The daily Word of God

marzo 17, 2024

5th Sunday of Lent

Jn 12:20–30 "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life."

 

First Reading Introduction: A New Covenant
      At a time of much infidelity, God promises a new covenant, a new union of life and love of God with his people. They will be guided by the interior law of love in their hearts.

First Reading: 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: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15

R./ 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.

 

Second Reading: 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 Introduction: Dying To Give Life To Others
      By dying in the ground the grain of wheat gives a rich harvest. By dying on the cross Jesus gives us eternal life. The disciples of Jesus must risk their lives too for others.

Gospel Reading: Jn 12:20–30

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.

If the grain of wheat does not die…

The sacrifice of life that Jesus made on the Cross was a puzzle for many. Why was it a necessity for the Son of God to be crucified? It was indeed a necessity for us to realize that his love for the Father as well as his love for us is total, unconditional and without any reservation. His self-giving sacrifice produced the fruit of life.

John presents the human face of Jesus as he prepares for the final sacrifice. He is afraid as everyone is afraid of death; he would like to avoid it. A premature death, in the prime of life, violent, absurd, abandoned by all, even by his friends, delivered by one of his disciples, therefore, victim of hatred.

Here is the inner drama of Jesus and he wonders: What can I say at this moment… ask the Father to save me from this hour? But I have come for this very hour that the supreme revelation of the love of God will take place and I have to go through it.’ And he prays: «Father, give glory to your Name.» ‘Through me show forth your glory.’ It is Jesus’ acceptance of the Father’s plan.

Love does not manifest itself without surrender, without renouncing one’s own will. Spouses would know this better. There is no marriage that works well without a good dose of sacrifice, of renunciation, of surrender. In the same way, the new covenant is signed in mutual surrender. But since it is God’s initiative to sign this covenant with humanity, to give us life, it is God who takes the first step in that surrender.

To show us His good will, He became one of us, went through the same joys and difficulties as we do and ended up dying like anybody else. But of course, with a difference: he made his death a sign of his love and a sign of life. His death is the grain of wheat that dies, and when it dies, it bears much fruit. The cross, an instrument of death, becomes a sign of life.

Do we know of any cases in which death or pain have been occasions to grow in love and life? Do we want to make our life a gift to others «so that they may have life»? How?

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