March 25, 2012
5th Sunday of Lent
Nik Wallenda has been given permission to walk over the water, above Niagara Falls. It will be billed as death defying. He will draw a crowd. In the Gospel according to John, Greeks come to Jerusalem wanting to see Jesus. Are they looking for a spectacle or for Jesus to perform a miracle? Jesus says he will draw Jews and Gentiles to himself when he is lifted up on the cross. Jesus is not defying death. Jesus is accepting death in fidelity to his Father and out of love for us. March 25 is the Feast of the Annunciation; this year, celebrated on Monday. The angel Gabriel asks Mary to be the Mother of God's son -- Jesus. She is afraid. She is deeply troubled. She is perplexed and asks how can this be? After pondering the request of God's messenger, Mary says: "Let it be according to your Word!" In faith she is willing to become part of God's plan without fully understanding how God's plan will unfold. Jesus before the cross, although troubled, knows that the path of suffering and death is the very reason he came into the world. Jesus is not cheating death but embracing it. Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it will not bear a rich harvest. We gather at Mass to see Jesus lifted up on the cross knowing he died for us -- to be with us in suffering, to heal our sickness, and to forgive our sins.
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4th Sunday of Lent
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Palm Sunday
