The Hour of Jesus

The fifth Sunday of Lent gives us a preview of the mysteries to be celebrated during Holy Week. The centerpiece of the Liturgy of the Word is the New Covenant that is forged in the blood of the Lamb poured out for all. This will occur in Jesus’ Hour which arrives at the same time as some Greeks (his other flock) come to see him. The “little while” that Jesus speaks of to the Jews is the time that is left for them to make up their minds about Jesus and His claims. The hour of darkness is at hand — the hour of judgment and the throwing out of the prince of this world. It coincides with the hour of Jesus, that hour which ends at the cross when he says “It is finished.” During that hour, the Father’s name will be glorified.

Relevant Articles

• The Coming of the Hour of Jesus
• Glorify Your Name

Guide for Reading the Text

1. Read the whole of John 12 and make an outline of the chapter. Which ideas are contained in the chapter? Which ideas are echoed here that you already found in John 3 (last week’s reading)?

2. John 12:20-43 have the following key words/ideas:

• the hour
• glorification, glory
• lifting up of the son of man
• loving life and preserving it

Underline these words or ideas wherever they appear in the section. Which of these are found in verses 20-33?

3. Make a sentence flow of verses 20-33 and see how the following ideas are linked together

• the coming of the Greeks, Jesus hour
• Jesus’ glorification, glorification of the Father
• the dying of the grain of wheat and the death of the soul and the lifting up of the Son of Man
• the one who would serve Jesus and Jesus’ glorification

Comparing the Readings

Here is one of the rare instances in the liturgy where the motif is carried by a link between the second reading and the Gospel. The selection from Jeremiah 31:31-34 about the New Covenant and its relationship between the Hour of Jesus is not readily obvious unless one connects the Hour of Jesus with the words of the eucharist, something not textually present in John (John puts the equivalent of the Last Supper in John 6). The selection from Hebrews 5:7-9 talks about the prayer of Jesus “with loud cries and tears” and refers to all the moments that he prayed especially in his “Agony in the Garden”. It is the prayer of one struggling to be obedient to the Father’s will. Jesus’ prayer in John 12:27-28 is the equivalent of the Agony in the Garden in John. The expression “Now, my soul is terrified” can be translated in Filipino as “Ako’y talagang takot na takot.” The word translated as “soul” is the Aramaic npsh which means “self” or “I” among other things; it designates something within the person.

Suggestions for the Lesson

The liturgy of the fifth Sunday of Lent (B) actually points to the nearness of Holy Week. The combination of the readings give us a preview of the events to be re-presented during the days immediately leading to Easter:

• the royal entrance into Jerusalem (context of John 12:20) – Palm Sunday
• the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34) – Maundy Thursday (institution of the Eucharist)
• the hour of Jesus (the Gospel) – Good Friday (the adoration of the Cross)
• the glorification of Jesus – Easter Vigil, Black Saturday

At the same time, the liturgy points to certain things in the baptismal life that should be pointed out:

• The life of the Christian is now under the new covenant forged in the blood of Christ.
• The life of the Christian is always remembered before the Father’s presence because of the prayers of Our High Priest, Christ, who understands us, and “feels” for us.
• The life of the Christian is a participation in Jesus’ Hour and is a journey that passes to the glory of Easter through the Cross.

Each of these elements can be related to the preceding Sundays thus:

• Sunday I, the struggle with Satan, Sunday II, the Transfiguration and Sunday IV, the lifting up of the Son of Man on the one hand and the participation in Jesus’ Hour
• Sunday III, the Temple of the Body of Christ and the prayers of the High Priest

Jeremiah 31:31-34 is quoted by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews and related to the “blood that is more eloquent than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24)¹ and therefore can be related to the lifting up of the son of man in John.

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