The World Turned Upside Down

John 12:9-19
As an American I grew up believing that when British troops surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia they marched out to the tune “The World Turned Upside Down.” I’ve since learned that this story, like so many others, was too good, or perhaps too appropriate, to be true. No one knows what, if any, tune was played that day as the defeated soldiers put down their arms. John’s gospel, however, presents us with another moment in time when the song “The World Turned Upside Down” would have been almost too appropriate. Indeed, one can almost hear it in the background as one Pharisee turns to another and says, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him” (John 12:19). The “him” in this case is Jesus, of course, and the event to which the Pharisees refer is Palm Sunday.

At the moment the Pharisees needn’t worry. What on Sunday looks like a groundswell of popular support for Jesus will dissipate by Friday of that same week. But the sentiment is apt. What Jesus presents is so radical and stunning that it is difficult for many to accept as God-given. And yet it is God-given. Jesus is the Son of God and in his ministry, as in his entry into Jerusalem, we find a new understanding or retelling of God’s will. Everything God has done has led up to this moment, but the folks who should appreciate it the most are looking in a different direction. They are as surprised as anyone to see that “the world has gone after (Jesus).”

The Pharisees’ misunderstanding remains a danger for us today. Just when we think we know what God is doing and maybe even why, just when we have proof text-ed our way to a sense of righteousness or maybe complacency, we are likely to be shaken by a startling new understanding. How could we have missed it? we might ask one another. And suddenly we might hear the faint whisper of “The World Turned Upside Down” coming from somewhere in the distance. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to expect the unexpected, to allow for the unallowable. Otherwise we will find ourselves telling God what to do, and not the other way around. Things change, sometimes radically, sometimes slowly, but in any case God continues to challenge us and to surprise us. A baby in a manger, a Son on a tree, an empty tomb, the Spirit run amok…what’s next? Whatever it is we’ll probably feel a little dizzy. That’s what happens when the world turns over.

Prayer: Lord, help us to welcome the new things you do and to live in expectation and hope of your coming reign. In Jesus’ name. Amen.