Fifth Sunday of Lent

Reading I
Jer 31:31-34

The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers
the day I took them by the hand
to lead them forth from the land of Egypt;
for they broke my covenant,
and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.
But this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD.
I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives
how to know the LORD.
All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD,
for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15

R. (12a) Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.

Reading II
Heb 5:7-9

In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Gospel
Jn 12:20-33

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
'Father, save me from this hour'?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name."
Then a voice came from heaven,
"I have glorified it and will glorify it again."
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, "An angel has spoken to him."
Jesus answered and said,
"This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself."
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.  

 COMMENTARY

This short oracle regarding the “new covenant” has been called one of the most profound and moving passages in the entire Bible.  This is the only time “new covenant” is used in the Old Testament.  It is, of course, reinterpreted in the New Testament.  This new covenant extends to all the people and not just to a selected few.  It is also clear that Jeremiah compares this new covenant with the one made in Sinai (Exod 19:1-24:18).  The expression used by the prophet: “after those days” has an eschatological tone indicating a kind of rupture in the course of Israel’s history through a wonderful intervention on behalf of Yahweh.  The old covenant was written on stone tables (Exod 31:18), but according to Jeremiah this new covenant will be written in the heart.

The old and new covenant, are fundamentally the same:  God concluded both on his own initiative; both are God-centered; the people are the same in both instances; the response is manifested in the same obedience to the law, which did not change.  The new covenant will not be broken like the old one was repeatedly, because according to the prophet everyone will be faithful. The reason for this is that the very inner nature of humanity will be recreated.  For the prophet, sinfulness has been second nature to Israel – they have lacked true heart – and therefore could never realize obedience to God.

For the author of the Letter to the Hebrews, it is clear that Jesus did not sin, however, he does consider that Jesus’ ability to sympathize with sinners is based on the fact that he knew temptation as they do, and shared in their blood and flesh.  In other words, Jesus was fully human.  He was acquainted with the trials of human nature, i.e., he experienced its weakness, particularly its fear of death.  After his exaltation, he no longer knows weakness, but having experienced it he can sympathize with those who do.  The passage “he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death” should not be taken to mean only the specific events of Gethsemane, but rather is should be taken as a more general reference to the whole course of our Lord’s humiliation and passion.

The author considers Jesus’ sonship in two ways: he became Son when exalted, and he always was Son because he existed with the Father even before he appeared on earth.  (In terms of later theology, the resurrection-exaltation gave Jesus’ human nature full participation in his divine nature).  The two concepts are entirely compatible, but apparently that of the preexistent Son was arrived at later.  Jesus’ obedience leads to his priestly consecration, which in turn qualifies him to save those who are obedient to him.  The salvation that he brings his followers is eternal because it is based on his eternal priesthood.

In John’s Gospel, the Greeks represent Gentiles.  The historian Josephus reports that God-fearing Gentiles came to Jerusalem to worship at Passover.  The presence of gentiles among those who are listening to Jesus points to the transition from evangelization among the Jews and Samaritans to the Gentile mission that occurred in the Johannine community.  “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” signifies the culmination of Jesus’ mission and the condemnation of this world and its ruler.  This hour also means death; hence the grain of wheat must fall and die that it may give fruit.

Jesus will enter the ground when buried, and his death will indeed produce much fruit.  With these statements, we begin to see the entire world being drawn to him:  “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself”.  The crucifixion is the beginning of Jesus being lifted up.  He is offering himself through his death.  If he is buried like the seed, if he is lifted onto the cross, then much fruit will come.  The crowd and the Greeks that are approaching him are only the initial harvest.  When he is finally lifted up on the cross, this act of self-sacrificing love will also be the moment that the Father manifests himself through Jesus.  As Jesus mentions his own self-giving, he joins to it that of his disciples.  They too are called to identical servant roles.

REFLECTION

It is in the most difficult moments of our lives that the true person can be seen for what they really are.  When adversity looks us in the face, the reality of who we are cannot be hidden.  Through adversity we are all called to a very decisive moment to either choose life or death.  To choose life is to live in Christ and to live in Christ is to imitate him – to feel as he feels, forgive as he forgives, serve with the same humility, and to love as he loves.  In the end, to imitate Christ is to become one with Christ.

Jesus underscores the very essence of the human person and its importance.  God loves and values every human person.  He listens intently to each man, woman, and child whether they speak truthfully or maliciously.  Jesus is aware of our human condition, he knows our every pittance, ills, oppressions and faults, our destiny, and ultimately our death.  Yet he takes these upon himself and gives to us understanding, healing, forgiveness and immortality, and he does so through facing his suffering and death.  By facing adversity he gains glory and gives to us the eternal kingdom that he so fervently proclaimed.

We too are called by our very Baptism to a life in Christ.  By virtue of our Baptism we share in Christ’s very life, death, and resurrection, and Jesus’ life was one filled with controversy and hardship.  We cannot deny participation in the life and death and accept only our share in the glory of the resurrection.  Without the first two, the latter is unattainable.  For all who are true disciples of Jesus, the resurrection will indeed come after a life united in Christ that has faced the consequences of seeking truth and justice, of eliminating and surpassing all forms of discrimination against the fundamental rights of the human person.  In the end, we are called to imitate Jesus of Nazareth in spite of the consequences.  It is to accept that our “hour” has come just as Jesus accepted his.

Biblical Sources:

New American Bible; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Holladay, W.L. “Jeremiah”; McKane, W., “A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Jeremiah”; Thompson, J. A., “The Book of Jeremiah”; Attridge, H. W., “Hebrews”; Bruce, F. F., “The Epistle to the Hebrews”; The Collegeville Bible Commentary; Barrett, C. K., “The Gospel According to John”; Brown, R. E., “The Community of the Beloved Disciple”; Schnackenburg, R., “The Gospel According to St. John”; Segovia, F. F., “Love Relationships in the Johannine Tradition”; Brown, Raymond E., S.S., “Introduction to the New Testament”; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (ed.) “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary”.

Reflection:

Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa