A reading from the prophet Jeremiah (31:31-34)
‘Look, the days are coming – declares the Lord – when I shall make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, but not like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, even though I was their Master – declares the Lord. For this is the covenant I shall make with the House of Israel when those days have come – declares the Lord. Within them I shall plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I shall be their God and they will be my people. They will no longer teach one another, saying, “Learn to know the Lord!” for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest – declares the Lord – since I shall forgive their guilt and never more call their sin to mind.’
In the ‘book of consolation’ of the prophet Jeremiah (chapters 30-33), after the disaster of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the exile, the prophet looks to the future with hope. For the first time in Scripture we hear the expression ‘new covenant’. It will be made with the whole people of God, even though they broke the covenant made ‘with their Master’ when they left Egypt. Things will change, for this covenant, unlike the former one, will involve the Law being written on the hearts of the people. It will involve truly ‘knowing’ the Lord, showing justice to the poor and the needy as king Josiah did, and avoiding violence and oppression (Jeremiah 22:16-17). In the new covenant all people young and old will experience God’s forgiveness.
Psalm 51 (50) This penitential psalm, used so frequently throughout Lent, anticipates the washing away of guilt and the gift of a new heart and a new spirit.
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews (5:7-9)
During the days of his flesh, he offered up prayer and entreaty, with loud cries and with tears, to the one who had the power to save him from death, and, winning a hearing by his reverence, he learnt obedience, Son though he was, through his sufferings; when he had been perfected, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.
This reading will be heard again on Good Friday. Jesus, the Son of God, the trustworthy and merciful high priest of the new covenant, by obedience gives his life to bring the human race salvation. Jesus is described, as in Gethsemani, as offering ‘prayer and entreaty’, remaining in contact with his God despite his dread of what lies ahead. He is the new priest of the ‘order of Melchizedek’, who offers his life ‘once and for all’ for all people. His perfect sacrifice is never to be repeated and valid for all times.
A reading from the holy gospel according to John (12:20-33)
Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. These approached Philip, who was 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 glorified.
Amen, Amen I say to you,
unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies it bears much fruit
Anyone who loves life loses it;
anyone who hates 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.
Whoever serves me, my Father will honour.
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 thunder; others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice came not for my sake, but for yours.
‘Now is the judgement of this world,
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I shall draw all people to myself.’
Saying this he indicated the kind of death he would die.
Some Greeks, non-Jewish pagans, wish to ‘see’ Jesus. The disciples facilitate their meeting and Jesus, as happens so often in this gospel, gives a reply which goes well beyond their request. At Cana he had declined to anticipate the ‘hour’ (John 2). Now he declares that his ‘hour’ has indeed come, the time for him to be ‘glorified’. The glory is the demonstration that the Father is with him. He speaks of the seed that must die to produce fruit, a way marked out for him and for his ‘servants’. His anxiety whether he should ask to be delivered from this ‘hour’ recalls the anguish of the garden of Gethsemane in the other gospels. The hesitation is quickly transcended with the statement that he is ready for the ‘hour’. The mysterious ‘voice’ from heaven may be compared to the voice heard at the Transfiguration, which commends his commitment to the cross. It is by the cross that Jesus will ‘draw all people to himself’.
Do I really want to see Jesus?
Pray for those who are searching for the truth.