5th Sunday of Lent, Year B

"If it dies, it produces much fruit."


Lectionary Readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent, Year B

Jesus knew that his "time" was about to come. This "time" that he
was speaking about to his disciples is known only to him, since his
disciples as yet did not understand that he was to suffer and die
on the cross for the salvation of all. This "time" he was referring
to was not easy for him to accept, as it involved his Father's will
and an act of obedience on his part to be like the wheat that falls
on the ground and die. But, if he were to accept this mission that
is entrusted to him, like the wheat he speaks of, his death will
bear much fruit. In fact, it will save humankind from their sins.

In his ministry, Jesus always calls all people to follow him. We
hear him say: "If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me." This call to discipleship will
find its best example in Jesus himself, who, in obedience to the
Father's will, truly denied himself and carried the cross to
Calvary and died so that all who believe in him may be saved. It
was not easy for him as we will learn when we read the passage
of the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemani. His great act of
humility cost him his life; but it produced such a great impact
on others that it led to the foundation of the Christian faith.

During this season of Lent, let us continue to examine ourselves
and see how we have not followed Jesus in denying ourselves and
"taking up our crosses" in life. Especially now, when many of
us are working, and very much into the many comforts that the
professional lifestyle can offer, we can easily forget that others
are not as easily privileged as we are. By following the regimen
of Lent: abstaining, fasting, praying and practicing mercy, we
can be more sensitive to the suffering of others. Christ and
his sacrifice will take a more central part in our lives, and
our responsibility to others will take its rightful priority
in our decisions and work. And more than the requirement of
Lenten spiritual practices, we can also take extra pains to
be of greater service to those whom we are directly responsible
for.

4th Sunday of Lent, Year B

"That the world might be saved through him."


Lectionary Readings for 4th Sunday of Lent, Year B

In today's gospel, we are given a parallel meaning of Jesus' death
on the cross from the Old Testament. The passage that is made
parallel in meaning to Jesus' salvific death on the cross, is the
Old Testament passage, which speaks of Moses lifting up the serpent
in the desert, so that those who were bitten by the serpents, may
be saved from dying. It is this symbolic image which medical
practitioners use in their medical profession.

Many of us forget that Jesus' life and death is meant for us sinners,
so that we may return back to the Father's love. And many of us
fail to see that it is in a life lived with much sacrifice and
pain for the good of others, that will lead us to be like Jesus
more and more, and to follow Him as our Lord and Master.
If we do not sacrifice our lives for others, we will not be able
to see the love of God for us and how much He wishes to save us
from a life of sin, perdition and destruction. God gave His
only Son that we and the whole world might be saved through him.

During this time of Lent, we are given the opportunity to
examine ourselves, and the lives we have been living in the past
months since last Lenten season. We can examine how much we
have returned indeed to the love of the Father and followed the
injunction of the Lord to love others as we love ourselves.
Let us take much time before the Lord to see where we have
also failed in following the great commandment. And if we see all
those times in which we have failed to do so, let us not despair,
but rather continue to have faith in the richness of the goodness
and mercy of God, and approach the sacrament of reconciliation.
Let us remember that the Lord forgave even those who have
killed Him. The Lord knows that His mission is not to kill
but to save those who have sinned and are lost, and that
includes for certain, ourselves, at one point of time
or another.

3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B

"Stop turning my Father's house into a marketplace!"
Lectionary Readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B

In the gospel readings, we see Jesus getting angry with those who
are using the Temple for business activities. His anger is rooted
in the love He has for the Father's temple as the dwelling place
of God's Spirit. As the people questioned His authority, He then
relates it to the coming event of the destruction of His own body,
which the Spirit will raise up in three days. The people misunderstood
what He meant, because they were thinking in terms of the Temple in
the material world, rather than that of the temple of Jesus' body.

This gospel reading is a reminder for all of us to respect the
Temple of the Lord, His Church. Often, especially those of us who
are so familiar with the parish, we are frequently tempted to speak
and socialize with others who are also active in the parish. We
forget that the parish is a place of prayer and that the Spirit
of God leads all those inside the Church to prayer. When we engage
so much in speaking about secular matters in the parish when people
are praying, in a way, we turn the Church into a "marketplace" where
instead of the spirit of prayer consuming us, it is the spirit of
mammon leading us.

Let us then always remember to respect our parish as the house
where the Lord God lives. Probably, the best way to remind ourselves
is to see the Eucharist as one in which we are led to become more
the Temples of God's Spirit. When we realize how we are made the
Temple of God's Spirit through receiving the Eucharist in the Church,
then we shall truly the parish which houses the body and blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we always invoke the Lord God in
His Temple, His Spirit comes to dwell in us and leads us more and
more into a spirit of prayer: one that reminds us that Christ's
body contains the Spirit of Life - a Spirit which calls us to
the service of respect and praise.