Counting down to Easter

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

The fifth Sunday of Lent is upon us and brings with it several different "moments" in our Lenten journey. For those preparing for Baptism at Easter, this Sunday brings with it the third and last of the scrutinies. Some congregations will be greeted with statues and images draped in violet this morning as the Church nears the commemoration of the Lord's passion. The violet vestments of the priest will give way to the color of the blood shed by Jesus when next we gather for Sunday worship. One ecclesiastical blogger referred to this Sunday as the "two minute" warning in the struggle to the Paschal mystery.

Some Greek men came to see Jesus. St. John tells us that this event was a signal to Jesus that the hour of his passion and death was upon him. While the other three evangelists report that Jesus struggled through this moment with a prayer that this "cup" might pass away, in the fourth Gospel, Jesus sees it rather as the moment of God's glory. He tells us that this death that he is about to suffer is not extinction but transformation. The key to dying well is to have died already, died to the part of self which schemes to be first, which seeks to further one's self and one's desires. Then this seed can produce fruit, this acorn can produce a mighty oak, this cocoon can give birth to a beautiful butterfly.

Some Greek men came to see Jesus. Jesus waxes rhapsodic to tell us that this death will grant access to God for all people. When they come to see Jesus, they have to go through Philip and Andrew because salvation comes through the Jews. However, after Jesus' death, such intermediaries will no longer be necessary. All people will then be gathered into the realm of God, that universal realm of selfless love.