Homily for the 5^th Sunday of Lent

21^st March 2021

Sir, we should like to see Jesus...This is what some Greeks asked of Philip in today's Gospel. They had come to Jerusalem on the occasion of the Jewish Passover. They wanted to see Jesus, but they might have found it difficult to address Jesus directly. Therefore, they speak with one of the disciples, Philip, who takes them to Andrew, another disciple of Jesus, and together they take the Greeks to Jesus.

This is an important moment for Jesus. These Greeks were not Jews, they were gentiles. While most of his own people did not accept Jesus, these Greeks have come not just to have a word with Jesus, but to see him. To see Jesus, to believe in him. These foreigners have come to believe in Jesus!

This is such an important moment for Jesus that he says: Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. The hour has come. At the beginning of John's Gospel, at the wedding at Cana, Jesus tells his mother: My hour has not come yet. But now, he says: the hour has come.  What is this hour? It is the hour of his suffering and death, which is at the same time the hour of glory and life.

Jesus is aware of the opposition he is facing. He knows that his life is under threat. He is troubled. We hear in the Gospel Jesus saying: my soul is troubled. His suffering and pain are real. But he also knows that these are the way to a rich harvest, to eternal life and glory.

The hour of Jesus is what we are going to remember and celebrate in the coming days, in the two weeks leading to Easter. This unity of suffering, death and life and glory is what we call the Paschal mystery. There is no darkness without light, there is no situation without hope.

Jesus has died for us and was raised for us, so that we, with Him, can live this Paschal mystery, this Easter mystery, as well.

The Greeks wanted to be with Jesus. We too want to be with Jesus, because with Him, even dark days are filled with sparks of light.

This coming Tuesday, it will be one year since the start of the first lockdown. It has been a very painful year; we have lost members of our parish community, friends, and family members. It has been a year of loneliness, of not being able to visit each other.

But it has been a year in which we have lived the mystery of Easter. Beside the deaths and pain, there has also been a tremendous amount of generosity...People have tried to remain in contact with each other and have shared with each other. Scientists and health workers have made great efforts, even sacrifices, to find ways to come out of the pandemic and to care for the sick. These are signs of resurrection, proofs of life despite everything.

We have discovered that by sharing we do not have less, but we have more, because we become more human.

We too, like the Greeks, would like to see Jesus and be with him.

In these coming days, leading up to Easter, we want to be with Jesus and follow Him, so that He may share with us his new life and glory.

Ferdinand Van Campen, M Afr