First reading Jeremiah 31:31-34
I will write my Law in their hearts
See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah), but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, so I had to show them who was master. It is the Lord who speaks. No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel when those days arrive – it is the Lord who speaks. Deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people. There will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord!’ No, they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest – it is the Lord who speaks – since I will forgive their iniquity and never call their sin to mind.
Responsorial Psalm 50(51):3-4,12-15
A pure heart create for me, O God.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.
Second reading Hebrews 5:7-9
He learned to obey and he became the source of eternal salvation
During his life on earth, Christ offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.
Gospel John 12:20-33
If a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it yields a rich harvest
Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, ‘Sir, we should like to see Jesus.’ Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus. Jesus replied to them:
‘Now the hour has come
for the Son of Man to be glorified.
I tell you, most solemnly,
unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it;
anyone who hates his life in this world
will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.
Now my soul is troubled.
What shall I say:
Father, save me from this hour?
But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour.
Father, glorify your name!’
A voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ People standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, ‘It was an angel speaking to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours.
‘Now sentence is being passed on this world;
now the prince of this world is to be overthrown.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I shall draw all men to myself.’
By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.
Reflection
Our period of preparation for Easter is fast drawing to a close. We are soon to enter Holy Week in which we contemplate Jesus, his arms outstretched on the cross, embracing our world.
There is a lot of suffering in our lives and too much of it in the world around us – physical suffering, suffering of the heart and suffering of the mind. When suffering comes upon us it is often accompanied by bewilderment. None of us finds it easy to cope.
The question I wish to ask is: Does our experience of Jesus help give some meaning to suffering that can enable us to bear it, and perhaps be of some help to others in their pain and confusion?
There are common misunderstandings that people have when they think of suffering and its relation to God’s will. Some think that God is using suffering to punish us for something which we have done wrong.
We should see the crucifying of Jesus for what it was: a sinful decision made by people acting against the will of God. They were not carrying out God’s will. They were resisting it. The crucifixion was not God punishing Jesus, but people acting badly.
When we are suffering let us think of God as present to us, loving us. Instead of thinking of God as the cause and trying to work out why, let us look to God, knowing that God is there pouring out grace upon us and leading us close to his heart through it. If we look for the grace we will see it and that will help us bear the pain.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says: ‘When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw everyone to myself.’ It is especially when we are suffering that we find ourselves attracted to the suffering Jesus. It is especially when our heart is pierced that we are able to look upon the one we have pierced (John 19:37).
Furthermore, as Paul reminds us, when we grow in love through suffering, we can be God’s instruments in drawing other people to grace: ‘I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church’ (Colossians 1:24).
Fr Michael Fallon msc
