Bible Study for 3/21/21 • 5th Sunday of Lent

Bible Study for 3/21/21 • 5th Sunday of Lent

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34

Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15 (12a)

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:7-9

Gospel Acclamation: John 12:26

Gospel: John 12:20-33

Introduction

Our readings during Lent are meant to prepare us or dispose us to receive the

maximum amount of God’s grace as we participate in the events of Holy Week and

relive what Jesus did in His Passion, Death and Resurrection to inaugurate the New

Covenant. Many will be entering the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass and receiving the

Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist for the first time.

The word “disposed” and its related forms is very important in Catholic spirituality and

theology. It is an adjective which means to be willing or inclined towards something. I

searched the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the word disposed with one search

engine and it generated twenty-nine hits for the word in all its related forms such as

disposition. The first one really describes how being disposed works:

1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that

the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive

grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. “For well-disposed members of the

faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every

event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery

of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all

sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper

use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification 

of men and the praise of God.” (Documents of the Second Vatican Council,

Sacrosanctum Concilium, On the Sacred Liturgy 61)

 

This paragraph from the Catechism is a good description of how the New Covenant

works, which the Fifth Sunday of Lent’s readings look forward to.

First Reading

In this reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah, God promises to the houses of

Israel and Judah that He will make a New Covenant with them in the future. Not like

the old covenant He made with their fathers during the exodus from Egypt, which

failed because of the weakness of their flesh and their unbelief, so that God had to

show Himself to them as their master rather than their husband or father.

This New Covenant will be one that God accomplishes in them. He will internalize His

law within in them. He really will become their God and they will really become His

people.

In this New Covenant, His people all shall really know Him. And the word “know” here

means more than intellectual knowledge about God. It includes an experiential

knowledge as well. For example, the word is used in the Old Testament for the

intimate relationship between husband and wife.

Finally, this New Covenant will bring about the forgiveness of their sins. Their slate will

be wiped clean.

Psalm

The responsorial Psalm is of David and was written after David had been confronted

with his double sins of adultery and murder by Nathan the prophet, while he was in

the process of his repentance and confession. If we look at this Psalm carefully, we can

see that David is pleading for New Covenant promised in Jeremiah, but long before

Jeremiah had written his prophecy. He is pleading for forgiveness, cleansing, a new, 

clean heart, and a steadfast, willing spirit. References to the New Covenant are

sprinkled through the Old Testament, and a number of the Old Testament saints, such

as Abraham and David, lived in the promise of it.

Second Reading

The focus of the readings shifts at this point to what Jesus went through to inaugurate

this promised and anticipated New Covenant. In other words, what did the

inauguration cost Him, and what did it accomplish.

This passage from the Epistle to the Hebrews says that Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

the Eternal Word, was made flesh. He really became one of us and He suffered, the

same as we do. I have met Christians who tend to minimize His sufferings. They seem

to think He had an unfair advantage being also God, like somehow He was shielded

from the pain. But He went through fear, exhaustion, anguish, and agony just like us.

He knows what it is to be one of us. Establishing the New Covenant cost Jesus

unimaginable suffering, but He made it through the process by offering up prayers

and supplications with loud cries and tears to His Father, and as a result, he learned

obedience amid the suffering, was made perfect as our high priest (Hebrews 2:10–18)

and became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.

Gospel Acclamation

Whoever serves me must follow me, says the Lord; and where I am, there also will my

servant be (John 12:26).

Gospel

The Gospel reading makes it clear that bringing in the New Covenant will cost Jesus

His life. He came to offer His life as a sacrifice. But through that sacrifice, He would 

draw everyone to Himself and bring about the New Covenant of God. He is really our

God, and we are really His people, and his sacrifice makes it possible for us, with clean

hearts and steadfast, willing spirits, to be forgiven our sins and have a clean slate

going forward. He would also be raised from the dead and made alive forever,

because He was willing to trust His heavenly Father, clearing the way for us, too, to

experience eternal life. As it says in Hebrew 12:2b:

For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its

shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. (NABRE)

We can have all this, but like Jesus, we must lay down our lives in sacrifice for others,

following His example. If we seek to preserve our lives for ourselves, we will end up

losing our lives, with nothing to show for it, no fruit. In this week’s Gospel reading,

Jesus makes these things very clear.

Conclusion

These readings are for us to ponder, pray over and discern where we are in the

thoughts and intentions of our hearts, in our relationships with God and with those

around us. Then we need to make the necessary course corrections, so as to stay on

track with Jesus and experience the New Covenant in increasingly fruitful lives.