Fifth Sunday of Lent - Cycle B - 2000
Cycle B
2000

First Reading
Jeremiah 31:31-34

The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 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, and I had to show myself their master, says the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the Lord. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the Lord, for I will forgive their evil-doing and remember their sin no more.

Second Reading
Hebrews 5:7-9

In the days when Christ was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to God, who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Gospel
John 12:20-33

Among those who had come up to worship at the feast of Passover were some Greeks. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him:"Sir, we should like to see Jesus." Philip went to tell Andrew; Philip and Andrew in turn came to inform Jesus. Jesus answered them:"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I solemnly assure you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. The man who loves his life loses it, while the man who hates his life in this world preserves it to life eternal. If anyone would serve me, let him follow me; where I am, there will my servant be. Anyone who serves me, the Father will honor. My soul is troubled now, yet what should I say-Father, save me from this hour? But it was for this that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from the sky: "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." When the crowd of bystanders heard the voice, they said it was thunder. Others maintained, "An angel was speaking to him." Jesus answered, "That voice did not come for my sake, but for yours. "Now has judgment come upon this world, now will this world's prince be driven out, and I -- once I am lifted up from earth-will draw all men to myself." (This statement of his indicated the sort of death he was going to die.)

Text from Lectionary for Mass
© 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
© 1969 International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc.
All rights reserved

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We want to see Jesus!! How like us that statement is! I want to see Jesus and Lent is a good time to renew that desire and that hope. There are times when I wonder how God can ever love me since I am so faithless. There are times when all of my desires to be faithful and good seem empty and only something that I want but cannot continue to strive for. Even in Monasteries it is easy to get discouraged by the sinfulness that is found within onself.

In our first reading, from the Prophet Jeremiah, it is clear that God is the one who will place a new heart in us. That does not always mean that I will feel like I have a new heart, but God promises to place this new heart in me and to keep the covenant that he makes with me. Have I forgotten that I am baptized and have made a Covenant with God? That does happen to me from time to time. Instead I fall back on the notion that I must be good and then God will love me. The promise in Jesus Christ is simply that God will love me and that I must trust in Jesus and do what I can to live in grace and in the divine nature given to me. When I fail, Jesus promises to forgive me, not only once but seventy times seven times-which is to say that he always forgives me.

This world's prince is being driven out. This world's prince has been driven out by Jesus. The Scriptures seem often to use a kind of language that eludes us and makes us wonder about our faith. The devil is conquered already but we are not yet freed from sin. How does salvation happen all at once and yet take place bit by bit in our lives? These are mysteries that are beyond my personal comprehension because they are mysteries of Christ's work in me. But they are also promises: Jesus promises to save me if I call on His name and ask His help. And it does not really matter how many times I must acknowledge once again that I am a sinner. It only matters that I can call on the Lord and trust in His name.

Lent is a time to work at changing our lives. It is-perhaps more importantly-a time to renew our trust in the Lord. We must come to know that He loves us more than we can ever imagine. God wants to save us. God wants us to have divine life. And all of this is given to us in Christ Jesus.

Let us give thanks to the Lord and bless His holy name.

© 2000 The Monastery of Christ in the Desert