TO DIE IN ORDER TO BEAR MANY FRUITS

Reflection from Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jo 12:20-33

This liturgy prepares us to enter with fervour in the celebration of the mystery of the “Hour” of Jesus, which comprises his passion, death and resurrection, through which he will glorify the Father and will complete his mission. The mission of the San is the New Covenant written in our hearts through our baptism. In the renewal of our commitment with this Covenant, let us welcome the dynamic of the grain of wheat which dies so that others can live.

The first reading speaks about the new covenant, which God will establish with his people. It will be very different in relating to the first one, written in stones and accepted with superficial answer. The main characteristic of this new covenant is the deep relationship between God and the people, who are called to carry out the Word of the Lord written in their hearts. So, God speaks to his people from heart to heart so that they feel themselves touched and transformed by his merciful love. Without forgiveness there is no reconciliation, there is no renewal. The fidelity and the feeling of belonging to God will be the new identity of this people: “I will be their God and they will be my people”, says the Lord. Second the author of the Letter to Hebrews, through his obedience to the will of the Father, Jesus performed this new and definitive covenant, accepting to suffer and to give new meaning to the human suffering. Through this experience he learnt the meaning of his identification with the suffered humanity, indicating the way of surrender of the life for love so that all have new quality of life.

The gospel speaks about an encounter which started with an appeal: “we want to see Jesus”. The context was the celebration of the Passover. The Greeks together with other people came to Jerusalem to participate in the central event of the Jewish identity. They reach Jesus through two of his disciples who had Greek names: Andrew and Philip. The desire of the two Greek people of seeing Jesus goes beyond of a simple curiosity of wanting to see a famous person. Their request is about knowing. They want to know better about the identity of Jesus in order to spend their life with and for him, like it happened with the disciples of John who wanted to see where Jesus lived and he said to them, “come and see”. It is invitation to do the experience. There is no another way to know Jesus. In the gospel today Jesus shows himself speaking about his hour through the parable of the grain of wheat. This hour comprises his passion, death and resurrection. Like this, the true meeting with Jesus is to share the mystery of his surrender for love. In this way, the person can find the true meaning of the life and the true reason of his/her searching for God.    

Seeing Jesus is the strong desire of the human heart, because he reveals the Father, he is the living image of God. He is the way which leads the people to the Father; he is the truth of God about the human being and the truth of the human being to God; he is the life, which is great gift of God, fulfilled by his Son. The whole life of Jesus was a constant emptying of himself (kenosis), taking the form of a servant, because he came to serve and not to be served. In the same way should act everyone who wishes to follow him. The whole teaching of Jesus is an invitation to think and act different in relating to the current mentality, that is, to be the last in order to be first, to lose the life in order to win it, to die in order to live and to make others to live better. If we are servants for such task is because we gain the confidence of the Master who states: “I know those who have chosen”. Jesus knows us deeply and calls us to follow him, giving the life as well as he gave us. Thus, the one who surrenders to the Lord to serve brothers and sisters is involved in the same communion, which the Son establishes with the Father. May this Eucharistic celebration help us in our baptismal commitment, motivating us to serve in the community with joy and generosity.

Fr. Ndega