Sacred Heart Parish
5TH SUNDAY OF LENT (B)
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In two weeks time – at the great Easter Vigil – the celebrant will trace the Sign of the Cross on our new 2009 Easter candle and will say – “Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, alpha and omega, all time belongs to Him and all ages. To Him be glory and power through every age forever.” Christ Jesus, Son of Mary in human history, Son of God from all eternity, is the very Lord of history. It is Christ the Lord whom the Church recognizes as the key to human history; it is Christ the Lord whom the Church recognizes as the focal point of (all) human history; it is Christ the Lord whom the Church recognizes as the ultimate goal of human history.
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Several important themes run through the course of human history – as God sees human history. One particular theme concerns the fundamental spiritual attitudes of obedience and disobedience. It is the familiar story of the two Adams. In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul speaks of the first Adam’s disobedience which brought condemnation to all; and he speaks of Christ, the second Adam, whose obedience brought us acquittal and redemption. Paul writes: “Just as through the disobedience of one person – Adam – the many were made sinners; so through the obedience of Christ, the many will be made righteous. The Lord Jesus in human history is quintessentially the obedient one – the model of what we now call “the obedience of faith”. We should note here in this regard the words of our second reading – “In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications to his heavenly Father, who alone 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.” The sacrifices of the Old Law were not effective for the salvation of the world. It was Christ’s obedient self-sacrifice which brought forgiveness. This is why the author of the Letter to the Hebrews puts these words on the lips of the infant Christ – “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you prepared for me. Behold, I have come to do your will, O God.” During his hidden life in Nazareth, the Scriptures tell us – “The child Jesus grew in wisdom, age and grace in his obedience to Mary and Joseph.” Constantly in the course of his public life, the Lord Jesus affirmed – “I have come to do the will of him who sent me. My food is to do the will of him who sent me.” This, indeed, is what led him to the cross. During the Holy Week Liturgy, we will often remind ourselves of Christ’s obedience by reading and reflecting on the words St. Paul first addressed to the Church at Philippi – “Though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather – He emptied himself and took on the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. He was known to be of human estate, and it was thus that he humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross.”
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What about ourselves? What sort of obedience of faith is asked of us as we move toward Holy Week and as we listen and freely submit to the word of God? Great spiritual masters have emphasized this theme of obedience. We should note well what St. Benedict, founder of Western monasticism, has to say to us in the opening paragraph of his monastic rule: “Listen carefully to the Master’s instructions” – Benedict writes – “and attend to them with the ear of your heart… The labor of obedience will bring you back to Him from whom you have drifted through your disobedience.” This message of Benedict is directed to anyone willing under grace to surrender one’s own will so that, armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience, one can be faithful to the demands of the Gospel. What sort of demands? In our Gospel today, we have heard these words – “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.” One does not need a degree in agricultural studies to grasp the meaning of this parable of the seed. The grain of wheat cannot remain a grain of wheat if one has hopes for a generous harvest. So we must learn the Easter message from the example of Christ – Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me, the Lord says to us, must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. This is the Easter challenge. As the grain of wheat must die to itself if there is to be a harvest, so we must die to sin and selfishness if the Gospel is to prevail. For example, we are to strive to love even those who do not love us in return. This is the Holy Thursday command from the Lord – You have heard it said that you should love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you – Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Loving God and neighbor means that we are to take up our cross each day. The Lords says to us – “Whoever wishes to follow me, must deny self, take up the cross and follow me.” The Easter question is this – Christ passed from death to life in his Easter mystery; are we going to pass from death to life, and how will we know we have done so? The Easter mystery means charity – love of God and love of neighbor. Thus we can answer – Yes, we have passed from death to life; more realistically, we are striving to pass from death to life if we love our neighbor. Listen to these words from John the Evangelist –
“This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, not like Cain who belonged to the Evil One and slaughtered his brother. Do not be amazed, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know we have passed from death to life if we love one another. Whoever does not so love remains in death. The parable of the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies is the perfect expression of the Easter mystery. Christ the Lord, of course, is the first instance of this parable; Our Lady and the saints are the second instance. You and I can hopefully be numbered among them but we must urgently pray to God our Father as we did at the start of our Liturgy – “Help us to be like Christ your Son who