Chúa Nhật V Mùa Chay năm B

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Chúa Nhật V Mùa Chay năm B

BÀI ĐỌC I: Gr 31, 31-34
"Ta sẽ ký kết giao ước mới và Ta sẽ không còn nhớ tội lỗi nữa".

Trích sách Tiên tri Giêrêmia.
Chúa phán: "Đây tới ngày Ta ký kết giao ước mới với nhà Israel và nhà Giuđa, giao ước này không giống như giao ước Ta đã ký kết với tổ phụ của chúng trong ngày Ta cầm tay chúng dắt ra khỏi đất Ai-cập; giao ước ấy chính chúng đã phản bội, mặc dầu Ta thống trị chúng". Chúa phán: "Đây là giao ước Ta sẽ ký kết với nhà Israel sau những ngày đó. Ta sẽ đặt lề luật của Ta trong đáy lòng chúng, và sẽ ghi trong tâm hồn chúng; Ta sẽ là Chúa của chúng, và chúng sẽ là dân của Ta". Chúa phán: "Người này sẽ không còn phải dạy người nọ, anh sẽ không còn phải dạy em rằng: "Ngươi hãy nhìn biết Chúa", vì mọi người từ nhỏ chí lớn đều nhìn biết Ta, vì Ta sẽ tha tội ác của chúng, và sẽ không còn nhớ đến tội lỗi của chúng". Đó là lời Chúa.

ĐÁP CA: Tv 50, 3-4. 12-13. 14-15

Đáp: Ôi lạy Chúa, xin tạo cho con quả tim trong sạch (c. 12a).

Xướng: 1) Lạy Chúa, nguyện thương con theo lòng nhân hậu Chúa, xoá tội con theo lượng cả đức từ bi. Xin rửa con tuyệt gốc lỗi lầm, và tẩy con sạch lâng tội ác. - Đáp.

2) Ôi lạy Chúa, xin tạo cho con quả tim trong sạch, và canh tân tinh thần cương nghị trong người con. Xin đừng loại con khỏi thiên nhan Chúa, chớ thu hồi Thánh Thần Chúa ra khỏi con. - Đáp.

3) Xin ban lại cho con niềm vui ơn cứu độ, với tinh thần quảng đại, Chúa đỡ nâng con. Con sẽ dạy kẻ bất nhân đường nẻo Chúa, và người tội lỗi sẽ trở về với Ngài. - Đáp.

BÀI ĐỌC II: Dt 5, 7-9
"Người đã học vâng phục và đã trở nên căn nguyên ơn cứu độ đời đời".

Trích thư gởi tín hữu Do-thái.
Khi còn sống ở đời này, Chúa Kitô đã lớn tiếng và rơi lệ dâng lời cầu xin khẩn nguyện lên Đấng có thể cứu Người khỏi chết, và vì lòng thành tín, Người đã được nhậm lời. Dầu là Con Thiên Chúa, Người đã học vâng phục do những đau khổ Người chịu, và khi hoàn tất, Người đã trở nên căn nguyên ơn cứu độ đời đời cho tất cả những kẻ tùng phục Người. Đó là lời Chúa.

CÂU XƯỚNG TRƯỚC PHÚC ÂM: Ga 12, 26

Chúa phán: "Ai phụng sự Ta, hãy theo Ta, và Ta ở đâu, thì kẻ phụng sự Ta cũng sẽ ở đó".

PHÚC ÂM: Ga 12, 20-33
"Nếu hạt lúa mì rơi xuống đất thối đi, thì nó sinh nhiều bông hạt".

Tin Mừng Chúa Giêsu Kitô theo Thánh Gioan.
Khi ấy, trong số những người lên dự lễ, có mấy người Hy-lạp. Họ đến gặp Philipphê quê ở Bêtania, xứ Galilêa, và nói với ông rằng: "Thưa ngài, chúng tôi muốn gặp Đức Giêsu". Philip-phê đi nói với Anrê, rồi Anrê và Philipphê đến thưa Chúa Giêsu. Chúa Giêsu đáp: "Đã đến giờ Con Người được tôn vinh. Quả thật, quả thật, Ta nói với các con: Nếu hạt lúa mì rơi xuống đất mà không thối đi, thì nó chỉ trơ trọi một mình; nhưng nếu nó thối đi, thì nó sinh nhiều bông hạt. Ai yêu sự sống mình thì sẽ mất, và ai ghét sự sống mình ở đời này, thì sẽ giữ được nó cho sự sống đời đời. Ai phụng sự Ta, hãy theo Ta, và Ta ở đâu, thì kẻ phụng sự Ta cũng sẽ ở đó. Ai phụng sự Ta, Cha Ta sẽ tôn vinh nó. Bây giờ linh hồn Ta xao xuyến, và biết nói gì? Lạy Cha, xin cứu Con khỏi giờ này. Nhưng chính vì thế mà Con đã đến trong giờ này. Lạy Cha, xin hãy làm vinh danh Cha". Lúc đó có tiếng từ trời phán: "Ta đã làm vinh danh Ta và Ta còn làm vinh danh Ta nữa". Đám đông đứng đó nghe thấy và nói đó là tiếng sấm. Kẻ khác lại rằng: "Một thiên thần nói với Ngài". Chúa Giêsu đáp: "Tiếng đó phán ra không phải vì Ta, nhưng vì các ngươi. Chính bây giờ là lúc thế gian bị xét xử, bây giờ là lúc thủ lãnh thế gian bị khai trừ và khi nào Ta chịu đưa lên cao khỏi đất, Ta sẽ kéo mọi người lên cùng Ta". Người nói thế để chỉ Người phải chết cách nào. Tin Mừng của Chúa.

SUY NIỆM TIN MỪNG

TỪ BỎ NHƯ CHÚA KITÔ
CN5MCB: Jn. 12:20-33

Gần tới giờ cao điểm cứu chuộc nhân loại, Chúa Giêsu cảm thấy bồi hồi và gần như sợ hãi muốn thối lui! Ngài nói với các môn đệ: Linh hồn thầy xao xuyến... Ngài thưa với Chúa Cha: Xin hãy cứu Con khỏi giờ này, nhưng cũng chính vì giờ này mà Con đến. Nhưng Chúa Giêsu đã chiến thắng sợ hãi, và can đảm hướng về phiá trước để hoàn tất ý Chúa Cha cứu chuộc nhân loại. Ngài nói với vẻ hết sức bình tĩnh: Nếu hạt lúa mì gieo xuống đất mà không thối đi, thì nó cứ trơ trơ ra đó, nhưng nếu nó thối đi, thì sẽ sinh nhiều bông hạt. Lý thuyết đó trước hết áp dụng vào chính thân xác Chúa Kitô. Ngài đã chấp nhận "thối đi" trên thập giá để sinh ơn cứu độ cho muôn triệu bông hạt nhân loại trên trái đất này.

Đối với các tín hữu theo Chúa Kitô, khi lãnh nhận Bí tích Rửa tội, họ đã được gieo vào lòng đất để trước hết qua tiến trình thối đi khi từ bỏ chính mình để theo Chúa. Theo Chúa là vâng ý Chúa và hành động theo ý Người. Ý Chúa cho họ cũng giống như con đường dành cho Chúa Kitô, Con yêu dấu Ngài. Đó là con đường từ bỏ chính mình liên tục và trọn vẹn trong đời. Từ bỏ liên tục để có thể chiến thắng các cám dỗ và tội lỗi. Từ bỏ trọn vẹn như một tình yêu hiến dâng hoàn hảo. Chúa Kitô đã hành động như thế khi đặt ý Chúa Cha lên trên ý Ngài: Xin cho ý Cha được thể hiện, đừng theo ý Con.

Nhìn vào sự từ bỏ chính mình của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta thấy pha lẫn ý chí con người chiến đấu với sự sợ hãi và ngại ngùng. Không phải vì ham sống sợ chết hay vì các lý do trần thế khác, nhưng đúng hơn do sự yếu đuối trong bản tính con người. Sự từ bỏ của Chúa Giêsu không phải sự từ bỏ của một anh hùng, nhưng là sự từ bỏ hết sức người với bản tính yếu đuối thực sự. Chính vì thế, trong vườn Cây Dầu, Ngài đã run sợ trước gánh nặng tội lỗi nhân loại đè trên mình Ngài và cầu xin được cất nó đi nếu đẹp ý Chúa Cha. Trên đường vác thánh giá lên Đồi Sọ chịu chết, Chúa Giêsu đã yếu đuối khi ngã té ba lần. Và trên thánh giá, Ngài đã than thở nhiều lần với Chúa Cha, cũng như bịn rịn trăn trối với Mẹ và môn đệ Gioan, một hình ảnh báo hiệu sự từ bỏ sắp hoàn tất, nhưng cũng tỏ dấu như nuối tiếc tình thân nơi những người thân yêu. Tất cả diễn tả nét yếu đuối rất người trong bản tính nhân loại của Ngài. Ngài đã chấp nhận chết thực sự như một tội nhân không chút sức mạnh và quyền lực, vì giờ loài người lên ngôi đã tước lột tất cả. Chúa Giêsu chỉ còn biết nương tựa hoàn toàn vào Chúa Cha: Lạy Cha, Con phó thác hồn con trong tay Cha...

Quả thực, sự từ bỏ của Chúa Giêsu là sự từ bỏ liên tục và trọn vẹn từ khởi đầu chương trình cứu chuộc bắt đầu lúc sinh ra cho đến hơi thở sau cùng. Sự từ bỏ của Ngài cũng hoàn hảo tuyệt vời vì yêu Chúa Cha và yêu nhân loại. Suy gẫm về mầu nhiệm cứu chuộc cũng là lúc mời gọi chúng ta sống cuộc sống từ bỏ như Chúa Kitô. Nhưng chúng ta sẽ từ bỏ những gì? Dĩ nhiên là từ bỏ những gì liên quan đến bản tính nhân loại và cuộc sống này. Nói thế không có nghĩa là đi tìm cái chết để tự giải thoát, mà là sống can trường với đôi mắt hướng về quê trời, với trái tim sống động yêu thương tha thiết như Chúa đã yêu, với đôi tay hoạt động không ngừng để xây dựng cuộc đời tốt đẹp hạnh phúc, với đôi chân bước đi không mệt mỏi để rao giảng Tin Mừng, và với ý chí sắt son chiến đấu với cám dỗ và tội lỗi làm chúng ta xa Chúa, chỉ vì yêu Chúa và hạnh phúc Nước Trời cho ta và tha nhân. Như thế sự từ bỏ sau cùng vẫn luôn có lợi cho cuộc sống, vì biến đời sống chúng ta giống với đời sống Chúa Kitô. Tuy nhiên nên nhớ rằng, không có ơn Chúa đỡ nâng, con người sẽ không thể kiên trì mãi mãi trên con đường từ bỏ được. Chính vì thế cần phải phó thác cuộc sống mình vào ban tay nhân từ và uy quyền của Chúa. Chính Chúa Kitô đã nêu gương phó thác hoàn toàn cuộc sống Ngài trong tay Chúa Cha yêu dấu để nêu gương từ bỏ vì hạnh phúc Nước Trời cho nhân loại.

Lm. Raphael Xuân Nguyên



5th Sunday of Lent
Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-30[/B]
For Others” Sake (Martin Hogan)
Not Lukewarm (John Walsh)
Into the Valley of Death (Andrew Greeley)
Keeping Life by Losing It (Michael Prior)
Death and new life (Jack McArdle)

[B]For Others” Sake
(Martin Hogan)

Martin Luther King once wrote about a time when he knelt down in prayer at the kitchen table in his home in Alabama. A hail of stones had just come through the window because of his advocacy of civil rights for black people. His wife and children were in danger. He had already become a highly qualified academic by then, and a promising career lay ahead. In prayer he found himself asking, “Do I really need this additional worry and danger?” It was in that prayerful moment that he decided to put the will of God and the welfare of the Negro people before his own security and that of his family. He chose to let go of an easier path in order to serve God by working on behalf of those who were most oppressed. In a sense, he chose to die so that others might have life. His life is a striking example of the image that Jesus uses in the gospel reading, the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies, and in dying yields a rich harvest.
Jesus himself was the supreme expression of that image. He is the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, and in dying yields a rich harvest. He refers to that harvest towards the end of today's gospel reading: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” God worked powerfully through the life of Jesus, and God worked even more powerfully through the death of Jesus. Jesus' death reveals the power of God's love, in an even fuller way than his life, and this love, revealed in the death of Jesus, drew people to God, and continues to do so. Many people over the centuries, looking upon the crucifix, have experienced God's love for them, and have found themselves drawn to God in some way, because of the crucifix. In choosing to accept the loss of so much that was dear to him, in particular, his vibrant life, Jesus drew people to himself and, thereby, to a sharing in God's life. That moment in his life when Jesus chose such a significant loss out of love for us all is well expressed in this morning's gospel reading, “What shall I say? Save me from this hour. No, it was for this very reason I have come to this hour."
In these lovely spring days we may find ourselves sowing some seeds in the garden. The seed that dies in order to yield a new form of life is as familiar to us today as it was in the day of Jesus. The seed has to shed its husk so that the potential for new life it carries within itself can be realized. The loss of the husk is a necessary loss if the seed is to realize its destiny. This phenomenon of nature can speak to our own experience as much as it did to the experience of Jesus. Jesus recognized that the loss of his life was a necessary loss if he was to remain faithful to his mission, and, thereby, realize his destiny. Each of us in different ways can be called upon to choose some significant loss if we are to remain true to our deepest and best self, true to what God is asking of us. We can find ourselves at a crossroads, as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Martin Luther King did in the kitchen of his home. At such crossroads we can either choose some loss for the sake of a greater good, or hold on to some reality that is good in itself but that prevents us from taking the path that God is asking us to take, that others need us to take. There are many such crossroads on the journey of life. Whenever we choose some loss for ourselves so that others might live, we are following in the way of the Lord, and a harvest will come from it.
Then there are other losses in life that we do not choose, but that are forced upon us. These are losses we have no choice but to accept. Jesus' disciples had no choice but to accept the loss of Jesus on Good Friday; their loss flowed from the choice Jesus made. We often have to accept the loss of people we love and care about because of the choices they make. Parents may not wish to see a son or daughter go abroad to live and work, but they accept that as a necessary loss, because they respect the choice made by the one they love. Many of the necessary losses we have to accept in life arise from the choices others make. In accepting those losses, in letting go of those we love, we often find them again in a fuller and richer way, as Jesus' disciples received him again in a richer way through his resurrection from the dead and the sending of the Spirit. There are other, more demanding, losses we do not choose but have no choice but to accept. The loss we experience because of the death of a loved one comes to mind. The acceptance of such a loss only comes with great struggle. Then, for each of us, there is the final and unavoidable struggle to let go of our own earthly lives, with all the loss that is entailed in that. As we face of all these inevitable losses that are an integral part of life, we are strengthened by the words of Jesus in today's gospel reading, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” We trust and we believe that, at the end of the day, after we have struggled with all our losses, the Lord will draw us to himself, and, when that happens, we will lack nothing.






Not Lukewarm
(John Walsh)

The last book in the Christian Bible is the Book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse as it is otherwise known; and, in the first chapters of it, the author sends a letter in the name of the risen Christ to each of seven Christian communities, in different cities throughout Asia Minor. There are criticisms and some praise for all of them except that in Laodicea, a wealthy city about a hundred miles inland from the Mediterranean coast. Some distance from it there was a place renowned for its hot springs, and the writer states rather sarcastically about the Christians, “I know all about you, how you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other, but since you are neither, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev 3:15+). Laodicea's wealth came in part from a famous medical centre there, renowned for its ointments for people going blind or deaf. The letter scornfully points out that the Christian community itself is both blind to its spiritual poverty, and deaf to the voice of Christ which is saying, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. if anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the spirit is saying to the Churches."
Such a method of calling sinners to repentance may well have been copied from the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament, where he poses the question, “Is there any balm” - meaning any ointment - “in Gilead, to cure the deep-rooted moral sickness of the Jewish people?” Jeremiah is regarded as the most human of the prophets, a man whose life in many ways prefigures that of Christ. In his writing he allows us look into the inner anguish and torment of his soul, rather as St Augustine does in his “Confessions.” The tragedy of his people's ills, and indeed of much of Jeremiah's own reaction to them, stemmed from what he calls “a sickness unto death,” which lay within, in people's hearts. The people put their trust in externals, in institutions like the Law, the Ark of the covenant, the sacrifices, the Temple itself. .
We are reminded too of the account of Jesus looking down on Jerusalem in all its glory, a glory which its people thought would endure forever, and saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone whose who are sent to you. your house will be left to you desolate.” God will abandon Jerusalem, even the very Temple. All these had become mere empty symbols for people whose minds were hardened by their love of pleasure, by their uncaring attitudes towards the weak and defenceless ones in society, by their blind nationalism.
The seat of all these ills - so much like those of our own time - lay within, as Jeremiah said, in the heart. Jeremiah looks forward to the time when God will put a new heart in his people and on it write his law. When they are in doubt as to what is right, people will no longer have to ask questions of others, or consult the books of the Law. They will gaze into their hearts. They will hear God speak quite plainly to them in their consciences, and they will make a personal response to God's messages. “If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying.” If you do something because the law demands it, you are being an obedient person. If you do it because your conscience demands it, you are a moral person, making your own moral judgment. “Then there will be no need for neighbour to try and teach neighbour,” as the reading today puts it. This prophetic utterance, more than anything else that Jeremiah said, made a lasting impression on the religious tradition of Israel. Here also we have the only mention in the Old Testament of a “new covenant.” “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel."
Because covenant and testament mean the same thing, it is from this chapter of Jeremiah that the Christian section of the Bible derives its name - the New Testament. The beginning of Jeremiah's prophecy, “Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel,” points to an event in the future, which will be the work of God and give people hope. Christ, who in today's gospel speaks of the grain of wheat dying in the ground - a reference to the shedding of his blood - in order to bring forth a rich harvest, recalled those words of Jeremiah at the Last Supper, as we do at every Mass, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” Let us then pray to the Lord, during this commemoration of the Last Supper, that deep in our hearts forever, he may implant his word, his law, his own most Holy Spirit.






Into the Valley of Death
(Andrew Greeley)

One of the major goals of Lent is to force us to reflect on our own death and to see our way through it. We all must die, as much as we don't like the fact. We try to hide it, dodge it, deny it. Yet we can't in fact escape it. Jesus came into the world, not so much to do away with death (not immediately) but to teach us how to die by his example and then to assure us that death does not say the last word on. When we walk into the valley of death we do not walk alone. Jesus is with us because he's been there before and knows what it is like. Moreover he promises us that just as he rose from the dead so will we. We will all be young again. We will all laugh again.
Story: Once upon a time there was a young grandmother (well all grandmothers are young aren't they?) who totally adored her oldest grandson (like most grandmothers do). He was a good young man too. Handsome, friendly, courteous, more mature than you could reasonably expect any teenager to be. He was also an excellent athlete and was to be valedictorian of his class. Then, just a week before graduation, another teen (quite drunk) plowed into the car in which the young man was returning from a baseball game. He died three hours later in the hospital. Everyone in the family was, devastated, as you can well imagine. The grandmother was furious. “Why do such terrible things happen?” she demanded. “Why did it have to happen to my grandson? What kind of God would permit this to happen to me? He must be a cruel and vicious God. Why should I believe in him? I don't believe in him. My grandson was so young, he had the rest of his life ahead of him. It's all right for old people to die, but not for someone who had a right to a long and happy life. I don't believe in heaven. I don't believe in anything.” She carried on like this for months, making the tragedy even harder for her family. She stopped going to Church and refused to talk to the priest who dropped by her house to talk to her. “I just hate God,” she insisted. Then one night, maybe she was dreaming, maybe she was half away, her grandson, in his baseball uniform, came to visit it her. “Cool it, Grams.” he told her. “I'm happy. Life is much better where I am. You're not acting like my grams any more. We all have to die sometime, young or old, but here we're all young and we're all laughing.” So the grandmother began to let go of her grief and rage.

Triumph of Love
For Jesus the moment of his greatest influence was the moment when he seemed to have lost everything. Lifted up on a cross to die, he attracted people to himself from every quarter. He made an impression on them that changed their whole life. So it was true what he said: “When I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself."
How did he draw people to himself? First of all, by his love. The one thing we cannot resist is love. When we see that somebody loves us, that somebody is really interested in us and wants to help us, we cannot help but respond. We want to love that person back and to do and be whatever they expect of us.
Jesus showed us how much he loved us on the cross, by being ready to give up all he had for us. When we look at him on the cross and realize how much he really cares for you and me, we cannot help but want to love him back, unless our hearts are made of stone or ice (see First Reading.) So the victory of the cross is first of all a triumph of love. Jesus loves so much, cares so much, gives so much, that he wins the hearts of all who think about it, that he makes us want to love him in return, that he makes us want to be the kind of people he died to make us.
Triumph of faith
The victory of the cross is also a triumph of faith, of belief and trust in God (see Second Reading.) Jesus had lost everything else he could trust in: his friends had deserted him, the fans who used to cheer for him now mocked him, his physical strength was ebbing away and he could hardly speak. The only One he could rely on now was God and he went on relying on him to the very end.
He had served God all through his life. He had tried to do God's will in all he did. He had tried to speak God's truth in all he said. He had tried to show God's love to all he met. In this way he “glorified God's name” in all he did. And this had brought this trouble on his head, rejected and dying on a cross. Surely God would not abandon him in his trouble? Surely God would stand by him in the end? For one terrible moment it seemed that he hadn't: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But Jesus refused to accept that. He would not believe that God would desert anyone who sincerely tried to serve him in his life. So God rewarded Jesus' confidence and faith by bringing him through death to life eternal.
Triumph over despair
In the same way, a time may come for you and me when all human sources will fail us, when nobody else can help us, even if they wanted to, when our own strength has failed so badly that we can hardly find enough to breathe a prayer, when even God and his saints may seem to have left us in the lurch. Then we must look up at the cross of Jesus and keep on believing, with Jesus, that God never abandons anyone who does not turn away from him. Then God will bring us through our suffering and pain, either to a renewal of our health and strength, or to the everlasting life that does away with pain forever.
This will be the victory of the cross for us - the triumph of God's unfailing love for us, of the “glory” of God and of Christ in us, and the triumph of our own unfailing trust in God. It will bring us through our sharing in the sufferings of Christ to a sharing in the joy of his risen life forever.






Keeping Life by Losing It
(Michael Prior)

Every man wants to live life to the full, and this is also the concern of Jesus in the Gospel reading today. In English the expression “keeping one's life by losing it” makes little sense, unless, of course one is speaking of two different kinds of life. Greek has three different words for three different types of life, and we are concerned here with two of them, “psyche and “we.” In New Testament terms psyche is expendable, but zoe is not; in fact one must be prepared to put aside the interest of the psyche in order to live the real life. Life described as psyche includes the principle of growth and the ability to understand, but it is limited because it comes to an end with death. On the other hand the type of life designated by the term zoe is not only quantitatively better, since it is everlasting but also qualitatively superior, since it is the life which God himself lives and has given to his Son.
The Son's mission, then, is to offer this eternal life to men. How do we share this new life? Can we begin to share it already, or must we wait until we die? Jesus is the answer to both questions. According to John, Jesus himself is this life ("I am the resurrection and the life'), and his words are spirit and life (6:63.) The only way in which we can live this real (eternal) life is to believe in (i.e. to commit oneself to), Jesus. This is possible for us because the Spirit of God has already enlivened us at our baptism, in which we were “born anew.” This eternal life is nourished by eating the Body and drinking the Blood of Christ in the Eucharist (6:51-58.) Such is the grandeur of this Godly life that one ought not hesitate to sacrifice everything for it, even one's physical life, and in giving himself up to death, Jesus has affirmed the superiority of eternal life over physical life.






Death and new life
(Jack McArdle)

Theme: In today's gospel, Jesus speaks plainly of the fact that he is going to die, and he tells us clearly that, to be one of his disciples, each of us must follow him down that road. Once again, the Father's voice is heard to confirm all that is being said.
Parable: Those of us who grew up in the country are quite familiar with death and new life, in the whole area of plants, vegetables, potatoes, etc. If I were a worm under the ground in spring, all I could see are withered, shrunken, and dead bulbs, tubers, and seeds, and I could have no idea of the flowers, the wheat, or the potatoes that are growing and blooming above the ground. Death under the ground is the source of new life above. “Unless the grain of wheat falls in the ground and dies, it remains alone."
Teaching: When Jesus begins to speak about his approaching death, his words are “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.” He sees his death, and he speaks of it as a passage into eternal glory and triumph. Having overcome sin and sickness, the final enemy is death. When he has conquered death, his victory will be complete.
On several occasions, attempts were made to arrest Jesus, or to throw him over a cliff, and, on each occasion, he walked through their midst and they were left standing helpless. “No one takes my life from me,” he said, “I lay down my life, and I will take it up again.” When he finally was arrested, he told Peter to put away his sword, because “the hour has now come.” His death would not be some sort of haphazard accident, but something that would be part of a deliberate plan. He knew what he was doing, and he knew where he was going.
All those who wish to be his disciples must follow him in this, trusting God's plan for them, as they follow him in faith. They also must take up their cross and follow him, so that “where I am they also may be.” For the Christian, death is not something that happens at the end of life. It is a way of living. It involves dying to self, in the service of others. It means taking up the splinters of the cross of everyday living, and saying “yes” to my calling to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. It is to walk through life with the same confidence he had in the Father, and the vision he had that death is the door to triumph and victory.
Jesus asks whether he should pray to be saved from what lies ahead. He answers his own question by replying that that was the very reason why he came. “Dying, you destroyed our death By your cross and resurrection you have set us free...” He calls on the Father to fulfil his promises, and the Father assures him that he already has done so, and he will continue to do so.
There is a nice little insight here into the humanity of Jesus, because it precedes his prayer of Gethsemane: “Father, if it's possible, let this chalice pass from me; yet not my will, but yours, be done.” In a real way, alongside his unshakeable trust in the Father, was ordinary and understandable human fear, which we all experience. Nobody likes to die. Self-preservation is the most fundamental human instinct and, therefore, it goes against our nature to die, no matter how strong our faith, or how noble our ideals.
Response: We have journeyed with Jesus during these Sundays of Lent. We were with him in the desert, where he was tempted; in the Temple, when he drove out the merchants; on Thabor, where he was glorified; and we heard him speak with pure poetry about the Father's love for us, and our need to accept and to respond to that love. Today, as we approach his passion, he speaks to us very clearly about what is to come, and how we are called to share in all of that. In a way, I suppose, like Jesus, the net is closing in on us as well. We either decide to move to the sideline, or get involved in the midst of what's happening.
Life is a mystery to be lived, rather than a problem to be solved. The only thing that is sure about life is that we will all, one day, die. Death is certain; it is life that can be quite uncertain. The only choice we have is: We can face up to death today, and live our lives with daily awareness of that fact; or we can choose to ignore it, not think about it, and wait till it approaches us. Another way of putting this is that I can choose to be a Christian or not. If I choose to walk the Christian way, then I am conscious of following Jesus, and I am conscious of his leading, and I am conscious that he is leading me home, to be with him for all eternity.
Jesus said that the Father's voice was for our benefit, and not his. On the way to Calvary, when he met the women, he told them “Weep not for me, but for yourselves....” This wasn't a putdown, or his way of saying that he was okay, and we were the ones to be pitied. After all the nights he spent in prayer, after being led by the Spirit, and after hearing the Father's voice confirming him and his mission, his concern was for us, that we should not lose confidence, and that we should accept our share in his mission, and in his victory. I imagine him speaking to us something like this: “Look, I know you are weak, and afraid. But I am more than willing to carry you, to lead you, to keep you safe and close to me. As Moses led the tired and weary people through the Red Sea, so will I lead you into the victory that I myself will gain. I want you to share in everything I do, in everything I have, and in all that will come in the future, for all eternity."
Practical: There is a very nice touch at the beginning of today's gospel, where some Greeks happened to be in Jerusalem and, having heard about Jesus, they decided to avail of the opportunity to meet him. One apostle told another about them and, together they brought the Greeks to meet Jesus. There's a simple little prayer tucked away among the first paragraph: “We want to meet Jesus.” Some of the most powerful and effective prayers in the gospel are so simple and direct. “Lord, that I may see Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me. They have no wine.” A real movement towards simplicity and directness in my prayer is a good sign of spiritual growth. At this very moment, I'm sure you could breathe a prayer of only a few words. If it comes from the heart, then you can expect an answer. (Be careful what you ask God for, because he might give it to you.)
How do you look upon death? Are you uncomfortable whenever the topic arises in conversation? Or are you someone who enjoys life, and you want to live it to the last moment, accepting that, when the end comes, you'll only just begin living? The best is yet to come, and “you ain't seen nothing yet.” Supposing you were to take today's gospel, go aside with it for a few days reflection, what difference do you think it might make? After all, when it comes to death, I can have no better teacher than Jesus. Any hope I have of being taught by him, of course, depends totally on my willingness to learn, and my interest in, and attention to his teaching.
There is a very personal invitation in today's gospel. “All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me ·...” Spiritual living is about letting go. It differs from religion, which can often be about accumulating and multiplying prayers, merits, graces, indulgences, and even salvation itself. Spirituality is letting go, and letting God. When I die, I will have to let go of everything anyhow. Spirituality is about letting go of my need to run the show, of doing things my way, of going my way. It is about letting go of resentments, unforgiveness, angers, fears, and pride. “Those who love their life in this world will lose it.” Life is a gift that is given to be used in the service of others. That service of others involves dying to self. “It is in giving that we receive, and in dying that we are born to eternal life.” I certainly have plenty of material for prayer and reflection as I go forth from here today. I pray that the evil one does not steal that word from our hearts but that, like Mary, we may “ponder these words in our hearts."
Story: The story of Maximilian Kolbe is well known. He was a Franciscan priest in Poland, and he was in a concentration camp during the Second World War. Some prisoners had escaped, and the authorities were determined that this should not happen again. For every prisoner that escaped they picked a prisoner out of the group, and that person was condemned to die. By doing this, they would strike fear into the hearts of the other prisoners, and so discourage any further escapes. After one young man was picked out, someone who had a wife and young family back home, Maximilian stepped forward and offered to take his place. The soldiers were shocked at this, but they took him up on his offer, and the young man returned to the group. Maximilian died in a horrible fashion, as they were locked in cages and left there to starve to death. All during that time he encouraged the others, and inspired them with his prayers. He was canonised some years ago. The most touching part of the whole ceremony was the picture of an old ma near the main altar in St Peter's Square, with tears roiling down his cheeks throughout the whole ceremony. He was the man whom Maximilian had saved, and he had lived to witness this wonderful day. I would like to think that he understood what real love is, that he would understand today's gospel, and that death would no longer have any fears for him.