Fifth Sunday of Lent, Yr B. March 17, 2024.
Readings
1st: Jeremiah 31:31-34
2nd: Hebrews 5:7-9
Gospel: John 12:20-33
Theme: For More "Fruits" Of Life, Die To Self
My dear people of God, today is Fifth Sunday of Lent, Yr B. Our reflections would focus on the Theme. In the words of our Lord Jesus in today's Gospel one thing is crystal clear - that any narrow minded concept that seeks to define the law of life as self-preservation is a phylosophy of defeat. By now we are aware that John's Gospel is made up of two books: A Book of Signs (miracles) and a Book of Glory. In the first Book (of signs) John tries to show many wonderous deeds of Jesus - miracles of changing water into wine (Jn 2:1-12), of healing the royal official's son, (Jn 4:46-54) of healing the paralytic by the pool of Bethesda (Jn 5:1-9), of multiplying loaves and fish in the desert (Jn 6:1-15) (also narrated by all the other gospels), of walking on water (Jn 6:16-21), of the cure of the man born blind (Jn 9:1-7), etc. All of these signs (miracles) prove and justify Jesus as God-sent. Today's Gospel begins the "Book of Glory". For the Jews, like you and I, the word glorified means all other nations would grovel (crawl) before them. Jesus turns this false concept upside down to mean being crucified. By the word conquer, the Jews meant conquering the armies of their enemies whereas Jesus thought of conquering the Cross. The main theme/message of the Book (of Glory) of John's Gospel is the same as that of the whole season of Lent - that for the Christian, the only way to glory is conscious constant Dying to Self, through which comes Resurrection. It is against this backdrop that our theme is formulated: For more fruits of life, die to self.
To simplify His law of life - that true glory comes through dying to oneself - Jesus uses an analogy very familiar to His listeners, a pure law of nature: a single grain/seed, if kept and preserved in safety, remains unproductive until it is buried in the earth (sown in the soil) then it will yield/bear additional/more fruits. That is of far greater importance than to remain a single grain/seed. Life in its totality is similarly a continuous "dyings and risings". Indeed, we are never ready to live until we are prepared to die to the self. It is only when we are fully prepared to die that our lives become more fruitful. In that which looks like a lone discourse (conversation) Jesus said something seemingly shocking. "I am troubled now". In His human nature, the instinct and desire for self-preservation was so strong that the thought and threat of death stirred up the deepest fears in Him. It is widely speculated that the statement "I am troubled now" anticipated the agony in the garden of Gethsemane. Of course, no one wants to die, especially at a very exhuberant and productive age of thirty-three. In life, however, real courage does not necessarily mean not being afraid. Rather it means knowing enough about a situation to be very much afraid of and yet doing what one has to do. That can only be an act of love and we know that love has everything to do with it. The whole life of Jesus was a Cross, another word for Love, relative to Love as Sacrifice. It is, therefore, expected that the life of every true follower of Christ should be same - of Cross, of Love, of Sacrifice. True love makes the lover vulnerable since it begins with opening onself to pain as well as joy. In times of trouble and fear the voice of the Lover carries so much weight and makes a lot of difference. Jesus' love is not just horizontal (between Him and humanity), in fact, it is first vertical, flowing from the filial bond between Him and the Father long before creation. To that extent, the timely voice of the Father meant so much for Jesus in that state of human fear at the thought of the impending physical pain that will come with the Cross. Thankfully, the culmination of breaking through that fear will bring new hope to humanity for the future - evil will cease, with immediate effect, to have any final say on human affairs. This is what Jesus meant when He publicly decleared that "the ruler of this world will be driven out". In other words, evil cannot rule forever and so will all who either worship or support/promote it.
Our First Reading of today already foresaw this new hope several centuries before the first coming of Christ in flesh. The Prophet Jerimiah seeks to comfort a people living in an era of predicted doom and a looming death. Jerimiah's today's message aims primarily at renewing the hope of a nation that was so devastated following its total destruction, including the Holy Temple. Thus, Jerimiah promises the people a new and final age in salvation history when God would bring about a "New Convenant", this time, not sealed by the blood of animals, as had been the traditional practice, but by the Blood of His Son through the Cross, a Convenant of Love beyond which no greater love is conceivable. This is what the letter to the Hebrews alludes to in our Second Reading of today. In the mind of the auther (of our 2nd reading) it is drastically below the least to say "Jesus loves". Jesus is Love personified. He demonstrated this through obedient suffering and constant prayers, in cries and tears, for us, not only now as seated at the Father's right hand, but even while He was still in Flesh. Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of his suffering, once said, "If my sorrows were to spread over all the human races, there would not be a single smiling face anywhere". That was more literally true of Jesus who underwent all the sufferings that try people's souls and now becomes the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. Through our continuous Lenten observances of Prayer, Fasting and Works of Charity, may we also fully discover Jesus' law of life - that in dying to self we live a more fruitful and fulfilled life that goes far beyond a wish for mere self-preservation. Thus transformed, we shall be in a better position to lead and introduce others to Jesus after the example of Philip and Andrew. May God give us grace to live in such a way and manner that when people see and encounter us they will wish and want to find Jesus through us. Continue to recite the Holy Rosary daily. God richly bless you and your family.
Rev. Fr. Thomas L. Debuo - Catholic Diocese of Damongo, Ghana. (0244511306/0243711926)