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Ignatius Catholic Study Bible–5th Sunday of Lent

Gospel Reading
**From: John 12:20-33

Some Greeks Wish to See Jesus
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[20] Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. [21] So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” [22] Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus. [23] And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. [24] “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. [25] He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26] If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him. [27] Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. [28] Father, glorify thy name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” [29] The crowd standing by heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” [30] Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. [31] Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; [32] and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” [33] He said this to show by what death he was to die.

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Commentary:*

**12:20 some Greeks:** Either Gentile converts to Judaism or “God fearers” who were attracted to Judaism but were not circumcised (Acts 13:26; 17:4). Their request for an audience with Jesus anticipates his prophecy that “all men” will be drawn to him (12:32).

**12:33 The hour has come:** A decisive turning point in the Gospel narrative, when the awaited “hour” of Jesus has finally arrived (2:4; 5:25; 7:30; etc.). The inquiry of the Greeks sets this in motion, indicating that the forthcoming suffering of Jesus will secure blessings not only for Israel but for the whole world (1:29; 4:42; 1 Jn 2:2).

**12:24 unless a grain of wheat:** As a planted seed must decay before it sprouts new life, so Jesus must endure death to bring us to eternal life. This principle also holds true for disciples, who must die to themselves to receive the fullness of life from God and be channels of life to others (12:25; 2 Cor 4:11-12).

**12:28 a voice:** Three times the Father speaks to Jesus from heaven; here, at his Baptism (Mt 3:17), and at his Transfiguration (Mt 17:5). These announcements are made audible for the sake of his followers (12:30).

**12:31 ruler of this world:** Satan, whose dominion over the world began with Adam’s rebellion in the garden (Gen 3:1-19). **cast out:** Christ will defeat the devil when he mounts the Cross (Heb 2:14-15) and will destroy him when he comes again in glory (Rev 20:10) (CCC 550, 2853)

**12:32 when I am lifted up:** Refers primarily to the Crucifixion of Christ, as indicated in the next verse, but also hints at his Resurrection and Ascension (CCC 662). See note on 3:14.

• 3:14 be lifted up: A shorthand reference to the Paschal Mystery, when Jesus is lifted up on the Cross, from the grave, and into heaven (8:28; 12:32).
The expression recalls the opening line of Isaiah’s 4th Servant Song, which runs from Is 52:13 to 53:12. The whole song is a prophetic meditation on the suffering of the Messiah, who will be exalted and lifted up in the sight of the nations, but only after he is cast down by his own people. Isaiah interprets the humiliation and death of this Servant as a redemptive sacrifice for sin. **draw all men to myself: **Points to the worldwide acceptance of the gospel (Mt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8) * As Isaiah envisioned the Davidic Messiah as an “ensign” posted for the ingathering of the “nations” and the “outcasts of Israel” (Is 11:10-12), so Jesus sees the world gathering around him as he is enthroned on the “sign” of the Cross (CCC 542).

 

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That’s it for this week. If anyone has any questions about last week’s readings or the upcoming readings, post them here and we can discuss. God bless.

 

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Time to start preparing for next week, Palm Sunday. Due to the length of the Passion narrative, the study notes for the Gospel Reading will revolve around the Processional Gospel (Matthew 21:1-11). Here are the links to the first group of study aides:

St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study

Catholic Matters

Sunday Preachers Resource

Haydock Commentary, 1st Reading
Haydock Commentary, 2nd Reading
Haydock Commentary, Gospel [Processional Gospel]

Catena Aurea

Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics

 

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Navarre Bible commentary–Palm Sunday

First Reading
**From: Isaiah 50:4-7

Third Song of the Servant of the Lord
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[4] The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught; that I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. Morning by morning he wakens, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. [5] The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward. [6]I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

[7] For the LORD GOD helps me; therefore I have not been confounded; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

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Commentary:*
**
50:4-9.** The second song dealt with the servant’s mission (cf. 49:6); the third song focuses on the servant himself. The term “servant” as such does not appear here, and therefore some commentators read the passage as being a description of a prophet and not part of the songs. Still, the context (cf. 50:10) does suggest that the protagonist is the servant. The poem is neatly constructed in three stanzas, each beginning with the words, “The Lord God” (vv. 4, 5, 7), and it has a conclusion containing that same wording (v. 9). The first stanza emphasizes the servant’s docility to the word of God; that is, he is not depicted as a self-taught teacher with original ideas, but as an obedient disciple. The second (vv. 5-6) speaks of the suffering that that docility has brought him, without his uttering a word of complaint. The third (vv. 7-8) shows how determined the servant is: if he suffers in silence, it is not out of cowardice but because God helps him and makes him stronger than his persecutors. The conclusion (v. 9) is like the verdict of a trial: when all is said and done, the servant will stand tall, and all his enemies will be struck down.

The evangelists saw the words of this song as finding fulfillment in Jesus–especially what the song has to say about the suffering and silent fortitude of the servant. The Gospel of John, for example, quotes Nicodemus’ acknowledgment of Christ’s wisdom: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him” (Jn 3:21). But the description of the servant’s sufferings was the part that most impressed the early Christians; that part of the song was recalled when they meditated on the passion of Jesus and how “they spat in his face; and struck him; and some slapped him” (Mt 26:67) and later how the Roman soldiers “spat upon him, and took the reed and struck him on the head” (Mt 27:30; cf. also Mk 15:19; Jn 19:3). St Paul refers to v. 9 when applying to Christ Jesus the role of intercessor on behalf of the elect in the suit pressed constantly against them by the enemies of the soul: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” (Rom 8:33).

St Jerome sees the servant’s docility as a reference to Christ: “His self-discipline and wisdom enabled him to communicate to us the knowledge of the Father. And he was obedient onto death, death on the cross; he offered his body to the blows they struck, his shoulders to the lash; and though he was wounded on the chest and on his face, he did not try to turn away and escape their violence” (“Commentarii In Isaiam”, 50, 4). This passage is used in the liturgy of Palm Sunday (along with Psalm 22 and St Paul’s hymn in the Letter to the Philippians 2:6-11), before the reading of our Lord’s passion.

 

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Navarre Bible commentary–Palm Sunday

Second Reading
**From: Philippians 2:6-11

Hymn in Praise of Christ’s Self-Emptying
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[6] Though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. [9] Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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Commentary:*

3-11. Verse 3 exhorts us to see others as better than ourselves. Our Lord, although he was our superior in all respects, did not see his divinity as something to boast about before men (v. 6). In fact, he humbled himself and emptied himself (vv. 7-8), was not motivated by conceit or selfishness (cf. v. 3), did not look to his own interests (cf. v. 4), and “became obedient unto death” (v. 8), thereby carrying out the Father’s plan for man’s salvation. By reflecting on his example we shall come to see that suffering for Christ is a sign of salvation (cf. 1:28-29): after undergoing the sufferings of his passion and death, Christ was publicly exalted above all creation (cf. vv. 9-11).

Our Lord offers us a perfect example of humility. “The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Scepter of God’s Majesty, was in no pomp of pride and haughtiness–as it could so well have been–but in self-abasement …]. You see, dear friends, what an example we have been given. If the Lord humbled himself in this way, what ought we to do, who through him have come under the yoke of his guidance?” (St Clement of Rome, “Letter to the Corinthians”, 13).

**6-11. **In what he says about Jesus Christ, the Apostle is not simply proposing Him as a model for us to follow. Possibly transcribing an early liturgical hymn (and) adding some touches of his own, he is–under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit–giving a very profound exposition of the nature of Christ and using the most sublime truths of faith to show the way Christian virtues should be practiced.

This is one of the earliest New Testament texts to reveal the divinity of Christ. The epistle was written around the year 62 (or perhaps before that, around 55) and if we remember that the hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 may well have been in use prior to that date, the passage clearly bears witness to the fact that Christians were proclaiming, even in those very early years, that Jesus, born in Bethlehem, crucified, died and buried, and risen from the dead, was truly both God and man.

The hymn can be divided into three parts. The first (verses 6 and the beginning of 7) refers to Christ’s humbling Himself by becoming man. The second (the end of verse 7 and verse 8) is the center of the whole passage and proclaims the extreme to which His humility brought Him: as man He obediently accepted death on the cross. The third part (verses 9-11) describes His exaltation in glory. Throughout St. Paul is conscious of Jesus’ divinity: He exists from all eternity. But he centers his attention on His death on the cross as the supreme example of humility. Christ’s humiliation lay not in His becoming a man like us and cloaking the glory of His divinity in His sacred humanity: it also brought Him to lead a life of sacrifice and suffering which reached its climax on the cross, where He was stripped of everything He had, like a slave. However, now that He has fulfilled His mission, He is made manifest again, clothed in all the glory that befits His divine nature and which His human nature has merited.

The man-God, Jesus Christ, makes the cross the climax of His earthly life; through it He enters into His glory as Lord and Messiah. The Crucifixion puts the whole universe on the way to salvation.

Continued on the next post…

 

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Jesus Christ gives us a wonderful example of humility and obedience. “We should learn from Jesus’ attitude in these trials,” [St.] Monsignor Escriva reminds us. "During His life on earth He did not even want the glory that belonged to Him. Though He had the right to be treated as God, He took the form of a servant, a slave (cf. Philippians 2:6-7). And so the Christian knows that all glory is due God and that he must not use the sublimity and greatness of the Gospel to further his own interests or human ambitions.

“We should learn from Jesus. His attitude in rejecting all human glory is in perfect balance with the greatness of His unique mission as the beloved Son of God who becomes incarnate to save men” (“Christ Is Passing By”, 62).

6-7. “Though He was in the form of God” or “subsisting in the form of God”: “form” is the external aspect of something and manifests what it is. When referring to God, who is invisible, His “form” cannot refer to things visible to the senses; the “form of God” is a way of referring to Godhead. The first thing that St. Paul makes clear is that Jesus Christ is God, and was God before the Incarnation. As the “Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed” professes it, “the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before time began, light from light, true God from true God.”

“He did not count equality with God as something to be grasped”: the Greek word translated as “equality” does not directly refer to equality of nature but rather the equality of rights and status. Christ was God and He could not stop being God; therefore, He had a right to be treated as God and to appear in all His glory. However, He did not insist on this dignity of His as if it were a treasure which He possessed and which was legally His: it was not something He clung to and boasted about. And so He took “the form of a servant”. He could have become man without setting His glory aside–He could have appeared as He did, momentarily, as the Transfiguration (cf. Matthew 17:1ff); instead He chose to be like men, in all things but sin (cf. verse 7). By becoming man in the way He did, He was able, as Isaiah prophesied in the Song of the Servant of Yahweh, to bear our sorrows and to be stricken (cf. Isaiah 53:4).

“He emptied Himself”, He despoiled Himself: this is literally what the Greek verb means. But Christ did not shed His divine nature; He simply shed its glory, its aura; if He had not done so it would have shone out through His human nature. From all eternity He exists as God and from the moment of the Incarnation He began to be man. His self-emptying lay not only in the fact that the Godhead united to Himself (that is, to the person of the Son) something which was corporeal and finite (a human nature), but also in the fact that this nature did not itself manifest the divine glory, as it “ought” to have done. Christ could not cease to be God, but He could temporarily renounce the exercise of rights that belonged to Him as God–which was what He did.

Verses 6-8 bring the Christian’s mind the contrast between Jesus and Adam. The devil tempted Adam, a mere man, to “be like God” (Genesis 3:5). By trying to indulge this evil desire (pride is a disordered desire for self-advancement) and by committing the sin of disobeying God (cf. Genesis 3:6), Adam drew down the gravest misfortunes upon himself and on his whole line (present potentially in him): this is symbolized in the Genesis passage by his expulsion from Paradise and by the physical world’s rebellion against his lordship (cf. Genesis 3:16-24). Jesus Christ, on the contrary, who enjoyed divine glory from all eternity, “emptied Himself”: He chooses the way of humility, the opposite way to Adam’s (opposite, too, to the way previously taken by the devil). Christ’s obedience thereby makes up for the disobedience of the first man; it puts mankind in a position to more than recover the natural and supernatural gifts with which God endowed human nature at the Creation. And so, after focusing on the amazing mystery of Christ’s humiliation or self-emptying (“kenosis” in Greek), this hymn goes on joyously to celebrate Christ’s exaltation after death.

Christ’s attitude in becoming man is, then, a wonderful example of humility. “What is more humble”, St. Gregory of Nyssa asks, “than the King of all creation entering into communion with our poor nature? The King of kings and Lord of lords clothes Himself with the form of our enslavement; the Judge of the universe comes to pay tribute to the princes of this world; the Lord of creation is born in a cave; He who encompasses the world cannot find room in the inn…; the pure and incorrupt one puts on the filthiness of our nature and experiences all our needs, experiences even death itself” (“Oratio I In Beatitudinibus”).

This self-emptying is an example of God’s infinite goodness in taking the initiative to meet man: “Fill yourselves with wonder and gratitude at such a mystery and learn from it. All the power, all the majesty, all the beauty, all the infinite harmony of God, all His great and immeasurable riches. God whole and entire was hidden for our benefit in the humanity of Christ. The Almighty appears determined to eclipse His glory for a time, so as to make it easy for His creatures to approach their Redeemer.” ([St] J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 111).

Concluded on the next post…

 

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**8. **Jesus Christ became man “for us men and for our salvation”, we profess in the Creed. Everything He did in the course of His life had a salvific value; His death on the cross represents the climax of His redemptive work for, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says, “He did not experience death due to the fact of being born; rather, He took birth upon Himself in order to die” (“Oratio Catechetica Magna”, 32).

Our Lord’s obedience to the Father’s saving plan, involving as it did death on the cross, gives us the best of all lessons in humility. For, in the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, “obedience is the sign of true humility” (“Commentary on Phil., ad loc.”). In St. Paul’s time death by crucifixion was the most demeaning form of death, for it was inflicted only on criminals. By becoming obedient “unto death, even death on a cross”, Jesus was being humble in the extreme. He was perfectly within His rights to manifest Himself in all His divine glory, but He chose instead the route leading to the most ignominious of deaths.

His obedience, moreover, was not simply a matter of submitting to the Father’s will, for, as St. Paul points out, He made Himself obedient: His obedience was active; He made the Father’s salvific plans His own. He chose voluntarily to give Himself up to crucifixion in order to redeem mankind. “Debasing oneself when one is forced to do so is not humility”, St. John Chrysostom explains; “humility is present when one debases oneself without being obliged to do so” (“Hom. on Phil., ad loc.”).

Christ’s self-abasement and his obedience unto death reveals His love for us, for “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). His loving initiative merits a loving response on our part: we should show that we desire to be one with Him, for love “seeks union, identification with the beloved. United to Christ, we will be drawn to imitate His life of dedication, His unlimited love and His sacrifice unto death. Christ brings us face to face with the ultimate choice: either we spend our life in selfish isolation, or we devote ourselves and all our energies to the service of others” ([St] J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 236).

9-11. “God highly exalted Him”: the Greek compounds the notion of exaltation, to indicate the immensity of His glorification. Our Lord Himself foretold this when He said, “He who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

Christ’s sacred humanity was glorified as a reward for His humiliation. The Church’s Magisterium teaches that Christ’s glorification affects his human nature only, for “in the form of God the Son was equal to the Father, and between the Begetter and the Only-begotten there was no difference in essence, no difference in majesty; nor did the Word, through the mystery of incarnation, lose anything which the Father might later return to Him as a gift” ([Pope] St. Leo the Great, “Promisisse Me Memini”, Chapter 8). Exaltation is public manifestation of the glory which belongs to Christ’s humanity by virtue of its being joined to the divine person of the Word. This union to the “form of a servant” (cf. verse 7) meant an immense act of humility on the part of the Son, but it led to the exaltation of the human nature He took on.

For the Jews the “name that is above every name” is the name of God (Yahweh), which the Mosaic Law required to be held in particular awe. Also, they regarded a name given to someone, especially if given by God, as not just a way of referring to a person but as expressing something that belonged to the very core of his personality. Therefore, the statement that God “bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” means that God the Father gave Christ’s human nature the capacity to manifest the glory of divinity which was His by virtue of the hypostatic union: therefore, it is to be worshipped by the entire universe.

St. Paul describes the glorification of Jesus Christ in terms similar to those used by the prophet Daniel of the Son of Man: “To Him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve His Kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14). Christ’s lordship extends to all created things. Sacred Scripture usually speaks of “heaven and earth” when referring to the entire created universe; by mentioning here the underworld it is emphasizing that nothing escapes His dominion. Jesus Christ can here be seen as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy about the universal sovereignty of Yahweh: “To Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear” (Isaiah 45:23). All created things come under His sway, and men are duty-bound to accept the basic truth of Christian teaching: “Jesus Christ is Lord.” The Greek word “Kyrios” used here by St. Paul is the word used by the Septuagint, the early Greek version of the Old Testament, to translate the name of God (“Yahweh”). Therefore, this sentence means “Jesus Christ is God.”

The Christ proclaimed here as having been raised on high is the man-God who was born and died for our sake, attaining the glory of His exaltation after undergoing the humiliation of the cross. In this also Christ sets us an example: we cannot attain the glory of Heaven unless we understand the supernatural value of difficulties, ill-health and suffering: these are manifestations of Christ’s cross present in our ordinary life. “We have to die to ourselves and be born again to a new life. Jesus Christ obeyed in this way, even unto death on a cross (Philippians 2:18); that is why God exalted Him. If we obey God’s will, the cross will mean our own resurrection and exaltation. Christ’s life will be fulfilled step by step in our own lives. It will be said of us that we have tried to be good children of God, who went about doing good in spite of our weakness and personal shortcomings, no matter how many” ([St] J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 21).

 

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Navarre Bible commentary–Palm Sunday

Processional Psalm
**From: Matthew 21:1-22 (At the Procession with Palms)

The Messiah Enters the Holy City
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[1] And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, [2] saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an *** tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. [3] If any one says anything to you, you shall say, “The Lord has need of them,’ and he will send them immediately.” [4] This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, [5] “Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ***, and on a colt, the foal of an ***.” [6] The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; [7] they brought the *** and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon. [8] Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. [9] And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” [10] And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” [11] And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.”

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Commentary:*

1-5. In his triumphant entry into Jerusalem Jesus reveals himself as Messiah, as St Matthew and St John (12:14) stress by quoting the prophecy Zechariah 9:9. Although the Latin translation says “mounted on a [female] ***”, the original Hebrew text says “mounted on a [male] ***”, and the latter is text followed in this translation (in the Greek translation of the Septuagint no sex is specified). The other two Synoptic Gospels limit themselves to giving the key fact of Jesus’ messianic entry into the Holy City mounted on the (Mk 11:2; Lk 19:30). St Matthew sees in the fact that the colt is with the further detail of the prophecy, which refers to the colt being the foal of *** (that seems to be why the *** is referred to throughout the account, the *** being with the colt, although Jesus was mounted only on the colt).

In the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 (which in the original Old Testament is longer than the quotation in Matthew) the future messianic king is described as “humble”. The ***, originally a noble mount (cf. Gen 22:3; Ex 4;20; Num 22:21; Jud 5:10), was replaced by the horse in the period of the Israelite monarchy (cf. 1 Kings 4:26; 10:28; etc). The prophecy, by referring to an ***, shows that the King of peace wins his victory by humility and gentleness by force of arms.

The Fathers have read a deeper meaning into this episode. They see the *** symbolizing Judaism, for long subject to the yoke of the Law, and the on which no one has ridden, as symbolizing the Gentiles. Jesus leads both Jews and Gentiles into the Church, the new Jerusalem.

1. The Hebrew word “Hosanna”, which the people use to acclaim our Lord, was originally an appeal to God meaning “Save us”. Later it was used as a shout of joy, an acclamation, meaning something like “Long live…”. The people are demonstrating their enthusiasm by shouting, “Long live the Son of David!” The phrase “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” comes from Psalm 118:26 and is a jubilant and appreciative greeting to someone entrusted with a mission from God. The Church takes up these acclamations, incorporating them into the preface of the Mass, to proclaim the kingship of Christ.