SATURDAY IN THE 5TH WEEK OF LENT READINGS AND REFLECTION:
“IT IS BETTER FOR YOU THAT ONE MAN SHOULD DIE.”
(Jn 11:45–56).
SATURDAY IN THE 5TH WEEK OF LENT
MASS READINGS
READING I
Ez 37:21–28
Thus says the Lord God: I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land. I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.
No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people and I may be their God. My servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one shepherd for them all; they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees. They shall live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their fathers lived; they shall live on it forever, they, and their children, and their children’s children, with my servant David their prince forever. I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the Lord, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock. I
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
The Lord shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the Lord’s blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen.
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
Rid yourselves of all your sins; and make a new heart and a new spirit.
GOSPEL
Jn 11:45–56
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him.
So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”
GOSPEL REFLECTION
GOSPEL REFLECTION
The Jews decided to kill Jesus. What was Jesus’ reaction? Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples. “In his reaction, we can see a measure of prudence, since the hour of his sacrifice, fixed by the Father and not by men, had not yet arrived. Such an interpretation is legitimate, without a doubt.
However, we can also think of something deeper and more spiritual, something that can help us in our preparation for Holy Week to fully participate in the ceremonies of the Holy Triduum. As on so many other occasions, our Lord feels the need to recollect himself, to go deeply into his soul to face the terrible test of the Passion. The Fathers of the Church and the authors of books on spirituality have often highlighted the intensity of his prayer life. Here we have a new proof.
As a specific purpose of our prayer, we could think of a point from the book “The Way” by Saint Josemaría: “Recollect yourself. —Seek God within yourself and listen to him” (n. 319). Try to pick us up on the eve of Holy Week and throughout it, perhaps following the advice of Pope Saint John Paul II. In fact, those of us who are older remember that he proposed a “television fast” to Christians. It is clear that your suggestion can also be applied to the new means of communication: smartphones, computers, etc., and, above all, to Internet connections. Let us therefore ask the Virgin Mary to help us keep all these things, pondering them in our hearts (cf. Lk 1, 19).” (Alphonse Vidal, Gospel commentary for Saturday, 5th week of Lent, opusdei.org).
The Sanhedrin decides on the death of Jesus
- 45-48 Once again, as Simeon had predicted, Jesus is a sign of contradiction (cf. Lk 2:34; Jn 7:12, 31, 40; 9:16; etc.): presented with the miracle of the raising of Lazarus some people believe in Jesus (v. 45), and some denounce him to his enemies (cf. vv. 46-47) — confirming what is said in the parable of the rich man: “neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Lk 16:31).
- “Our (holy) place”: this expression or similar expressions such as “the place”, “this place”, was used to designate the Temple, the holy place par excellence and, by extension, all the Holy City of Jerusalem (cf. 2 Mac 5:19; Acts 6:14).
- 49-53 Caiaphas held the high priesthood from the year 18 to the year 36 A.D. (cf. “The Dates of the Life of our Lord Jesus Christ” in The Navarre Bible: St Mark, p. 49). Caiaphas was the instrument God used to prophesy the redemptive Death of the Saviour, for it was one of the functions of the high priest to consult God on how to lead the people (cf. Ex 28:30; Num 27:21; 1 Sam 23:9; 30:7-8).
- Here Caiaphas’ words have a dual meaning:
- one, Caiaphas’ meaning, is that he wants to put Christ to death, on the pretext that that will ensure the political peace and survival of Israel;
- the other, the meaning intended by the Holy Spirit, is the announcement of the foundation of the new Israel, the Church, through the Death of Christ on the Cross (Caiaphas is unaware of this meaning). And so it happens that the last high priest of the Old Alliance prophesies the investiture of the High Priest of the New Alliance, which will be sealed in his own Blood.
- When the evangelist states that Christ was going to die “to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad” (v. 52), he is referring to what our Lord had said regarding the salvific effects of his Death (cf. Jn 10:14-15).
- The prophets had already announced the future assembly of Israelites faithful to God to form the new people of Israel (cf. Is 43:5; Jer 23:3-5; Ezek 34:23; 37:21-24). These prophecies are fulfilled by the Death of Christ, who, on being raised up on the Cross, draws and gathers together the true People of God, composed of all believers, whether Israelites or not.
- The Second Vatican Council uses this passage as a source when speaking of the universality of the Church: “All men are called to belong to the new People of God. This people therefore, whilst remaining one and only one, is to be spread throughout the whole world and to all ages in order that the design of God’s will may be fulfilled: he made human nature one in the beginning and has decreed that all his children who were scattered should he finally gathered together as one (cf. Jn 11:52). It was for this purpose that God sent his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things (cf. Heb 1:2), that he might he teacher, king and priest of all, the head of the new and universal People of God’s sons (Lumen gentium, 13).
- In the fourth century, St John Chrysostom explained the catholicity of the Church using these words: “What is the meaning of ‘to gather into one those who are scattered abroad’? He made them one body. He who dwells in Rome knows that the Christians of India are his members’’ (Hom. on St John65, 1).
- Here Caiaphas’ words have a dual meaning:
- 54 The time for him to die has not yet arrived; therefore Jesus acts prudently, taking the steps anyone would take not to precipitate events.
- 55 Since the Passover was the most solemn Jewish feast, the people used to arrive in Jerusalem some days in advance to prepare for it by washings, fasts and offerings — practices established not by the Mosaic law but by popular piety; the rites of the Passover itself, with the sacrificing of the lamb, were a rite of purification and expiation for sins.
- The Passover of the Jews was a figure of the Christian Pasch or Easter, for, as St Paul the Apostle teaches us, our paschal lamb is Christ (cf. 1 Cor 5:7), who offered himself once and for all to the eternal Father on the Cross to atone for our sins.
- Paul VI recalled this happy truth of faith:
- “Gave himself for me? But does there still exist a religion which is expressed in sacrifices? No, the sacrifices of the ancient law and pagan religions have no longer any reason to exist; hut the world always needs a sacrifice, a valid, unique and perennial one, for the redemption of human sin…; it is the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, which wipes out sin from the world; a sacrifice which the Eucharist actualizes in time and makes it possible for the men of this earth to take part in it” (Paul VI, Homily on Corpus Christi, 17 June 1976).
- If the Jews prepared to celebrate the Passover with all these rites and absolutions, it is obvious what steps we should take to celebrate or participate in the Holy Mass and to receive Christ — our Pasch — in the Eucharist.
- “On this earth, when we receive an important person, we bring out the best — lights, music, formal dress. How should we prepare to receive Christ into our soul? Have we ever thought about how we would behave if we could only receive him once in a lifetime?” (J. Escrivá, Christ is passing by, 91).
VIDEO REFLECTION
TOPIC: DO YOU FEEL ENVIOUS OF THE SUCCESS OF OTHERS?
In today’s gospel reading, the chief priests and Pharisees were now plotting to kill Jesus. Jesus just came to raise Lazarus from the dead and the report to the chief priests and Pharisees stirred alarm bells. Jesus was becoming so popular and had attracted many people to His teachings with the many miracles and healings He had been doing. People have been led to believe Him more than the religious authorities who were constantly embarrassed as He defied, to their minds, the Mosaic Law by healing on a Sabbath day.
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