5th Sunday of Lent
– Cycle B
Note: The readings given for Cycle A may be used in place of the Cycle
B readings.
Note: Where a Scripture text is underlined in the body of this
discussion, it is recommended that the reader look up and read that
passage.
1st Reading - Jeremiah
31:31-34
For nearly 75 years after the death of Isaiah no great prophet arose in
Judah. It seemed as though the work of the religious leaders of the
eighth century B.C. had been in vain. During the long and wicked reign
of King Manasseh (693-639 B.C.), son and successor of King Hezekiah,
idolatrous worship was established more firmly than ever, and the
morals of the people sank to their lowest ebb. The prophets of Yahweh
who dared to raise their voices in protest and warning were either
silenced or brutally murdered. It was only after a change for the
better had been inaugurated under the successors of Manasseh, that the
“men of God” again came to the front, and a second
golden age of Hebrew prophecy began. It is the age of Jeremiah and
Zephaniah, Nahum and Habakkuk, Ezekiel and Daniel. The greatest of
these, and at the same time the most Christlike of all the prophets,
was Jeremiah.
Jeremiah came from a priestly family whose estates lay in Anathth, a
town in the tribe of Benjamin, about two miles northeast of Jerusalem.
He received his call as a young man in 626 B.C. (the thirteenth year of
the reign of king Josiah). He warned and admonished kings, priests, and
people that they were bringing disaster on the nation because they
would not live according to the covenant that they had with Yahweh. The
very institutions of Judah, the Temple and sacrifices, had become
corrupt because they were now being used as an excuse for breaking the
covenant: for not treating each other fairly; for exploiting the
stranger, the orphan and the widow; for shedding innocent blood; for
following alien gods. Therefore, Yahweh would destroy the Temple as He
destroyed Shiloh; He does not want their holocausts but adherence to
the way of life He had marked out for them. Such preaching earned for
Jeremiah the hatred of the people, priests and kings, who persecuted
him. Like Christ, he preached against the established order, stood up
for justice for the poor, the widow and the orphan, and was persecuted
by those to whom he came to preach. In the end he was carried off to
Egypt (about 680 B.C.), where according to Hebrew legend, he was stoned
to death.
Our reading for today has been called “Jeremiah’s
Spiritual Testament.” His entire message is condensed in
these few words. This reading is also the longest Old Testament
quotation in the New Testament; it comprises Hebrews 8:8-12.
31 The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant
This is the only time the term “new covenant” is
used in the Old Testament.
with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
The Davidic kingdom. Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the
southern kingdom) went their separate ways after the reign of king
Solomon (930 B.C.). This is a promised of the restored Davidic kingdom
which God had said would last forever.
32 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
The covenant at Mount Sinai, where the ten commandments were given
and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.
No longer father, but master. They are now slaves without an
inheritance, rather than sons.
33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel
after those days,
“After those days” is a frequently used expression
by Jeremiah – it indicates a sort of rupture in the course of
Israel’s history through the wonderful intervention of
Yahweh.
says the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their
hearts;
The Old Covenant of Sinai was written on stone tablets (Exodus 31:8).
The New Covenant, which fulfills the old one, is to be internal and
loving (see Ezekiel 36:26).
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
This is covenant language; it will no longer be a master –
slave relationship, it is to be a family relationship once again with
God as the Father. This is a common expression in the Old Testament as
God, again and again, reminds the Israelites that the original
intention was that they be children, not slaves.
34 No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how
to know the LORD.
In this new era of the New Covenant, intermediaries such as Moses, the
Levitical priesthood, and the prophets will be useless; Yahweh will
intervene directly and they will be able to recognize God in every
action and situation. They will have a different life attitude because
the very inner nature of humanity is created anew (we must remember
that for the Hebrew, the “heart” refers to the
center of human intelligence and willpower).
All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will
forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.
When sin is forgiven by God, it is forgotten as well. God does not bear
a grudge.
2nd Reading - Hebrews
5:7-9
The identity of the author of Hebrews is unknown. With the exception of
1 John, it is the only New Testament epistle that begins without a
greeting which mentions the writer’s name. Its ascription to
Saint Paul goes back at least to the end of the second century in the
Church of Alexandria. According to Eusebius (a 4th century historian),
it was accepted as Saint Paul’s work by Saint Clement. Saint
Clement believed that Saint Paul had written it in Hebrew for Hebrews
and that Saint Luke had translated it into Greek.
The epistle to the Hebrews demonstrates that the Old Covenant,
specifically the worship of the Old Covenant, has been superseded by
the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. It has been postulated that this
letter to the Hebrews was addressed to former Jewish priests who had
converted to Christianity. Today’s reading comes from the
section of the letter which contrasts Jesus to the High Priest.
7 In the days when he was in the flesh,
The time of Jesus’ mortal life, when He lived in the sphere
of the flesh
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the
one who was able to save him from death,
A reference to Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemani (Mark
14:35).
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Although Jesus suffered a physical death on the cross, He also was
resurrected because physical death had no power over Him. Levitical
priests were prevented from remaining in office by death and also by an
upper age limit of fifty. Jesus’ priesthood is eternal, he is
of the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6 – the verse
immediately preceding our reading of today).
8 Son though he was,
The sacred 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.
he learned obedience from what he suffered;
The learning-through-suffering motif is common in Greek literature but
here, Romans 5:19, and Philippians 2:8 are the only places in the New
Testament where the obedience of Christ in His passion is explicitly
mentioned.
9 and when he was made perfect,
Through Jesus’ obedience He was brought to the full moral
perfection of His humanity.
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Jesus’ obedience leads to His priestly consecration, which in
turn qualifies Him to save those who are obedient to Him. The salvation
that Jesus brings His followers is eternal because it is based on His
eternal priesthood. It is eternal because it belongs to the heavenly
sphere, which is permanent, as opposed to the transitory realities of
earth.
Gospel - John 12:20-33
Saint John had a clear purpose in mind when he wrote his gospel:
“That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John
20:31). He seeks to strengthen the faith of those early Christians in
the young churches (congregations) of Asia Minor, who are threatened by
the latent danger of going astray and even falling into doctrinal error
about who Jesus Christ is and what is the true story of His life. Saint
John goes straight to the point: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God
made man.
Our reading today occurs during that first Holy Week – Jesus
has come to Jerusalem for His passion, death and resurrection. The
verses immediately preceding this reading describe Jesus’
triumphal entry into Jerusalem; He has ridden into town like a king
with the waving of palm branches and cries of joy.
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who had come up to worship at
the feast.
These are Gentiles, non-Jews.
21 They came to Philip,
The name “Philip” means “lover of
horses.” Both Philip and Andrew have Greek names and may have
understood Greek. It would be natural for the Greeks to seek out
someone who would understand their culture and language to act as an
intermediary.
who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
Bethsaida means “house of fishing.” Technically, it
is in Gaulanitis which adjoins Galilee, but the Jews of Bethsaida were
considered Galileans.
and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
22 Philip went and told Andrew;
The name “Andrew” means
“manly.” It may be that they consulted with each
other because there is no precedent for Jesus dealing with Gentiles.
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them,
The “them” is Philip and Andrew. There is no
indication that the Gentiles were with them but it would make these
Gentiles the first fruits of the spread of the Christian faith in the
Greek speaking world.
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Now that the week of His passion has started, Jesus again begins to
explain what is to happen to Him.
24 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.
If it is thought to be strange that He must die in order to bring life,
remember that this paradox already exists in nature. The grain of wheat
left to itself produces nothing – only when it appears to
have died and has been buried does it bring forth life, in far greater
abundance.
25 Whoever loves his life loses it,
Selfishness, man’s false love for himself that will not
permit him to sacrifice himself, ends in destroying him. Only by
treating his life as worthless from a this-worldly view does man gain
the only life that really counts.
and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal
life.
In Semitic usage, “hates” means “loves
less.”
26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and
where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor
whoever serves me.
Service is a sacrifice of self. The principle of sacrifice is the
explanation of Christ’s life and if you wish to be His
follower, you must walk in His footsteps and sacrifice self. If you
serve, you minister to another (“as you did it to the least
of your brethren...”). The imitation of Christ is the
Christian standard of perfection.
27 “I am troubled now.
In the face of an imminent and cruel death, Jesus can and does feel
anguish.
Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this
hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Jesus asks the question and immediately answers it by submitting to the
will of His Father. The value of the sacrifice is in the readiness to
offer it.
28 Father, glorify your name.”
This is Jesus’ final answer to this crisis of spirit
– it is wholehearted acceptance of the Father’s
will. Recall that in Semitic usage, “name” is
synonymous to “person.” Faith is not simply
acceptance of a proposition, but a commitment to a person.
Then a voice came from heaven,
This observation is unique to John’s gospel. It brings to
mind Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:11) and His transfiguration (Mark
9:7).
“I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
This is not a reference to any single event, but to the entire life
work and teaching of Jesus, all of which have been
“signs” of the glorification that is to come.
29 The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said,
“An angel has spoken to him.”
Like the Israelites at Mount Sinai, if they were not attuned to the
Word of God, they didn’t understand it.
30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my
sake but for yours.
Jesus’ private agony is a public manifestation of His
obedient service.
31 Now is the time of judgment on this world;
The time has come for Christ’s exaltation, it is time for
that judgment of which He has continually spoken (John 3:17-19;
5:22-30).
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
This is the paradox of Christ’s exaltation. It will appear
that He has been defeated by this world, but in reality the power of
Satan will be broken. John doesn’t say that Satan will be
destroyed, but that he will no longer be the ruler of the world except
to the extent that man’s evil dispositions permit. Satan has
no power except that which we give him.
32 And when I am lifted up from the earth,
The crowd understands rightly that this refers to His death, but they
do not understand that it also refers to His glorification.
I will draw everyone to myself.” 33 He said this indicating
the kind of death he would die.
The death of Christ makes possible the exercise of His will of
universal salvation.
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic
Church, Picayune, MS http://www.scborromeo.org