22 Mar 2015 John 12:20-33

22 Mar  2015     John 12:20-33  

“Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out."  Who is this "ruler of this world" that will be driven out?  The better question is, who is the ruler of my world that needs to be driven out?  I look closely in the mirror and realize that the rulers of my world have always been ambition, hard work and achievement.  I worked hard to become self-sufficient and to raise my children to be self-sufficient.  I always thought of those characteristics as virtues, not some “ruler” who needed to be driven out.

But when I look more closely, I realize how clearly hard work, ambition and achievement ruled my life – drove my decisions, determined my actions, filled my calendar, and directed my checkbook.  I am astonished by how easy it was to get sucked in to waiting to use my voice, my power, and my life for justice until I thought I knew enough, was financially sustainable enough, or had influence enough to believe that I could accomplish positive change. Yet by waiting, by not acting, I find myself directly participating in social injustice

How can we choose to decide that the time is now?  How can we choose to simply act to make some corner of the world a little more like the visible sign of God's love and God's justice even without more research or more ability to be heard?  Those who use their power to maintain their privilege would like nothing better than for us to sit back and wait.  Now is the judgment of this world.