| Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Hebrews 5:7-9 | John 12:20-33 |
-- Fr. Timothy W. Castor
In years past, this fifth Sunday of Lent was known as Passion Sunday, because during the last two weeks of Lent the Church, in her sacred liturgy, focused upon the passion and death of Jesus Christ. These two weeks, beginning today, were called Passiontide. Nowadays, Palm Sunday is called Passion Sunday because the story of Christ’s crucifixion is read on that day. But still, our liturgical focus does begin to shift today toward the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus makes explicit reference to his passion in today’s Gospel: "unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit... it was for this purpose that I came to this hour... and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." St. John immediately adds, "he said this indicating the kind of death he would die."
This gospel, however, begins in an interesting way. Some Greeks—that is to say, individuals outside the covenant God made with his people, Israel—approach Philip and Andrew with a request: "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." These simple words expressing a heartfelt desire will ring through the centuries. It is the desire of every sinful soul that seeks to turn back to God; it is the desire of every righteous soul that seeks a deeper relationship with God. It is the desire of every person of every nation longing to be reconciled with God the Father through his only Son, Jesus Christ. Just days before this encounter, Jesus had cleansed the temple of its buyers and sellers and had proclaimed that the temple was to be a house of prayer for all nations. He had clearly revealed to the Jews that he had come to bring salvation to all peoples. And so, perhaps these Greeks sought to embrace this salvation and to find peace with God. Or, maybe they just wanted to see the famous miracle-worker.
In any case, the response which our Lord gives does not seem to be addressed to the Greeks at all. But if we picture these Gentiles standing a few paces behind the disciples, Philip and Andrew, our Lord’s words certainly can be seen as a moment of teaching both for the disciples and for the Greeks who wish to see him. In this teaching—which we have already touched upon—Jesus reveals the means by which he will bring salvation to both Jew and Greek: his sacrificial death on the Cross.
Through his death and resurrection, Jesus will establish the new covenant of which Jeremiah speaks in today’s first reading: "this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God and they shall be my people.... All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the Lord, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more." The "law written upon the heart" is a reference to the Holy Spirit which will be given to those baptized into Christ, and which will enlighten their consciences to know right from wrong and to live according to God’s will.
We are faithful to the new covenant when we strive to follow the dictates of an informed conscience and when we seek to obey the will of God. This plays out in every area of life, especially in our duty of love toward our neighbor. It is of vital importance when we fulfill our civic duties, not least of which is the duty we have in a democratic society of voting in local and national elections.
We have an important local election this Tuesday. And, while I would not presume to tell you who to vote for, I would like to draw your attention to one of the resolutions we are being asked to decide. I am speaking, of course, of the ordinance for regulating adult oriented businesses: resolution 3856. In today’s bulletin, you’ll find a statement from our Bishop concerning this resolution, and I ask you to read it carefully. I only wish to add that enemies of this regulation have pretended that it is about censorship and that it somehow violates First Amendment rights. Nothing could be further from the truth. These are very minimal and reasonable regulations aimed at protecting our community, and especially our children, from the harmful effects of pornography and lewd behavior. Much more stringent regulations than these have been enacted in many other communities across our nation and have been upheld by the Supreme Court. Any person of goodwill—anyone acting on an informed conscience—will see the need for these regulations, just as our city council did and voted for them unanimously. There’s absolutely no reason why this ordinance should not be passed overwhelmingly by our citizenry. In fact, there’s only one reason why this might not happen, and that is if good people like yourselves take no action and do not go to the polls on Tuesday. It’s often been said that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for the good to remain silent. Do not be complacent about this important issue, but make your voice be heard. An excellent editorial appeared in Saturday’s Rapid City Journal written by a teacher at Stevens High School, Mr. Ken Steinken. I urge you to read this editorial if you haven’t already. In it, he says that the enemies of this ordinance "don’t want freedom of expression. They want unbridled freedom. They are asking us to let them do whatever they want to do, without any input from the community that they are a part of." Well, now you have a chance to give your input. Let our lawmakers know that you want to protect your community, your family, your children from unregulated adult bookstores and strip joints. Please go to the polls this Tuesday and vote. It is an exercise of civic responsibility, and more important, it is an exercise of our Christian duty.
The voters of Rapid City have an important local election this Tuesday. And, while I while I know this doesn’t affect most of you directly, I would like to draw your attention to one of the resolutions on the ballot so that you can be informed and so that you can pray about this. I am speaking, of course, of the ordinance for regulating adult oriented businesses: resolution 3856. In today’s bulletin, you’ll find a statement from our Bishop concerning this resolution. I only wish to add that enemies of regulation have pretended that it is about censorship and that it somehow violates First Amendment rights. Nothing could be further from the truth. These are very minimal and reasonable regulations aimed at protecting our community, and especially our children, from the harmful effects of pornography and lewd behavior. Much more stringent regulations than these have been enacted in many other communities across our nation and have been upheld by the Supreme Court. If Rapid City is successful in enacting these regulations, smaller surrounding communities will be able to enact them as well. There’s only one reason why this resolution might not pass, and that is if good people take no action and do not go to the polls on Tuesday. It’s often been said that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for the good to remain silent. If you are able to vote in the Rapid City election, please do so. If you know people who live in Rapid, encourage them to vote. In any case, please pray for this election, that the proposed ordinance will become law. This is an exercise of civic responsibility, and more important, it is an exercise of our Christian duty.
© 2003, Rev. Timothy W. Castor