Fifth Sunday of
Lent – March 21, 2021
In today’s gospel reading we find Jesus in a significant
moment of decision. The hour when he has to leave this world is drawing near.
The journey from this world to the Father will be painful and distressing. As
he faces into this hour, he asks aloud the question: “What shall I say?” There
are two possible answers to that question. He could ask the Father to preserve
him from the hour and all that it entails: “Father, save me from this hour.”
Instead, he asked the Father to be present to him as he heads into his hour.
This, in fact, is the prayer he makes at this crucial moment in his life:
“Father, glorify your name.” Rather than the focus of his prayer being on
himself, “save me,” the focus of his prayer is on God, “glorify your name.”
Rather than putting what he wants at the center of his prayer, he puts what his
Father wants to the fore. With the prayer, “Father, glorify your name,” Jesus
commits himself anew to doing the work that the Father has given him…with all
its consequences.
That question of Jesus, “What shall I say?” or some
version of it can be a question that we find ourselves asking also. “What shall
I do? What path will I take?” Jesus took the path that God wanted him to take,
a path involved a dying, but it was a path that was ultimately life-giving, not
only for himself but for all humanity. In our own lives, taking the path that
God would want us to take will sometimes involve a kind of dying for us, such
as dying to our own comfort and convenience, letting go of the plans that we
have for ourselves. This can take very ordinary forms. We get a phone call from
someone who needs to talk to us, just as we are about to sit down and watch our
favorite television program. Someone asks us to visit them, and the only
opportunity we have for doing that is Saturday afternoon when we would normally
take it easy. A call for help goes out in regard to some issue, and we know
that we have the time and the ability to respond, but we also know that, if we
do so, it will make demands on us. The strong temptation is to pray, “Father,
save me from this hour”, to try and preserve ourselves, to protect ourselves.
Jesus says, “Now my soul is troubled, and what should I
say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it is for this reason that I have come
to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I
have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard
it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.” Was the
crowd avoiding the voice of God, not willing to let go of their plans, their
opinions? Today’s gospel makes a strong declaration that if we invest energy in
trying to preserve ourselves, we will loose ourselves. “Anyone who loves his
life looses it.” If, on the contrary, we give ourselves away, we will find
life. It is the grain of wheat that falls to the earth and dies that bears much
fruit.
We are only a week away from Holy Week. During Holy Week
we remember Jesus’ readiness to fall to the ground and die for our sakes. As we
contemplate his dying for us, we may find ourselves drawn to him. Jesus says in
today’s gospel reading, “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all
people to myself.” It is in allowing ourselves to be drawn to him that we will
find the strength to take the path that he took, the path of self-giving that
leads to fullness of life. It is only our union with Christ which will empower
us to take this path. Every day, invite the Lord to draw you to himself, so
that you too can be the grain that falls to the ground and dies, but in dying
bears much fruit.
Fr. Don, c.p.