The Greeks wishing to see Jesus is a sign to him that his earthly mission is coming to its climax. What is at stake is nothing less than the re-unification of the human family which was divided by the Fall and exemplified in the building of the Tower of Babel with subsequent confusion and division. Jesus says: "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." (Jn 12: 32) St Paul puts it this way: "For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups [Gentile and Jew] into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. he has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it." (Eph 2: 14-17) The instigator of the previous sorry state affairs in the world, the Devil, is to be cast out: "Now is the judgement of the world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out." (Jn 12: 31) The expulsion from the garden of Eden has been reversed. As a result, we should know as Christians that the ultimate victory has been won in Christ and we are sharers in that triumph even though we strive to complete that salvation in our own lives. The onus is on the Church to continue and make present this saving and unifying work of Christ.
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