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John 12:20-36 (NRSV)
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ 22Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very 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. 25Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour. 27 ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ 29The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ 30Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ 33He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. 34The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ 35Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’ After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.

At this point of Jesus’ journey, He has predicted His own death. Yes, the people who just 2 days ago were throwing palms in His path and yelling, “Hosanna!, Hosanna!” are the very same people plotting and scheming against His life. The beauty of this moment is that Jesus remains calm to even those who are planning to kill Him. He knows He has equipped everyone with all the teachings and examples needed for anyone to decide whether or not they choose to follow the ways of the Lord. For every decision we need to make, we need to weigh all consequences before reacting. Jesus didn’t react to the negative energy around Him with negativity but instead, stuck to His teachings and principals for living a life that pleased God.

Carefully deciding if our choices will take us out of God’s grace or keep us in His grace, will determine whether or not His blessings will fall on our lives. If we take the approach Jesus took towards our enemies, then like Jesus, some people who have negative feelings about you will soon turn from their wickedness and recognize Jesus in you. Today, remain positive even when negativity is around you. Your reaction will be what people remember, so always remain positive.

Prayer: Lord, help me to remain positive even when my surroundings are negative and seem hopeless to escape. Help me to manage my decisions so that they have fruitful outcomes, allowing others to see you in my life.

Rev. Orsella R. Cooper
Associate Minister
Bethel AME Church
110 Grove Street
Bridgeport, CT 06610

**During Lent and Holy Week, devotional writings will be posted by Facebook and Twitter friends who are praying and fasting together in a Daniel Fast. Read more about this “Journey to the Heart of God by clicking here.

Posted on: March 30th, 2010 in: LENT, Lent Devotional