It's all Greek to me! - Rev Dr Andrew Butcher St Barnabas, Fendalton

Well, we have today two Greeks, or at least two people with Greek names, Philip and my namesake, Andrew. Philip has an encounter with ‘some Greeks’, who say "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

 

A slight but important tangent is that these are Greeks, and therefore signify that Jesus’ reign and rule, locally felt in Jerusalem as he rode in on his donkey, will be felt in the entire world. 

 

Frustratingly, however, we do not get to read about them seeing Jesus. Philip tells Andrew and together they go to tell Jesus, but we are not told if the Greek-speaking enquirers saw Jesus in person. Instead, Jesus takes the occasion to speak about what is about to happen to him, and invites us to be a part of it.