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Reflections
for Sunday, March 25, 2012
We come closer and closer to Holy Week and to the Sacred Triduum - those last
three days of Holy Week which express the fullness of our faith in such a
striking way. The readings given to us today look forward to those three
days.
The Prophet Jeremiah reminds us of God's love for us: I will forgive
their evildoing and remember their sin no more. This is a God who always
forgives us, even as He invites us to return to the right path and to do
what is right and just. This God is not an uncaring God, but a God who
reaches out to us over and over. This is not a condemning God, but a God
who invites to live in grace, joy and love.
The Letter to the Hebrews deepens this sense of the Father's love for us
in Christ Jesus: Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he
suffered. This is a God who loves us so much that He gives us His own Son,
who takes on our humanity so that we can share in the divinity of God
Himself.
It is clear from the Scriptures that our Lord Jesus prayed to be freed
from the terrible sufferings that He could see coming to Him. His prayer
was always: not My will but Your will be done.
The Gospel of John which we have heard today has the same theology of
Christ's suffering. Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the
ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the
earth, I will draw everyone to myself.
The only way forward is to go through the suffering. Jesus willingly
takes on the suffering for us--because He loves us. Jesus sees that the
only way forward is through His death, for us. Jesus recognizes that, no
matter how difficult, He came into the world to save us.
I will draw everyone to myself! What wonderful words of strength and
consolation for us who believe in Him. Even as we prepare for Holy Week
and the Sacred Triduum, when we celebrate once more the death of Jesus
Christ and His Resurrection, we can give praise to God. Just as Jesus was
born for us, so also He dies for us - so that we might have life abundantly.
We do not always see everything in the light of this mystery. We are
invited to meditate and pray so that we can come to see all things in the
light of the mystery of Jesus Christ. May these final days of Lent draw us
more deeply into the mystery.
Readings of the day:
First Reading: Jeremiah 31.31-34++
Second Reading: Hebrews 5.7-9
Gospel: John 12.20-33
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Reflections are available for the following Sundays:
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