2024-03-16 02:39:10
The time has come.
Dear brothers, peace and good.
We enter the fifth week of Lent. Seven days from Palm Sunday, and fourteen from Easter. Getting closer. The time has not come, but it is coming. We continue on our way, accompanied by the Liturgy.
This week, once more, we can meditate on Israel’s relationship with its God, or better, how God does not abandon his people. On this occasion, Jeremiah version. Like all prophets, he remembers the alliance that existed from ancient times, to which Israel promised to be faithful, but always ended up betraying it. As every time, the consequences were terrible for them. And each time, instead of showing Himself as a resentful or vengeful God, He proceeds to give it another chance, because He does not act like men. He promises a New Covenant, which will not be fragile and temporary, but strong and definitive.
The history of the people of Israel can be our own history. Promising a lot and failing to do anything, confessing the same sins over and over once more, can lead to pessimism. But, despite everything, what God promised has begun to come true. And deep in our hearts the Law of the Lord is written and, from there, it grows slowly, without us knowing very well how. That seed is weak, it needs a lot of care and help, but it can bear a lot of fruit.
Living, for us believers, is not easy. Jesus knows this well, who went through this life as one of them. He didn’t stay up there to contemplate our problems. He does not save us from above, from a distance, but he became incarnate, to walk the path of life with us, his brothers. Despite being a Son, he learned, through suffering, to obey. He shared the bread, he became a “companion” on the journey. That is why He knows what it costs us to be faithful, that is why we can trust Him, because He helps us on that path, His burden is bearable and His yoke is easy (cf. Mt 11, 28-30). He does not ask for impossible things, when he invites you to follow him. He himself was tempted to
The Greeks of whom the Gospel speaks wanted to follow Jesus or at least know him. It was not a “theoretical” curiosity. After having heard much regarding Him, they surely wanted to know how He thought and, perhaps, how they might follow Him. Do we think we already know everything, or are we still interested in Jesus? Are we looking for him, or are we just sitting there?
Those Greeks do not approach Christ directly. They understand that it is not easy to approach the Master, without going through the community. For this reason, they come into contact with the apostles, so that they can lead them to Jesus. The Christian community as a means to reach Him. What is my community like? Open, expansive, missionary? Or closed, without wanting to welcome anyone? Witnesses of the Light or “guardians of the dungeon”?
What did the Greeks discover when they were close to Jesus? They probably saw a man dedicated to a cause, the cause of the Kingdom of God. A cause he was willing to die for. Because by dying he lives fully, according to God’s plans. This is what the seed must do to bear fruit. For this reason, Jesus’ entire life was a process of dying little by little, surrendering himself to the will of the Father, to end up offering his existence on the cross. That was what the Greeks saw and learned, living with Jesus.
Every planting process, every growth involves work, suffering, sweat, pain. Sometimes tears. Our own formation, as people, as professionals, as Christians, even. But always with hope: because we want to be better, because we want to be more and more similar to what we should be. The example of God the Son and his Word are the source of that hope.
The Son of God dies to give life. I don’t know if we can understand it at all. We can only contemplate that mystery and witness, overwhelmed, that sacrifice of love. It is time to ask ourselves if we want to follow and serve Jesus. Respond with love to that love. Be close to Him, like the Greeks, and let your attraction towards Him grow more and more every day. Above all, to know what we must die to. The world we live in does not greatly favor giving to others. It seems that everyone looks out for their own thing. And yet, when there is a catastrophe – tsunamis, earthquakes, fires, accidents… – solidarity soars. Against the “law of the jungle” is the “law of love.” Despite everything, another world is possible.
Truly knowing Jesus means renouncing ourselves, our prejudices, letting God lead the way, according to his will. Ask him often, so that he gives us what we need. After wanting to know him and learning to renounce oneself, continue moving forward, recognizing the great love that the Father has had for us, to make a better society. Dying a little every day.
Your brother in faith, Alejandro, CMF
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#Gospel #Reflection #Homily #Sunday #March
