He Can Change You.
From: Christopher Stefanick
Fifth Sunday of Lent – Step 6
In this Sunday’s Gospel, John 12:20-33 we hear of a chain reaction of events: of prophecy about the cross, God the Father’s voice breaking in from heaven like thunder, and deep emotion in Jesus, as if some news brought him face to face with his death.
At face value, all this seems like an overreaction to a seemingly simple event: Gentiles seeking Jesus. But for thousands of years, salvation was for the Jews. The Kingdom of God was promised to them. Only they were God’s chosen people. Jesus’ was about to change all that on the cross, making us ALL his chosen people.
And Greeks were there, seeking Jesus out…the Holy Spirit was moving their hearts towards him. Jesus seemed to know this was a sign of his imminent death. It’s as if the grace he was about to win on the cross was already brimming over and pouring into hearts.
What Jesus did for us on the cross opens the way for every person who ever existed to find new life. He clearly wasn’t looking forward to it. Knowing his divine mission, he might have had nightmares about it his whole life. John tells us that thinking about it made him “troubled,” and as we’ll see in the Garden of Gethsemane, it caused him true agony.
But he was obedient to the Father, and he thought you were worth it. So he said “Yes.” He wanted to open the way for you and for me to enter the Kingdom. He paved the way with his own blood.
What does that mean for our lives here and now? Jesus doesn’t just want to redeem you from sin for heaven after you die. Eternal life is something that has already begun for those who live in Christ. Jesus wants to redeem everything it means to be you so that you can live as part of his Kingdom NOW. The hope of heaven “gives us even now something of the reality we are waiting for…” The communion of saints includes you!
When you think about your life, do you see a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven? Is something holding you back from the kind of life you dream of? Something that seems impossible to overcome? I don’t just mean with sin, but with work, relationships, finances…you name it…Do you want peace, order, joy, fitness, accomplishment, acceptance, forgiveness, healing in relationships, or interior freedom that you just can’t seem to ever reach?
What is holding you back?
Name the obstacle in your path and ask Jesus to help you overcome it. And while you’re at it, you might ask other people to help you too. Jesus works through the people in your life.