March 29, 2009 Fifth Sunday of Lent Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 5:7-9; Jn. 12:20-33 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/032909.shtml              ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________     “I will be their God and they will be my people.” This speaks of loving intimacy. In the face of human infidelity, God establishes a covenant of the heart. Perhaps the failure of so many human commitments between couples, within families, at the workplace and even among nations clouds our eyes to the reality of God’s unbounded love. This is a remarkable covenant. When will it be established? “The days are coming, says the Lord.”   The sentiments of Psalm 51 might well be our response to God’s astounding offer of loving commitment: “Have mercy on me... wipe out my offence... create a clean heart in me.” Today we might say: Help me to accept what I find bothersome in others; heal me of my stubbornness, my selfishness and my pride; cleanse me of hatred for people of cultures that are foreign to me and of nations that might pose a threat.   God announces that the days are coming when all of this will happen. Deep down in our hearts, can we believe this? Are we doing anything to bring it about? But even in the face of doubt, God declares: The days are coming.   God calls these separated people to “be my people.” The Gospel teaches us that this new covenant is not merely meant for the Jewish people. Greeks, representatives of the entire world, came to see Jesus. In other words, all women and men of integrity are to be invited to this covenant. Jesus declares: “I will draw everyone to myself.”   Today we hear of a new covenant, a clean heart, a grain of wheat pregnant with fruitfulness. These are all poetic ways of describing the new way of living into which we can step if we so choose. The disarray of so much of our lives makes us realize that we must choose a different way of living. But radical transformation does not come without a price. For our sake, Jesus suffered dearly, and he insists: “Whoever serves me, must follow me.”     Now that our Lenten journey is almost over, what have we learned from the readings of this season? In what ways are we willing to change? Whom are we willing to help? To forgive? To what extent are we willing to die to our own selfishness so that the fruits of the new covenant can be brought forward? The hour of decision has come.     <<   Previous: Fourth Sunday of Lent  | Next: Palm Sunday >>     Go Back to SERMONS (Year B)