Fifth Sunday in Lent 2020

John 12:20-33

Rev. Neli Miranda 

            The fifth Sunday in Lent brings us to Jerusalem, where Jesus has entered hailed by a great crowd that has come to celebrate Passover.  Jesus knows that the Jewish authorities have put a price on his head. Both the chief priests and the Pharisees have given orders that anyone who knows where Jesus is should inform them so that they can arrest him.  Jesus comes from the home of Lazarus in Bethany, where a dinner has been celebrated in his honor. During the dinner, Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard. Jesus read Mary’s action as a preparation for his upcoming burial. His hour has come!

            In the preceding chapter we learn that after Jesus raised Lazarus, the chief priests and the Pharisees held a meeting and discussed the signs Jesus has been performing. They were concerned about Jesus’ growing popularity among the people and expressed their worry that the Romans would see Jesus as a potential leader of an uprising and would respond by destroying the temple and the people. During that meeting, Jesus’ lot was cast. Caiaphas, the high priest, suggested that “… it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed” (12,50). Caiaphas implied that by eliminating Jesus, they could prevent any potential conflicts with the Romans and safeguard the nation. John adds that Caiaphas was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation. From that day on, the religious leaders planned to put Jesus to death.  Jesus’ hour has come!

In Jerusalem, Jesus’ popularity continues to grow and so does the threat of death—the crowd that had witnessed Lazarus being raised from the dead continues to testify about it and the Pharisees observe Jesus’ growing popularity with great concern.  While the Jewish authorities plot against Jesus, some Greeks who have come to Jerusalem as Passover pilgrims desire to see Jesus. The presence of these Greeks seeking Jesus is significant; it is an indication that Jesus’ message has transcended the Jewish community. Jesus’ hour has come!

We are not told whether Jesus receives or speaks with the Greek pilgrims, but the announcement of their presence triggers Jesus’ discourse on the meaning of his impending death.  When Philip and Andrew come to Jesus to inform him about the request made by the Greeks, Jesus responds saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit” (12,24-25).  Jesus is declaring that the time has arrived for him to fulfill his purpose and bring about the ultimate demonstration of his glory. He calls himself “Son of Man”, emphasizing his humanity and his divine mission. Jesus compares himself to a grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies to produce much fruit. What a beautiful, powerful image! Through this process of death and rebirth of nature, Jesus is announcing his death and his glorious resurrection, which will result in much fruit in the world.

Jesus does not see his execution on the cross and his burial as a failure or a defeat, but as a victory over the earthly systems that produce suffering and death. Jesus knows that God will raise him from the dead, and his message of life will reach the whole world. This is the same conviction that inspired Monseñor Romero who raised his voice and fought against injustice in El Salvador. Just weeks before he was gunned down at the altar during Mass (1980), he said, “As a Christian I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people.” This is the fruit Jesus was speaking about just before his own execution!

Today, we continue to see how the earthly systems inflict suffering and death, but we also continue to proclaim the liberating message of the cross.  Today, we hear Jesus proclaiming that “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified”.  How is it possible for Jesus to be glorified on the cross, an instrument of death? What a contradictory image! It is through the cross that we humans meet the power of God who transforms death into Life.  The hour has come for us to see the glory of God on the cross!

In the following verses, Jesus challenges his disciples when he speaks of the importance of prioritizing discipleship and communion with God over worldly goods, “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life”(12,25). Eternal Life refers to an abundant life that begins in the present and remains beyond physical death. It is not simply an extension of earthly life or an endless continuation of time; it is a state of communion with God which is characterized by the fullness of life, joy, peace, and the presence of God’s love. So, Jesus teaches his disciples to not love and cling to earthly things that separate them from God–temporal pleasures, ambitions, worldly success, material possessions—but to embrace a life of discipleship which leads them to an abundant Life that extends beyond this temporal world. Thus, True Life is found in a loving, intimate relationship with God and the willingness to follow Jesus.

Dear sisters and brothers, on this fifth Sunday in Lent, Jesus’ hour to be glorified on the cross has come! And our hour to assume our discipleship and accompany Jesus in Jerusalem has come, too. It is our time to see Jesus glorified on the cross, to understand how Life emerges from the cross, to find Life on the cross, to embrace the cross. Today, Jesus calls us to prioritize our discipleship, to renounce the temporal attractions, to face the cross, to die… For it is by dying that we experience resurrection and see God’s glory.

Amen.