Sunday, 18 March 2018
5th Sunday of Lent
1st Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34 2nd Reading:
Hebrews 5:7-9 Gospel: John 12:20-33
There were some Greeks who approached Philip and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went to Andrew and the two of them told Jesus.
Then Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
“Those who love their life destroy it, and those who despise their life in this world keep it for everlasting life.
“Whoever wants to serve me, let him follow me and wherever I am, there shall my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
“Now my soul is in distress. Shall I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But, I have come to this hour to face all this. Father, glorify your Name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.”
DAiGITAL EXPERIENCE
Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life Experience
Today is the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Today’s Gospel message is best understood in the light of the Gospel messages of the preceding Sundays.
The temptation narrative read on the FIRST SUNDAY emphasized the battle cry of Jesus as he began his public ministry. “He said, “The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News.” (Mark 1:12-15).
The Second Sunday’s Transfiguration narrative was all about Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah regarding his suffering and death. If the first Sunday announced that ‘the kingdom of God is at hand’, the second Sunday established the Passion and Death as the path of development of that kingdom.
On the THIRD SUNDAY we made a deeper reflection on the Passion and Death as we heard Jesus say, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up again” (Jn. 2:13-25). He was talking about his body. Jesus was to die for a while and rise after three days to claim victory over death.
The Gospel on the FOURTH SUNDAY (John 3:14-21) was a further deepening of Jesus’ Passion and Death of Jesus. In that reading Jesus said to Nicodemus that he will be lifted up just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert. This was to substantiate the love of the Father who “so loved the world that he sent his only Son that whoever believes in him may not perish but enjoy everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).
These four readings culminate in today’s Gospel reading where Jesus claimed the hour of his suffering as the hour of his glorification. If we want to share in that glorification he invites us to go through the process of purification like seeds buried to the ground in order to sprout and bear fruits.– (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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