Glory!

 

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Year B

Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51; Hebrew 5:7-9; John 12:20-33

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
John 12:23

Read that verse again.  This is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified.  What would we expect to come next?  We expect the sounding of trumpets, the angels to sing, and to see a worldwide conversion to Christ.  What do we get?  Talk about the cross.  Jesus’ point of view was that He would be glorified by going to the cross.  I dare say that is definitely not our point of view.

If I offered to anyone the opportunity to be glorified, never would they equate that with a public execution.  Perhaps this is the issue right here.  We don’t have Jesus’ perspective.

I have often remarked that in the kingdom of God everything is topsy-turvy from what it is in the kingdoms of this world.  Here, the last are first, the poor are rich, the foolish are wise, and the one who lays down his life will live forever.  It’s virtually the opposite of how we see everything.  And herein lies the key to discipleship.  Christ calls us to “Repent,” which means that we must completely re-think, and re-learn, everything.

We are approaching the tail end of Lent.  Next week begins Holy Week and then Easter.  We are that close.  But there are still lessons to be learned.  Foremost, is that the message of the cross is not just for Lent.  It’s for a lifetime.  Lent emphasizes it because we need an annual reminder.  But it is something we are to be living every day.

Why so much fuss about the cross?

Sin has marred everything.  When we were created in Paradise we were intended to be the offspring of God who lived holy and communed with Him in unbroken fellowship.  But after sin entered the world nothing was as it was intended.    

Now, if we are to be brought back to God, it must be on the line of the cross.  We must die to our old life of sin if we are to be raised in the new, divine life that God has for us.  This dying must be daily.  In fact, it is moment by moment.  To choose the cross is to deny our sinful passions.  It is to bring them to God for the remedy of His grace, gained through sacrament and prayer.

This is the spiritual combat immortalized by the saints.  Here there is glory.  For as with the combatants of old, the victor attains glory.  And our only path to victory is by way of the cross.  Sin cannot be accommodated, nor controlled.  It must be crucified.

The death of the cross leads to the glory of the resurrection.  We can know both simultaneously.  But our faith only becomes sight after death; indeed after the general judgment when we are reunited, body and soul, and enter into eternal glory.

There are no shortcuts here and there is no opportunity for cheating.  The just Judge of all beholds our every action and knows our every thought.  Only the one who truly lays down his life will recover it again. 

Glory!  Is that how we see this closing season of Lent?  Don’t let these last days escape you.  Redouble your efforts.  If there has been failure, seek forgiveness and mercy.  If there has been victory, beware arrogance and humble yourself so that God’s grace may prevail.

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”  Let us not fear walking with him through this hour.  Our Lord is our pattern, but He is also our defender.  He shows the way and He fights for us as we place our trust in Him.  If we suffer with Him, we will be glorified with Him.  Let your Lent have its perfect work.  Then take your lessons and your victories into Easter!