the Samaritan woman signals Jesus' intent to cross previously un-crossable boundaries. Later in the same chapter Jesus again ignores reasonable boundaries between friends and enemies when he heals the son of a powerful Roman official, a symbol of foreign occupation and oppression! (4:43-54)
In chapter 5 Jesus crosses another boundary, healing a man on the Sabbath! (John 5:1-18) In chapter 6 Jesus feeds 5,000 people with meagre provisions (6:1-15), an event that prompted him to talk of the bread of life (6:35) but which also prompted crowds to go "looking for him". (6:24) The chatter about whether Jesus might be the Messiah increased. (7:36) In chapter 8 Jesus challenges the religious leaders to cast the first stone at a woman caught in adultery if they are without sin (8:1-11) They leave!
Then follows another healing on the Sabbath (9:1-15), and as opposition to Jesus increases, so does his broad support, climaxing in his raising of Lazarus from the dead! (11:1-44) Then the triumphant entry into Jerusalem (12:12-19), prompting the frustration of the Pharisees. One translation describes their response this way:
The Ubiquitous Greek Influence
When Philip and Andrew told Jesus that some Greek pilgrims wanted to see him, it signals more than just the fact that Jesus' influence had a universal appeal. It's important to recognize the pervasive Greek influence in Palestine. Four centuries earlier Alexander the Great had conquered the known world and left behind small communities of Greeks to spread Greek culture and language and spread it they did! A number of Jewish kings were greatly influenced by Greek culture and language over the next four hundred years, and at the time of Jesus a number of Jewish historians and poets wrote in Greek, including the historian, Josephus. Letters, marriage contracts, legal documents and literary texts were written in Greek, as were inscriptions and public announcements. John's Gospel tells us that the inscription on Jesus' cross was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. (John 19:20)
The Romans were in charge at the time of Jesus, but the Greek influence was still everywhere. In Egypt even Jewish worship was conducted in Greek. Jewish congregations were known as "synagogues," a Greek term. Two centuries earlier Antiochus Epiphanes ruled (175-164 B.C.) Palestine, and he enforced Hellenization. He outlawed distinctive Jewish customs, including circumcision, keeping the Sabbath day, and reading the Old Testament. Torah scrolls were ordered destroyed. Countries under Greek rule were expected to find a place for Greek gods, and so Antiochus decreed a new altar be erected over the Jewish altar in the temple, where sacrifices were now to be offered to the high god, Zeus. This desecration was etched on the memory of Jews and became known as the "the abomination of desolation". (1 Maccabees 1:54; Daniel 11:31; 12:11) This was no mere assimilation of Greek ways; hellenization threatened the annihilation of traditional Judaism.
The pernicious deeds of Antiochus are recounted in the book of 1 Maccabees, written just prior to the Gospels. Maccabees tells us that Antiochus "went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force. He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils. He took also the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink offerings, the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold decoration on the front of the temple; he stripped it all off. He took the silver and the gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures that he found. Taking them all, he went into his own land. He shed much blood, and spoke with great arrogance. Israel mourned deeply in every community...." (1 Maccabees 1:20-25)
Antiochus, however, underestimated the strength of Jewish religious feeling. They fought back in an armed resistance, defeating the Greek troops. (167 B.C.) The policies of Antiochus were reversed. Some Jews accommodated themselves to the Greek influence, but many remained resentful, and so it's not surprising to hear, earlier in John's Gospel, a snide remark about Jesus going away. "Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?" they asked each other, most likely in derision. (John 7:35)
The Greeks were a far greater danger to the Jewish community and to Jewish faith than the Romans. They considered the Jewish way of life very strange, and while the Greek seekers who approached Philip may have been sincere in their quest, I think the disclosure of their identity brings the parade of Jesus' positive encounters to a screeching halt! It's almost as if Jesus has come to the same conclusion as the Pharisees: "The whole world is following me! It's time they get a grip!"
Curiosity Meets the Paradox of Faith
And so Jesus tells a paradoxical parable: "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." (John 12:24-25)
We've been riding this momentum through the Gospel of John, seeing his support grow, and then the whole train runs smack into the paradox of Christian faith. Perhaps John is telling us that to "see," to really see Jesus, one must see the paradox of his life and death, the paradox that life comes through death, that glory comes through sacrifice, that the giving up of life means the obtainment of true life. Only by spending life do we retain it. Jesus insisted, more than once, that the one who hoards his life will in the end lose it. This is the paradox of the Cross. In his humiliation is his exaltation. In Jesus' suffering and death is our salvation.
Erasmus (1466/9-1536), the sixteenth-century contemporary of our Anabaptist forebears, wrote:
This is the truth into which we are heading as we approach Holy Week and the mystery of Jesus' death and resurrection. To live with this mystery requires of us a measure of trust that God in His mercy will watch out for us if we put ourselves out on a limb for the sake of others. It also requires of us such a deep desire to do God's will that any suffering that results will seem inconsequential in comparison to the "surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus (our) Lord." (Philippians 3:8) May God grant us both that trust and that desire.
Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?
Some nursery rhymes, innocent to the innocent eye, hold veiled meanings for the discerning eye. They are allusions to historical events or political controversies, and bear coded messages.
I've been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussycat, pussycat, what did you there?
I frightened a little mouse under a chair.
Greek seekers, Greek seekers,
The Windsor cat got to see the queen, but we're not at all sure that the Greeks succeeded in their quest. They approached Philip perhaps they heard him speaking Greek and said, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." (John 12:21) It turned out Philip was from a town called Beth-saida, an area sometimes called the "Galilee of the nations," or "Galilee of the Gentiles" (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:15), and so it was not unreasonable to expect of such a cosmopolitan guy some affinity for Greek pilgrims. Philip may have been hesitant about their request, however, because he first checked with Andrew, and then the two of them took the request to Jesus.
where have you been?
We've been to Jerusalem;
We were hoping to see Jesus!
"The crowd that had been with (Jesus) when he called Lazarus from the tomb ...was there giving eyewitness accounts. It was because they had spread the word of this latest God-sign that the crowd swelled to a welcoming parade. The Pharisees took one look and threw up their hands: It's out of control. The world's in a stampede after him.'" (12:17-19, The Message)
And then then arrive the Greek seekers. Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims gathering for the Passover Festival, a festival that drew not just Jewish pilgrims, but pilgrims from many other countries. That included Greeks, who were inveterate travellers and characteristically inquisitive, willing to search for truth in novel places.
"The biggest fools of all appear to be those who have ...been wholly possessed by zeal for Christian piety. They squander their possessions, ignore insults, submit to being cheated, make no distinction between friends and enemies, shun pleasure, sustain themselves on fasting, vigils, tears, toil and humiliations, scorn life and desire only death in short, they seem to be dead to any normal feeling, as if their spirit dwelt elsewhere than in their body. What else can that be but madness? And so we should not be surprised if the apostles were thought to be drunk on new wine, and Festus judged Paul to be mad." (Desiderius Erasmus, Praise of Folly, translated by Betty Radice, 1971, page 201)
Erasmus' tongue was firmly in his cheek, but sometimes satire is the best vehicle of truth, for how else can one explain the paradoxical relationship between life and death, riches and poverty, obscurity and fame, learning and ignorance, strength and weakness? We conquer by yielding, we receive by giving, and we overcome by being defeated. We are to love our enemies. We are told that the one who would be greatest among us must be servant of all.
Quotations of Scripture are from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.