Fifth Sunday in Lent B

Father Francis Martin discusses the Gospel reading for the 5th Sunday of Lent, focusing on the deep inner submission with love and truth that Jesus exemplifies. The passage from John's Gospel emphasizes the importance of yielding to the Gospel and following Jesus. It also highlights Jesus' impending death and the judgment of Satan. The reading invites readers to meditate on seeing Jesus and embracing his words and deeds. The goal is to truly understand and trust in Jesus, allowing his word to guide and transform our lives. Greetings, friends. What a joy to share the Gospel. The Gospel we share on this 5th Sunday of Lent, Father Francis Martin tells us, reveals the deep inner submission with love and truth that abides in the heart of Jesus and which prepares a similar love and truth in our hearts if we yield to it. Let's take a moment to prepare our hearts to yield to the Gospel by quieting our inner selves. If you will, take a deep breath slowly in and slowly out. Come Lord Jesus. Allow your Holy Spirit to bring your word to life in me. May I hear your voice, good Shepherd. The ancient prayer of Lectio Divina invites us, first of all, simply to read a passage from Scripture. By reading we grow acquainted with the word and begin to open ourselves to the movement of the Holy Spirit carried on the words of the Gospel. On this 5th Sunday of Lent we read from John's Gospel, chapter 12, verses 20-33. Now there were some Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the feast. They 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. This passage is so intensely dense and multi-layered in symbolism and meanings. To be honest, I feel somewhat overwhelmed in approaching it with you. To begin, it is important to appreciate the context of this passage and to recognize it as a hinge for John's whole gospel. It stands at the end of the book of signs. Remember, the signs are given that we might believe Jesus is the Son of God. It is as well the beginning of the book of glory. You see how our passage introduces this second book in John. The glory to be revealed is the Father embracing the Son's loving surrender to death by raising him to life at his right hand in heaven. Let me point this out as well. Recall Jesus' agony in the garden as shared in the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where Jesus prays, Father, let this cup pass me by, yet not my will be done, but yours. Time unfolds the mystery of Jesus' inner anguish here as the gospel takes its decisive turn to Jerusalem. I am troubled, Father, save me from this hour, but it is for this purpose I came. Notice the rhythm is so similar to that of the agony in the garden. Jesus' human will is naturally repulsed by death, seeks to flee from it, yet he conforms his human will to the divine will of the Father. We are saved, you see, by the human decision of a divine person. Where Adam said no to God's will, Jesus in his humanity said yes, yes, yes. Finally, all of this is an act of judgment, Jesus tells us. Notice who is judged, humanity? No, Satan is the one judged, the ruler of this world, the master deceiver whose lies broke the will of Adam and all people thereafter. Just by the exposure of his lies, by the revelation of the Father's faithfulness, God can be trusted. This is the glory to be revealed now in the rest of John's gospel. This is as well the great and beautiful fruit bursting forth from that grain of wheat that falls to the earth. Let's read now again, for a second time, our gospel passage. Notice as we read it this time what stands out to you, a word, a phrase, a sense being stirred up within you. We read John chapter 12 verses 20 through 33. Now there were some Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the feast. They 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. We have come now to the second step of Lectio Divina, which is, after reading, meditation. In meditating, we pause to embrace the word, phrase, that movement of the passage that has spoken most powerfully to us. What is speaking to you in this moment? John is such a remarkable literary artist. At this crucial moment in his narrative, he places upon the lips of these Greek seekers the exclamation, We would like to see Jesus. Friends, don't you want to see Jesus, truly, deeply see Jesus? I so much want to see Jesus, not simply his words and deeds, but to truly see, to pierce into the deeds and words to see Jesus, the divine Son of God, whose every movement is surrendered in love to the Father, whose every movement reveals the God who can be trusted always, everywhere, in everything. Come, Holy Spirit, open my eyes. I want to see Jesus, to truly see Jesus. Friends, let me again invite you to continue to sit with this gospel passage. Notice what it is saying to you, how it stirs within your spirit. Talk to Jesus about what his word is doing in you now. Before leaving prayer, be sure to intentionally place the word you have received deep in your spirit, where the Lord might bring it growth throughout this week ahead. And friends, it is a joy to share the gospel with you. Thank you.