Fifth Sunday of
Lent
Il-5 Ħadd tar-Randan
Messalin B pp 166
The
days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house
of Israel and the house of Judah land of Egypt Israel
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni - Profeta
Ġeremija 31, 31-34
Araw, għad jiġi żmien, oraklu tal-Mulej, meta jien nagħmel
patt ġdid ma' dar Isarel u dar Ġuda; mhux bħall-patt li għamilt ma'
missirjiethom fiż-żmien meta qbadthom minn idejhom biex ħriġthom mill-art ta'
l-Eġittu, il-patt tiegħi li huma kisru, għalkemm jien kont l-għarus tagħhom, oraklu
tal-Mulej. Imma dan ikun il-patt li għad nagħmel ma' dar Iżrael wara dawk il-jiem, oraklu tal-Mulej. Inqiegħed
il-liġi tiegħi fosthom u niktibha f'qalbhom; u jiena nkun Alla tagħhom, u huma
jkunu l-poplu tiegħi. Ma jgħallmux iżjed
lil xulxin, u ħadd ma jgħid lil ħuh: "Agħraf il-Mulej". għaliex ilkoll
kemm huma jkunu jafuni, miż-zgħir sal kbir, oraklu tal-Mulej. Għax jien naħfrilhom
ħżunithom, u ħtijiethom ma niftakarhomx aktar. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial
Psalm Psalm 51: 3-4, 12-13, 14-15.
Have
mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
A
clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Give
me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Salm
Responsorjali (Salm 50 (51)
R/ Oħloq fija qalb safja, o Alla.
Ikollok ħniena minni, o Alla, fi tjubitek;
fil-kobor tal-ħniena tiegħek ħassar ħtijieti.
Aħsilni kollni mill-ħtija tiegħi,
naddafni mid-dnub tiegħi. R/
Oħloq fija qalb safja, O Alla,
u spirtu qawwi ġedded
fija.
La twarrabnix minn quddiemek,
tneħħix minni l-Ispirtu qaddis tiegħek. R/
Roddli l-hena tas-salvazzjoni tiegħek
u bi spirtu qalbieni wettaqni.
Lill-mininbin ngħallem
triqatek,
u l-ħatjin jerġgħu lura lejk. R/
Reading 2 Hebrews 5: 7-9
In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh, he
offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was
able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son
though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made
perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. This is
the Word of The Lord.
It-Tieni
Qari - mill-Ittra lill-Lhud 5, 7-9
Meta kien igħix fuq din
l-art, Kristu offra talb, u
suppliki b'leħen għoli u bid-dmugħ
lil dak li seta' jsalvah mill-mewt.
U kien mismugħ minħabba fil-qima
tiegħu lejn Alla. Għad li kien Iben, tgħallem minn dak li bata
xi tfisser l-ubbidjenza. U, billi laħaq il-perfezzjoni, sar awtur
tas-salvazzjoni ta' dejjem għall kull
min jisma' minnu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel John
12: 20-33
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover
Feast came t Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee , and
asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Philip went and told
Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The
hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless
a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of
wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever
serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The
Father will honor whoever serves me. "I am troubled now. Yet what should I
say? 'Father, save me from this hour?' But it was for this purpose that I came
to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I
have glorified it and will glorify it again." The crowd there heard it and
said it was thunder; but others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus
answered and said, "This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. 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." He said this indicating the kind of death
he would die. This is the Word of
The Lord.
L-Evanġelju - skond San Ġwann 12, 20-33
F'dak iż-żmien, fost dawk li telgħu biex iqimu
lil Alla fil-festa kien hemm xi Griegi.
Dawn marru għand Filippu, li kien minn Betsajda tal-Galilija, u talbuh: "Sinjur, nixtiequ naraw lil Ġesu'." Filippu
mar igħid lil Indri', u mbaghad Indri' u
Filippu marru jgħidu lil Ġesu. U Ġesu' weġibhom: "Waslet is-siegħa
li fiha Bin il-bniedem għandu jkun
igglorifikat. Tassew, tassew ngħidilkom, jekk il-ħabba tal-qamħ ma taqax fl-art u tmut, hi tibqa weħidha; imma
jekk tmut, tagħmel ħafna frott. Min iħobb lil ħajtu jitlifha; imma min jobgħod lil ħajtu f'din id-dinja jħarisha
għall-ħajja ta' dejjem. Jekk xi ħadd irid jaqdini, hu għandu jimxi warajja, u fejn inkun jien, hemm ukoll
ikun il-qaddej tiegħi. Min jaqdi lili, il-Missier jagħtih ġieħ. Issa qiegħed inħoss ruħi
mħawda. U x'naqbad ngħid? Missier, eħlisni minn :
għal din is-siegħa. Missier, agħti glorja lil ismek." Dak il-ħin
instemgħa leħen mis-sema: "Jiena
diġa gglorifikajtu, u nerġa' nigglorifikah." In-nies li kienu hemm semgħuh, u qalu li kien
qiegħed iriegħed. Oħrajn qalu: "Kellmu xi anġlu". Ġesu'
wieġeb: "Dan il-leħen ma ġiex għalija, imma għalikom.
Il-ġudizzju ta' din id-dinja qiegħed isir issa. Issa se jtkeċċa l-Prinċep ta'
din id-dinja. U meta nintrefa' 'l fuq mill-art, jiena niġbed il-bnedmin kollha lejja." Hu
qal dan biex juri b'liema mewt kien
sejjer imut. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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A reflection from LARRY
BRODING’s lectionary resources for Catholics
The Glory of the Cross
Does the cross have any meaning in today's culture?
Does the meaning culture gives the cross have any connection to
Christian faith?
References to "Jesus Christ, my Lord and
Saviour" have become popular among sports figures and music stars. After a
victory or during an award, stars will give "glory" to God for their
accomplishments. As admirable as these testimonials might be, do they really
speak of God's "glory?" Have you ever noticed none of these
testimonials ever mention the cross?
As we come closer to Easter, the cross looms
larger. In this Sunday's gospel, Jesus stated his glory in plain terms. It was
the cross.
This gospel can be divided
into three sections: the request of
the audience, Jesus' comments on self-giving, and the glory/judgment of the
Father. With a Gentile audience, Jesus can reveal the meaning of servanthood
and give glory to God. John opened this section with
"Greeks," Gentiles who spoke the language of commence and adopted the
dominant culture at the time. They came to Philip with one request: to see Jesus. The verb "to see" meant
more than "to behold with the eyes." These foreigners wanted to
investigate the possibility of becoming disciples. They had heard about Jesus
(i.e., his reputation or "glory") and wanted to "see" if
they could follow him.
Like many other times in his gospel, John wove
several themes into the scene. The foreigners were fellow pilgrims, seekers of
the true God. They mingled with the Jews at Passover, a celebration of the
people's freedom by God's hand. (Did a mixture of "Greeks" and Jews
represent John's community?) The stage was set for the universal Messiah to
reveal his true self, his true "glory." The Passover of the people
would become the Passover of the Messiah. In this passage, Jesus'
monologue can be divided into two parts:
1) the self-giving of the Son and his followers and 2) the glory of the Father
and the Son. In first part, Jesus defined the glory of the Son as his death and
resurrection. His followers are assembled, the Jewish old-timers and the
Gentile neophytes. They were gathered by his reputation (i.e., his
'glory"). Now he would reveal what that glory meant:
dying to self.
The analogy of the wheat grain addressed the
priorities of people. Those who selfishly clung to life would remain on the
stalk alone, and would wither away. Those who gave their lives to others would
die, but see others live and would enjoy eternal life. They would bear
"much fruit." Notice those who gave up their lives unselfishly
followed Jesus to his death. Jesus did not follow them.
Through his obedience, Jesus revealed his
glory as God's "Servant." This image was the internal paradox of the
community. To be a servant of the Lord (his follower), one must serve him and
others. The servant served the servants, creating an equality among the
followers of Jesus. So, the "glory" of the Christian community lie in
humility, the quality of giving true deference to others. Leadership was to
exercised in love and humble service, not in power and brutality. The Father
would honor those who truly followed in the footsteps of the Master. For the
Father loved the humble.
As the cross revealed the Father's love, it
also reveals the Father's judgment. The ruler of the world (the Evil One) would
be ejected. And everyone would be lifted up with Jesus, on the cross and in the
resurrection (the image in 12: 32
could refer to either). John, then, affirmed God's love did not save anyone
from suffering on this earth, or even physical death. But, the faithful
Christian would enjoy the presence of God now and in the life to come. All of
this, because of Jesus.
What does the cross mean to you? Have you ever
meditated on a crucifix, seen a Passion Play, or participated in a "Way of
the Cross?" What happened?
For the word of the cross is folly to those
who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
(1 Corinthians 1: 18) RSV
There is a folly to the cross. And that folly
still exists today. The glory of the Christian is the cross, for the cross
points to God's love far better than any other blessing received in life. It is
a universal sign of God's love. And a universal invitation to follow Jesus. Let
us pray we, too, can show others God's love, even though his love leads to the
cross. And to the resurrection.
Consider
your walk with the Lord. How has that walk led to times of discomfort, even
suffering?
How has your "experience
of the cross" helped you to grow spiritually?
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