V Sunday of Lent:[2015]:Jere 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33

V Sunday of Lent:[2015]:Jere 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33

Introduction: Learn to live this Lenten period “burning out,” spending our time and talents for others around us by self-giving service.  “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can” (John Wesley). 

Scripture Lessions: St. Paul in our second reading tells the Hebrews that it is by his suffering and death, in obedience to his Father’s will, that Jesus established the New Covenant. Using metaphors of the “sown wheat grain” and the “spent life” in today’s gospel, Jesus teaches the same lessons. The gospel hints at Jesus’ inner struggle in accepting the cup of suffering to inaugurate the new and everlasting covenant. However, Jesus accepts the cross as his “hour,” meaning the stepping stone to his passion, death, resurrection and exaltation.

The days are coming when I will write my law deep within their hearts. All of them, from the least to the greatest will know that I am their God. In the first reading, the Prophet Jeremiah spoke about a time when God's people would be so united to God that they would know within themselves how to serve Him. That time is now. God's law is written deep within each of our hearts. We don't need anyone to tell us what we should do. Deep within ourselves we know if we are true to God or not.

Exegesis: Good and bad do not go hand in hand.  They will argue that all the bad things that high school, college and basically people of all ages get into are really normal behavior. We know that is a lie. Everything within us, deep within us, tells us that this is a lie. We know that we cannot behave immorally and face our God. So much of what the world tells us to do conflicts with the deep life within us. We have to recognize that what some call normal behavior is for us Christians, abnormal behavior. This is our time. This is our hour. We have the choice to stand for Christ and live in peace with God and with ourselves, or to turn towards that which is popular and sinful and live in turmoil.

Those who love their lives, they will lose it. This is because they choose to preoccupy their worldly minds with wealth, the flesh, desires, addictions, fames, etc... They are without any living hope. They have no eternal life awaiting them in the Kingdom of God because their lives are void of spirituality. They do not have the free gift of righteousness that comes from Christ, the gift that is necessary to be admitted into the Heavenly Kingdom of God.

Dying in Christ is to rise with him. The grain of wheat is symbolic of the Sacrament of Baptism. When a person is baptized, his old sinful nature dies and is to be buried with Christ. [Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12] And, just as Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, through baptism, a new creation is raised from death to walk the new life that has been received through Christ. [Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12]  The new creation is everything! [Gal. 6:15] By being baptized in the Name of Christ, we become a new creation. Everything has become new. The old heart and spirit that were stained by the original sin have passed away. They are dead! [2 Cor. 5:17]

Joke: Before a pastor began to preach one Sunday morning he thought he should explain why he had a Band-Aid on his chin.  "As I was shaving this morning I was thinking about today's message when I lost my concentration and accidentally cut my chin with the razor."  He then went on to preach the longest message of his life.  After the service one of the teens greeted the pastor and said, "Pastor, next week why don't you think about your shaving and cut the sermon."

Practical Application : Life spent for others will be glorified here in this world and in heaven. To receive new life and eternal life we need to die to ourselves through suffering and service.  Salt gives its taste by dissolving in water.  A candle gives light by having its wax melted and its wick consumed.  The oyster produces a priceless pearl by transforming a grain of sand in a long and painful process.  Loving parents sacrifice themselves so that their children can enjoy a better life than they themselves had.  Let us pray for the gift of this self-sacrificial spirit, especially during Lent. 

Introduction : Fifth Sunday of Lent

Message: The grain of wheat must die to produce fruit.  Such dying must be cultivated by obedience and by our covenant with God, rooted in love and forgiveness.

Saints and events in this week:   23 – Twenty Third – Monday – Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, Bishop; 25 – Twenty fifth – Wednesday - Annunciation of the Lord: 29 – Twenty Ninth – Palm Sunday.