Take us to Jesus!
Most of the Jews outside Palestine spoke only Greek, and in their synagogues they used the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called Septuagint. That was the translation used by the Apostles in the preaching of the Gospel, in the liturgy and in the catechesis of the first Christian Communities.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we are told that the Greek went to Philip with a simple but important request: We would like to see Jesus. Most probably they were Greek speaking Jews, who had come to Jerusalem in pilgrimage, mainly for the great festival of Passover.
Their request has been the request of uncountable people throughout the centuries and can be heard even today: We would like to see Jesus. As disciples of Jesus, we should ask ourselves: Do we listen to this request? Do we take people to Jesus or are we an obstacle, which prevents people from seeing Jesus?
When the Greeks asked to see Jesus, what kind of expectations did they have? Or was it just curiosity?
Maybe they wanted to see
- the Jesus of the miracles – who performed wonders;
- the preacher who mobilized the crowds and impressed a great variety of people;
- the clever and fearless debater who shut the mouths of those who defied him;
- the prophet who proclaimed the Kingdom of God by word and by action.
We cannot come to Jesus without seeing the cross
What is interesting is that Jesus answered their request by speaking of his approaching death. If we want to follow Jesus and become true disciples, then we must come closer to the mystery of the cross. That was the path for Jesus’ glorification.
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