Gospel: The Glorified Jesus

Today marks the Fifth Sunday of Lent, and the Gospel reading for today will be lifted from the narrative according to St John (12:20-33).

Among those who went 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 would 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 gloried.

In all truth I tell you, unless a wheat falls into the earth 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 eternal life.

Whoever serves me, must follow me, and my servant will be with me wherever I am. If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him.

Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it is 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 again glorify it."

The crowd 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 driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself."

By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.

In today's Gospel, we are now reading much further into St John's Gospel than we have for the past two weeks. Chapter 12 of St John's Gospel is a preparation for the beginning of the passion narrative to follow. Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead--an important sign in St John's Gospel, which inspired many people to believe in Jesus. This event also marks the turning point in Jesus' conflict with the Jewish authorities. St John's Gospel tells us that the Sanhedrin met after this event and made plans to kill Jesus.

In the 12th chapter of St John's Gospel, Jesus is anointed at Bethany and enters Jerusalem in triumph. We again see evidence of the significance of the raising of Lazarus to this event; St John reports that the crowds also gathered to see Lazarus.

Following this triumphant entry to Jerusalem, Jesus predicted his suffering, death, and Resurrection, and prepared his disciples to believe in the salvation that his death will accomplish. Using the metaphor of the grain of wheat, Jesus presented the idea that his dying would be beneficial. He also taught that those who would be his disciples must follow this example of sacrifice. This theme will be repeated in St John's account of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as an example of how they must serve one another.

The final section of today's Gospel might be read as St John's parallel to the agony in the garden. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, St John's narrative does not record Jesus' anguished prayer in the garden of Gethsemane before his arrest. Although comparable words are found in today's reading, Jesus gives a confident response to the question he raises when asking God to save him from his impending death. After announcing his conviction that it is for this purpose that he came, a voice from Heaven speaks, as if an answer to Jesus' prayer. This voice, like the one heard at Jesus' baptism and at Jesus' Transfiguration--events reported in the Synoptic Gospels but not in St John's Gospel--affirms that God welcomes the sacrifice that Jesus will make on behalf of others. In St John's Gospel, Jesus teaches that this voice was sent for the sake of those who would believe in him.

Today's Gospel also allows us to see how Jesus speak about the cosmic framework against which we are to understand his passion, death, and Resurrection. Through his death and Resurrection, Jesus conquered Satan, the ruler of this world. In this way the world is judged, but the judgment is not condemnation. Instead, through Jesus' dying and rising, salvation is brought into the world.

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The Gospel is sponsored by Gardenia Breads.