March 17, Fifth Sunday of Lent
Daily Readings: Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20–33.
God has a project for humanity. It is to keep the entire human race healthy, hearty, and very close to His heart. God, who made His covenant with the houses of Israel and Judah, makes another covenant with the Greeks through Jesus, His beloved Son. But the human race has to realize its folly and its sinful nature, repent, and return to confess to amend its behavior and behavioral patterns. When this happens, one can confidently say that the formation of one human family is in progress.
God said that He would write His covenant on their hearts. The treaty in capsule form is “I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (v. 33). They will know the Lord. Their knowledge will lead them to love God. God will forgive their iniquities. Prophet Ezekiel, the younger contemporary of Jeremiah, had already said that God would give His people a new heart and guide them in walking according to the covenant stipulations (cf. Eze 36:26–27).
However, it is Jeremiah who says that God will establish an entirely new covenant with His people. In communities, God will no longer seek the assistance of human beings such as teachers, leaders, friends, or relatives but rather rely on His own personal and intimate experience with each person. The key experience would be grasping and enjoying God’s forgiveness.
Some Greeks want to see Jesus (John 12:21, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus"), so they come to Philip, who seeks Andrew's assistance. In Mediterranean culture, seeking the assistance of a broker to establish contact with an important person is common. The normal meaning of the expression “to see” is to visit or to meet. But in the Gospel, according to John, “to see” means “to believe in." Every sign leads some people to believe in him, or even continue to believe in him.
On this occasion, Jesus himself sees the arrival of some Greeks who want to see him as the hour when the Son of Man will be glorified (v. 23). In the same breath, Jesus brings out the parable of the seed in v. 24: “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." Yes! Jesus’ death will be the source of life for many.
Call to Action for Catholic Living: During the Holy Lenten Season, God has blessed us with numerous encounters to strengthen us, such as daily Eucharistic celebrations, the Friday Way of the Holy Cross, prayers, fasting, almsgiving, and so on. May we never tire of looking at Jesus' face and striving to draw closer to him.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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