FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 2006 April 2, 2006

Jeremiah 31: 31-34  Psalm 51 Hebrew 5: 7-9 John 12 :20-33

1. Last night, I received a call from the chaplain at Toronto General Hospital. There is a patient here who is seriously sick. Would you mind coming and praying for her. I was reluctant to call you because she is not Roman Catholic. Definitely I will. 

As I drove there, the Psalm, Jeremiah’s Prophecy and the Gospel of Today all seemed to take flesh, to become real.

• I prayed the Psalm of this Sunday  “Create a new heart in me O Lord, that I may be of service to the people I am going to visit.” This 51 Psalm is probably the most famous of the Penitential Psalms, “wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins.” 
• It is also a prayer that echoes Jeremiah’s prophecy in the first reading. Under the new covenant that God is initiating, the hearts of believers will be inwardly transformed. Their sins will be forgiven and they will walk in the law of the Lord.
• And I thought about the Greeks who wanted to seek Jesus. The words of the chaplain on call, “they are not Catholic, but they want someone to come and pray with them.

2. The Greeks are not a part of the people of Israel. Yet they want to see Jesus. We are not told why. We are not told whether they met Jesus or what Jesus said to them.

 John’s Gospel leaves the Greeks in mid-air because the “hour” of Jesus had not yet come.  There is a theological reason why Jesus restricted his contacts to the Jews. It was only after the wall of partition had been broken down that the Gentile mission could begin. This wall of partition is the Jewish law which was a barrier between Jew and Gentile.

• the racial partition: the partition between Jews and Gentiles
• the religious partition: all Gentiles should be circumcised.
• the social partition: can we eat with the Gentiles, if the food is offered to idols.

• These issues would still trouble the Early Church as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15. But as in the case of the Wedding Feast at Cana, Jesus would anticipate the “hour”. His announcement of the Kingdom would be universal. Everyone was welcome. But those who are invited are often reluctant to enter, to accept the invitation to the Banquet. We are quite content in our sinful ways and actions.

3. Jeremiah would paint this picture in the first reading. The people of God would rebel against God. They would sin and continue to remain in their sin. God on the other hand would remain Faithful to God’s people. He would make all sorts of excuses for them. The commandments were carved in stone. The people would need teachers to instruct them in the ways of the Lord. The teachers themselves might not do a good job in teaching. The people would not understand the Commandments.

We too as we remain in our sinful ways, use the similar excuses. “I did not that was sinful. My parents and priests did not teach me properly. I thought that these circumstances would permit me to act in that way. Everyone is doing it, so I did not think it was sinful.”

 Our Loving God who was “Faithful” to Wandering Israelites in the wilderness, is also faithful to us. God says that the commandments will no longer be carved in stone, but they will be carved in our very hearts. Therefore we will not need teachers, God personally will be our teacher as we journey.

4. Giving up sinful ways is not easy, and we are given a model in Jesus Christ. Our second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews presents us Jesus as one to imitate. The letter shows us Jesus as one who was obedient even in difficult and painful situations. The letter to the Philippians ch. 2 describes it very vividly, Jesus though he was equal to God, emptied himself and took the form of a slave. He was obedient unto death, even death on the cross. 

 It was through death and resurrection Jesus was made perfect. God brought him to "perfection." This is not moral perfection as we would ordinarily understand it, but rather “being perfect” meant that Jesus reached the goal or the destiny. He fulfilled the purpose for which he became Flesh and dwelt in our midst. It was his destiny to become a perfect High Priest. He would not need to offer sacrifices for himself - but for us. Once he offered it for us, we would never have to offer it again. The Sacrifice was his death on the Cross and the Resurrection. The fruit was eternal life for us.

• 5. The Cross will always be a part of our journey to the Kingdom. The Greeks want to know Jesus. They ask Philip and Andrew, whose Greek names probably gave them a sense of security, to take them to Jesus. Without any preface or preamble, Jesus will tell them that the Cross and Resurrection is the first and necessary step to overcome our sinful ways.

• Unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and dies, it will not bear fruit.
• the Son of Man will be lifted up and draw all persons to himself.

5a It calls for a total surrender on our part. It is a realisation that we are helpless as sinners. But once we have realised that the grain of wheat has died: our complacency, our self centredness, our mistaken ability to save our self - once we have like the Greeks, sought Jesus in our lives, then all will fall into place.

John Milton the famous poet became Blind at the height of his poetic genius. He complained to God. Why did you give me this talent, hone it to the height I have now reached and then taken away the means to write poetry. That is when he wrote the poem for which he is most famous: “On his blindness”

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one Talent which is death to hide

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest He returning chide,

"Doth God exact daylabour, light denied?" 

His true glory came when he realised: “They also serve who only stand and wait.” The Father has glorified the Son and will continue to glorify the Son... and all of us when united with the Son. This will happen when we unite ourselves with Jesus lifted high on the cross.

“Create a clean heart in me O Lord.”

ALTERNATE BEGINNING:

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a gripping story that has made the best seller list. It is a “coming of age” story of two friends. Amir, the son of a rich Upper Class is a Pashtun, and Hasan the son of his lower caste servant is a Hazara. Amir is painted as a kind but self centred boy. He is bothered with his own comfort and the safety of his own skin. Hassan on the other hand will do anything for Amir. This is not merely because he is a servant, but because of a genuine admiration which leads to a deep and faithful love of Amir. Hassan will risk his life, take the blame for Amir and will not defend himself when falsely accused. In a strange way, this is a picture of the Faithfulness of God in the love for a very fickle and sinful People.