“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). These words from this Sunday’s gospel give us a lens with which we can interpret and understand the other readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent. Each of them describes one of the fruits of Jesus’ death. Jeremiah looks forward to a new covenant, the psalm expresses hope in the forgiveness of sins, and Hebrews speaks of our eternal salvation.
In the Old Testament, God established covenants with Abraham and Moses, both of which involved the shedding of blood, in the rites of circumcision and animal sacrifice. Jesus’ death was a shedding of blood that infinitely exceeded these former rituals, ushering in a new covenant that is unimaginably greater than the ones that preceded it. It is a covenant “not like the covenant which I made with their fathers,” God tells us through Jeremiah (Jer. 31:32). No, this covenant is far greater. We are free of the written prescriptions of the Law, and instead have God’s law written on our hearts (v. 33); we are each able to know God (v. 34); and we are promised forgiveness of sins (v. 34).
The psalm too speaks of the forgiveness of sins, and though it was written long before Jesus died for the sake of removing our sin, its full meaning can only be understood in light of Jesus’ death. “According to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions,” the psalmist implores (Ps. 51:1). It is through Jesus’ death that we are truly freed from our sins—something the old Law did not have the power to do. The psalmist also begs, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (v. 12). The salvation won for us by the Cross is far greater than the human author of the psalm could ever have dreamed.
The Letter to the Hebrews tells us that through the Cross, Christ became “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Heb. 5:9). It would have been enough for Jesus to destroy sin and offer us forgiveness, that our relationship with God might be made whole. But He went immeasurably further and offered us not merely a healed relationship, but an eternal relationship with God!
We can never fully fathom the reward of the Cross. How can something as painful and apparently futile as death offer such great rewards? But through the Cross, Christ has established a new covenant with us; one promising the forgiveness of sin and an eternity with our heavenly Father. Even in the midst of a pandemic, where death is such an unforgettable reality, let us remember that Christ has conquered death. Death is no longer an end, a finality. It is a gateway. Looking forward joyfully to the celebration of the Paschal mystery, let us renew our resolve to die to ourselves this Lent, that we may one day enter through that gateway into eternal life.
Andrew Sheedy – St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta
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