Fifth Sunday of Lent

Gospel Reading: John 12:20-33

20 Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.

2l These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."

22 Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus.

23 Jesus replied to them: "Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24 I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.

25 Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life.

26 If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.

27 Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father save me from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour.

28 Father, glorify your name!' A voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.'"

29 People standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, "It was an angel speaking to him." 30 Jesus an­ swered, "It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours.

31 Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of this world is to be overthrown.

32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I s hall draw all men to myself."

Gospel Meditation

Verses 20 to 22 show us some Greeks 'wanting to see Jesus'. It is i nteresting that they made their way to Jesus through a disciple who had a Greek name - Andrew who was from Bethsaida and had come with Jesus all the way from Galilee.

This quickly became one of the main principles of evangelisation - people must be approached by those like them. The principle was followed in the Acts of the Apostles and the letters .if St Paul . St Paul himself was an exception in that he was a Jew, but his name Paul fitted more specially the gospel of the Greeks.

Verse 23 shows us that Jesus is fully conscious that at this stage of his life 'his hour has come'. He knows he is in a crisis moment. This is something that happens from time to time in the life of every person. It usually happens to us just once or twice; it is a time when we feel at the bottom of the pile.

Anything can happen to us; we have all gone through this and must measure our responses by what we know was in the mind of Jesus as he went through it.

Verse 24 is a very brief parable. We learn first to feel the pain of 'it falls on the ground'. We can well imagine what this in­ volves. The seed has fallen on the ground and it is just there. It waits to see if it will lie there unused and helpless; here and now it will be open to every eventuality.

Then we enter into the second moment of 'it dies'. The 'dying' reminds us that we are actually in a position of being closed to new life. We are not sure whether we will lie there or whether this death will lead to new life.

This 'hour' has two possible outcomes:

We can remain only a single grain, safe in ourselves but also isolated with no possibility of bringing out further harvest. This may well describe how we are at this particular time.

We can yield a rich harvest. We are then sure of bringing forth fruit in others. We allow our passing (dead though it be to us) to bring new life to others. Their life will be more full be­ cause of what we have done for them.

Verse 25 is the same teaching but the contrast is now between clinging to the present and losing what one has; on the contrary, risking the present with the effect of saving the future.

Identify with both possibilities. One is tragic, the other glorious.

Verse 26 makes the teaching personal. 'If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too.' Jesus himself has made this journey of faith. He allowed himself to fall on the ground in uncertainty and then to die. He was totally unsure of what would happen afterward, whether he would bring life to others or not, but he went ahead and accepted it.

'If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him'. Jesus broadens the picture. His 'father' here includes all those who give this person the honour he or she deserve.

As a follow up, verse 27 invites us to accompany Jesus on his journey. This is John's account of what the synoptic gospels re­late as Jesus' well known 'agony in the garden'. His first petition is that the Father would change his mind: 'Father save me from this hour; my soul is sorrowful even unto death.' This then be- comes the second petition, 'Nevertheless let it be as you, not I would have it.' It finally ends with 'Let your will be done'.

From Jesus' words, we can then gauge the movement from Jesus' first petition, 'save me from this hour/ to the more glori­ ous one of 'Father, glorify your name.' This is the first petition of the Our Father and in biblical language means the same as the second and third petitions - 'your kingdom come' and 'your will be done'.

In verses 28 to 30 Jesus says, quite simply, that the voice from heaven, 'I have glorified it and will glorify it again' arose not for the sake of Jesus himself but for the sake of the onlookers - 'It was not for my sake but for yours.' The onlookers will then be able to see for themselves that everything that happened to Jesus came from their own experience of suffering.

Verses 31 and 32 express the attitude of Jesus as he faces his hour, 'Now sentence has been passed on this world and the prince of this world is to be overthrown.' In Jesus' own self-ef­ facing he shows no self-pity and no bitterness. He is sad but totally confident that God's work will be done through him, 'When I am lifted from the earth I shall draw all people to myself.'

Prayer

To win one new person of tomorrow for the faith is more important for us than to keep the faith of two people of yesterday.
Karl Rahner

Lord, we remember today all those who know that the hour has come for them: couples about to commit themselves to each other for life; people, secure in their jobs, who know you are calling them to move into some new field; parents who must now let go of their children; friends who have decided to break off a relationship which is harmful to them; families facing a drop in their standard of living.

Help them to feel Jesus making the journey with them. Remind them of his pain and how he had to tell himself that unless the grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies it remains only a single grain, but if it dies it yields a rich harvest.

Lord, we thank you that the church in many countries has taken the risk of falling on the ground and dying: has lost the support of the powerful and the wealthy by embracing the cause of the poor; has preached ideals of chastity in societies that are permissive; has allowed little people to follow their own pace and to make mistakes.

And now it is yielding a rich harvest.

Walking in the truth of who l am.
St Teresa of Avila

Lord, as we look back on our lives we remember how we did not take the risks we should have taken and so have remained a single grain instead of yielding a rich harvest.

Help us to live with our mistakes, to give up our regrets, letting them fall on the ground and die, trusting that there is another kind of harvest that we can yield.

Lord, the first priority of the wealthy nations of the world today is to preserve their wealth.

We thank you for the prophetic voices that have been speaking out, reminding these nations of the message of Jesus, that if they remain turned in on their worldly possessions they will lose them all, whereas if they take the risk of sharing with others they will experience peace and security for the future.

Lord, we who are in positions of authority over others - parents, teachers, priests, community leaders - we like to prescribe things for others, handing on abstract teachings on right and wrong.

Remind us that we can only share our own journeys, inviting others to follow us so that where we are, they may one day be too, and leaving it up to you to honour them.

Lord, we think today of those whose souls are troubled as they meet their hour: activists facing imprisonment or even death priests and religious suddenly confronted with the implications of their vows; church leaders as they face up to the frustrations of acting democratically.

We feel for them as in their confusion they ask you, 'What shall I say? Father save me from this hour.' Give them the faith to see that it was for this very reason that they have come to this hour, and to invite you to glorify your name.