The Road Less Traveled

“The road less traveled” is a phrase from a 1916 poem by Robert Frost who, by his own admission, found that following such a road made all the difference in his life.

Jesus also followed such a road. John 12:20-33 invites us to reflect upon the difference that Jesus’s chosen path has made in the lives of all who believe – all who have followed along that pathway of suffering, sacrifice and surrender…through death to life.

Who are the Greeks who wish to visit Jesus? They’re most likely Gentile “Godfearers”, admirers and practitioners of Judaism who have heard about Jesus and then make Jesus’ itinerary their own. They are then able to learn the same lessons as the first disciples. The Greeks learn that the road to glory is marked by humiliation, that the grain of wheat must die in order to produce fruit, that it’s the one who loses their life who will find it, and it is through obedience and suffering that perfection is achieved.

The Greeks of John 12:20-33 have heard about Jesus’ power and now they learn the secret of his power – what Robert Capon calls the “left-hand use of power."

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Jesus will save the world by dying for it – undergoing ghastly, unimaginative suffering. He will not rule by winning, but win by losing! Jesus will reign through utter defeat and abject powerlessness. The road that Jesus travels is laying down his life in self-giving service.

It is not uncommon to find a small brass plate affixed to the pulpit in some older churches with this text, “Sir, we would see Jesus” (John 12:21). The text reminds everyone who mounts the pulpit to preach that when all is said and done, people come into worship not to hear a book review or pop psychology, but for an encounter. They want to see hopeful, expectant confidence that arises from the conviction that no matter where life takes us, God is there.

People want to see the God who did not shrink even from enduring the shame and suffering of the cross in order to be close to us.

The way to see Jesus – and to enable others to see him through us – is to journey along the less traveled road as a follower and not an admirer.

This Lent why not try a less traveled road?

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- Rev. Colby Smith