5th Sunday of Lent 2021

Most Reverend José H. Gomez 
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
March 21, 2021

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

As I was saying, we are in the final days of our Lenten journey and I think the readings of today’s Mass are very helpful to, especially, see what was in the heart of Jesus as he was getting closer to the moment of his Passion and death. 

In the passage of the Gospel, we hear him speak about his Passion and death on the Cross that we commemorate on Holy Week.

So I was thinking that it’s a good reflection for all of us to stop and think of what was in Jesus’ heart before going through his Passion and death. 

We just heard his powerful words: 

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 
Amen, amen, I say to you, 
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, 
it remains just a grain of wheat; 
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Jesus compares his life to a seed that is planted in the ground and later springs up, producing new life. It is a beautiful image to describe his passion, death and resurrection. 

It is also a beautiful image of our relationship with Jesus. And today we really should reflect again on the great gift of our Lord’s love.

Jesus Christ came to be a grain of wheat, a “seed.” And you and I, we are the “fruits” of his love, the fruits of the sacrifice of his life that he made for each one of us. 

As I was saying, in the Gospel today, we get a glimpse of his anguish, this suffering he had to endure. In fact, I think we hear today something of our Lord’s only internal dialogue — kind of his feelings — as he reflects on his Passion. We hear him praying: 

“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”

Beautiful words. And the point is that Jesus would have been saved from death, spared from suffering. But he will not do that.

He refused to save himself from the hour of trial and suffering. Out of love, he was obedient unto death, even death on a Cross. 

Again, my dear brothers and sisters, we need to take God’s love for us more seriously. Jesus laid down his life for us — for each one of us, for you and for me. And he calls now to respond to his love. 

Jesus saves us from sin and death. But then his mission does not end with his death on the cross or even with his rising from the dead. His mission continues in his Church, continues in each one of us who believes in him.

And then, in the same passage of the Gospel, we hear his command today: “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.”

So following Jesus — our Christian vocation — following Jesus means “being where he is.” It means imitating him, kind of “reproducing” what he does in our own daily lives. 

It’s a beautiful image and the words of Jesus that tell us what to do in a very simple way. 

So today, once again, we need to ask for the grace to dedicate ourselves to making Jesus the ideal, the model for our lives. Let him be our teacher, our guide. Open our hearts, our minds to him. 

And then we can say that in a practical way, following Jesus means walking the path of holiness, the path of love — treating people as Jesus would treat them. With understanding and compassion, always being on the lookout to serve those in need. 

And that’s something that’s obviously so needed in our society, in our families, in the current challenging situation that we are living now — being on the lookout to serve those in need. 

And that is, in the end, continuing to serve Jesus’ mission of bringing salvation to everyone. To every man and woman in the world. 

And Jesus says today in the Gospel: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” And my brothers and sisters, he entrusts this task to us. This is our beautiful duty as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

Jesus still wants to draw all people to himself. His cross is still the way of salvation, but he extends his invitation through you and through me. 

He wants to draw all people to himself through the witness of those who believe in him. 

It’s interesting because the passage of the Gospel starts with those people approaching the apostles with this question: “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” 

Isn’t that what people want at this time in our world? The people in our lives, the people in our society are still looking for Jesus. 

And we are the apostles of our time and place. We are the ones who must show them the way. So like the apostles today, we need to bring people to Jesus. 

Let’s reflect on that — how can I do it in my personal life? In this simplicity of my daily life? 

And I’m sure that we can find ways in which people can say that we are helping them to get closer to Jesus. 

So let’s ask for that grace today, so we are able to help people to see Jesus, so that we are able to lift him up and draw others to him. 

So if we live for Christ, we will save our own lives for eternity. Jesus makes us that beautiful promise today in the passage of the Gospel: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.”

My dear brothers and sisters, when we give our life for the love of God, we become that little seed that is planted in the hearts of others and it grows and bears fruit in their lives. In this way, we are imitating our Lord Jesus Christ. 

So let’s ask for that grace today. As we know, next Sunday is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. So let us finish this Lenten season in a strong way. 

Let us continue to reflect on this Passion and death of Lord Jesus Christ and his glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday. And let us go to the intercession of St. Joseph. 

Let us go to our Mother Mary and ask her to help us. May she intercede that we might have the grace to give our lives for others out of love for her Son. That our lives may produce great fruit! 

1. Readings: Jer. 31:31-34; Ps. 51:3-4, 12-15; Heb. 5:7-9; John 12:20-33.