Dying to self

Today's gospel passage begins with details about people who were coming in search of Jesus.  Saint John tells us that some Greeks ... came to Philip and asked him: ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’ (Jn 12:20-21).  On the surface, this seems to be an innocent question.  Perhaps they had heard about Jesus and wanted to meet him, but I wonder whether they realized how their lives would change once they had come face to face with him.

The same is true for us today.  We hear stories about the miracles that Jesus performed and perhaps there is a part of us that is intrigued.  We wonder whether we too can meet Jesus, whether he will work miracles in our lives too.  In some cases, we know of people who are sick and suffering and we want to pray for them; or perhaps we know of those who are facing financial hardships or other challenges and we want to ask Jesus to be close to them.  Whatever the concern may be, in the depths of our hearts we come to Jesus in hopes that he will answer our prayers ... but every time that we encounter Jesus, our lives are changed.  In some cases, he responds to our prayers, but in most cases, he also asks us to get involved.

When Andrew and Philip told him that the Greeks wanted to meet him, his response was more of a teaching for his disciples than a response to their question: unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (Jn 12:24).  In other words, anyone who wants to meet Jesus must also be willing to follow him, to allow him to teach us every day how to die to ourselves so that he – Jesus – can live within us.

He who learned obedience through what he suffered (Heb 5:8) wants to teach each one of us how to give of ourselves, purely motivated by love, so that others will come to know him and experience his love for them.

The ancient tradition of the Church has always included this attitude of self-giving in the disciplines that are proper to the season of Lent.  Almsgiving is traditionally thought of in terms of sharing monetary gifts with those who are in need, but it also includes the practice of learning how to give of ourselves.  This weekend, in all the Catholic churches across Canada, we receive the collection for Development and Peace (Share Lent).  Our offering of money to assist with the efforts of Development and Peace in areas of need throughout our world is one way that we can give of ourselves so that others may benefit.

The prophet Jeremiah reminds us today that the Lord wants to put his law within us ... to write it on our hearts (Jer 31:33).  Every day, he is at work, seeking out opportunities to show us how much he loves us.  Every day, he finds ways to help us understand that he is always close to us and that he loves us even more deeply than we can imagine.  Having experienced his love for us, Jesus then calls us to give what we ourselves have received so that others who come to us and say: we want to see Jesus, may also have an opportunity to encounter him.