My Hour Has Come: The Fifth Sunday of Lent
In our Gospel, some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to worship at Passover asked to see Jesus. When told about this, Jesus announced that His “hour” had come. Why?
Gospel (Read Jn 12:20-33)
St. John tells us that when Jesus was in Jerusalem for His final Passover festival, “some Greeks who had come to worship” desired to see Him. These were non-Jews who were strongly attracted to the God of Israel and so participated in the liturgical feasts at the Temple. They may have been actual converts (meaning they had been circumcised), but, more probably, they were “God-fearers,” Gentiles who tried to keep the Law of Moses and to observe the pious practices of the Jews. We see they approached Philip with their request. He had a Greek name and was from Galilee, so he probably spoke some Greek. These men may have heard stories about Jesus’ miraculous works, especially the raising of Lazarus, recorded in the previous chapter of the Gospel. When Philip and his brother, Andrew, tell Jesus about the Greeks’ request, He begins speaking about His “hour,” His glory, and His death. We might imagine Him to say these things if the Pharisees were looking for Him, because He knew they wanted to be rid of Him. But why did He talk this way when pious Gentiles wanted to see Him?
To understand the importance of this moment, we need to remember that the Jews’ original vocation from God was to be a “nation of priests.” They were “chosen” in order to proclaim, in word and deed, God’s truth to all the nations on earth. In fact, God’s promise to Abraham was for universal blessing through his descendants. When news that non-Jews were seeking Him reached Jesus, He recognized that in order for the Gentiles to know God in the way they desired, a way must be opened up for them. He would need to be “lifted up from the earth” so He could “draw everyone” to Himself. This, of course, meant the Cross.
Notice, however, that before Jesus speaks of His death, He refers to His glorification. Ultimately, it would be His glorification that would enable both Jews and Gentiles to see that He is the Son of God, who humbled Himself out of love to die for all sinners. We usually associate “glory” with power, yet here Jesus helps us see that it can actually begin under a very different guise. The glory of His “hour” would first appear as defeat and humiliation, but upon His Resurrection (“lifted up” out of death) and His Ascension (“lifted up” out of this earthly mode of existence), it would break through as the unbounded, limitless love and power of God on behalf of all sinners, of all times and places.
