March 18 - 5th Sunday of Lent

5^th Sunday of Lent – March 18, 2018

I –I will make a new covenant and remember their sin no more.

R –Create a clean heart in me, O God.

II – Christ learned obedience and became the source of eternal salvation.

A – Whoever serve me must follow me, says the Lord; and where I am, there also will my servant be.

G –If a grain of what falls to the ground and dies, it produces much fruit.

+ We are now moving into the heart of the Lenten season – the gospel passage shows Jesus focusing in on the seriousness and the gloriously redemptive value of his upcoming suffering and death, and subsequent resurrection from the dead. He beautifully describes the life that comes from death in the analogy of the grain of wheat falling to the earth to die in order to change and grow and become something very useful as a full grown plant. Just as he must take that exact same route, so must we if we want to be counted among his followers: if we want to share in the life of resurrection that comes from the suffering and the dying to self.

It is a very challenging thing for us to hear, but there is something truthful about it - something that seems to have been put there deep inside of us, in our hearts - and it somehow makes us think that we can really do it – die to one kind of life, to be born to a new fullness - and we can because this lesson is written in our hearts by God, and He provides the grace to do what we need to do; all we need do is to choose to cooperate, and to keep choosing this same thing each and every day!

This obedient choosing, over and over again – summarizes the life of Jesus – he always did what his Father wanted – even to the point of death, he obeyed him absolutely – and everything worked out just fine for him – and fine for us because of him! As we enter more deeply these next two weeks into the thoughts and words and deeds of Jesus which demonstrates his incredible love for us – let us respond by believing in him more and more and by proving our belief by simpler and more frequent “random acts of kindness and love, done because we love him and his Father!”

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me!