1st Reading – Jeremiah 31:31-34
The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers
the day I took them by the hand
to lead them forth from the land of Egypt;
for they broke my covenant,
and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.
But this is the covenant that 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.
No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives
how to know the LORD.
All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD,
for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.
In the book that bears his name, the prophet Jeremiah delivered messages of warning, judgment, and hope to the people of Judah. The overarching theme revolved around the consequences of disobedience to God’s covenant and the promise of restoration through repentance. Amidst the pronouncements of judgment, Jeremiah also revealed glimpses of a future covenant that God will establish with his people, marked by transformation and a profound internal knowledge of God’s law.
Today’s reading is a central passage in this theme of restoration. It foretells a new covenant that God will make with his people, distinct from the earlier Mosaic covenant. In this new covenant, God promises to inscribe his law on the hearts of his people, fostering an intimate relationship and a profound shift from external obedience to an internal, heartfelt commitment.
The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
Considering that the Northern Kingdom of Israel collapsed about one hundred years before this prophecy, the mention of “the house of Israel and the house of Judah” is quite significant.
Israel divided into two kingdoms after the reign of King Solomon, around 930 BCE (1 Kings 12). Following Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam faced opposition from the northern tribes, leading to a revolt. As a result, the ten northern tribes formed the (Northern) Kingdom of Israel with its capital in Samaria, while the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south remained under Rehoboam’s rule, establishing the (Southern) Kingdom of Judah with its capital in Jerusalem.
In 722 BCE, the Assyrians invaded the Northern Kingdom of Israel and conquered its capital, Samaria.
Despite being a prophet in the Southern Kingdom a century later, Jeremiah’s message carried promises for both Judah and Israel.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt;
This covenant is not a mere renewal of the Mosaic covenant (Exodus 19-24); it is a transformative shift in the relationship between God and his people.
for they broke my covenant and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.
The old covenant was broken by the people’s sins. Through his divine justice, God demonstrated his authority over his people.
But 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;
Unlike the Mosaic covenant, which was written on stone tablets, the new covenant involves God inscribing his law on the hearts of his people. This internalization of God’s law signifies a profound progression from external obedience to a deep, heartfelt commitment.
Although it includes the idea of emotion, in Hebrew the word for “heart” (lēb) refers primarily to the mind or will. It is the richest biblical term for indicating the totality of a person’s inner nature.
This new covenant is not different from the old in content (it is the unchanging Law of God); it is new because people will know it in a different way.
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
This is covenant language; in fact, it is a technical covenant formula:
- The declaration “I will be their God” asserts God’s sovereignty and ownership over the people. By identifying himself as their God, he establishes his authority as their divine ruler.
- The reciprocal statement “they shall be my people” signifies the people’s identification with God and their belonging to him.
This language highlights the intimate relationship between God and his chosen people, characterized by loyalty, obedience, and mutual commitment.
No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the LORD.
The need to teach about God will be greatly diminished because all will inherently know him. This reiterates the profound shift toward internal, personal knowledge of God.
With the law of God now written on their hearts, the very inner nature of humanity is created anew.
All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.
The assurance of forgiveness is a central theme. Rather than waiting for humanity to become worthy, God takes the initiative to establish a new covenant that is rooted in forgiveness, grace, and transformation.
This prophecy finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who through his sacrificial death and resurrection inaugurated a new era of forgiveness, intimate knowledge of God, and internal transformation for believers.
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
2nd Reading – Hebrews 5:7-9
In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Today’s second reading is a brief summary of Christ’s life, with each of its three verses offering a slightly different christological view. Although some of the elements are straightforward, others are much more challenging to interpret.
In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh,
A reference to Christ’s humanity, the Incarnation. Flesh (sárx) is synonymous with mortal life; it is not evil, but it is fraught with limitations and weaknesses. Because the flesh is subject to deterioration and death, it came to signify many things that were associated with human frailty, such as vulnerability and fear. For Jesus to have become human was to have taken on these limitations and weaknesses as well; he was vulnerable to everything to which everyone else was vulnerable.
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
This immediately calls to mind Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:35). In the Synoptic tradition, before Jesus acquiesces to the will of God, he pleads that the chalice of suffering be taken from him.
This is most likely a reference to the traditional Jewish image of a righteous person’s impassioned prayer. Its sentiments are reminiscent of those found in the Psalms that describe agony, terror, and depression (Psalms 22, 31, 38). The emotion that is suggested demonstrates how thoroughly Jesus embraced his human nature. He offered these prayers as a priest offers sacrifice, and he was heard because of his reverence, or godly fear.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
In Christ there are two perfect and complete natures, and therefore to different levels of knowledge: divine knowledge and human knowledge. His human knowledge could and in fact did increase (Luke 2:52).
Christ “learned obedience” not in the sense that this virtue developed in him, for his human nature was perfect in its holiness, but in the sense that he put into operation the infused virtue his human soul already possessed.
“Christ knew what obedience was from all eternity, but he learned obedience in practice through the severities he underwent particularly in his passion and death” (Saint Thomas Acquinas, Commentary on Hebrews).
This idea is not meant to cast doubt on the character of Jesus’ divine sonship; rather, it points once again to his willingness to assume every aspect of human nature, even those most difficult to bear.
Although Jesus’ obedience was most obvious on Calvary, it was a constant feature of his life: he obeyed Mary and Joseph, seeing in them the authority of the heavenly father; he was obedient to political and religious authorities; and he always obeyed the Father.
and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Obviously Christ, as God, could not increase in perfection. Through his passion, Jesus achieved a special glory: the impossibility and glorification of his body. Moreover, he attained the same perfections that we will participate in when believers are raised from the dead in glory.
All of this becomes comprehensible when we examine Christ’s role as mediator of salvation. His experience of being human is now complete: He has endured torment of body and anguish of soul. He has known agony, terror, and depression. He can speak to those in affliction as one who himself has been ravaged by human sorrow, but who despite it, has clung fast to God’s will.
From a human point of view, he is one with the human condition. From God’s point of view, he is the one who can now show others how to accept with docility the circumstances of life over which they have no control. Just as he learned to accept God’s designs in his life, so now he can teach others to do the same.
Gospel – John 12:20-33
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
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.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.
“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven,
“I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Jesus answered and said,
“This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself.”
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.
Our gospel reading today occurs at the end of Jesus’ public ministry. He has performed his last miracle (the raising of Lazarus, John 11:38-44), he has made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem (John 12:12-19), and he knows that his death is near (Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22).
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
The reading begins with the approach of “some Greeks” whose identity is uncertain. There are a few possibilities:
- Since they came to the city to worship at Passover, they may have been Greek-speaking Jews.
- Philip is a Greek name, so it’s possible that these Greek people sought him out to serve as a translator and intermediary.
- It’s possible that the Greeks knew Philip previously, and/or that they lived near Bethsaida, which would explain its mention here.
They seem to have come on their own initiative; there is no suggestion of any kind of missionary activity. Notice how respectfully they inquire for him.
Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
This need to consult with each other might suggest the Greeks were Gentiles (and not Greek-speaking Jews).
If that is the case, this is a very important moment because it means that people of a non-Jewish culture came in search of Christ, making them the first fruits of the spread of the Christian faith in the Hellenic world.
Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
In the Gospel of John, “the hour” often refers to the appointed time for Jesus’ ultimate purpose on earth, which is his crucifixion, resurrection, and exaltation. Jesus frequently speaks of this hour throughout the Gospel, indicating its importance and inevitability. Here, he declares that this hour has finally arrived.
By referring to himself as the Son of Man, Jesus is drawing on a Messianic title from the Old Testament book of Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14). In Daniel’s vision, the Son of Man is given dominion and glory by God. Jesus frequently identifies himself with this figure in the Gospels, signifying his divine authority and role as the Messiah.
Some commentators believe that the Greeks’ request for an audience with Jesus signifies the reach of his ministry to the “ends of the earth,” therefore signifying that his public work was complete and his hour had come. Others see Jesus’ response as a suggestion that only after the crucifixion could the gospel encompass both Jew and Gentile.
Amen, amen, I say to you, 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.
Jesus begins to teach his disciples about his impending self-sacrifice.
Knowing that it is difficult for them to understand that he must die in order to bring life, Jesus uses the metaphor of a grain of wheat to illustrate how this paradox already exists in nature. Left to itself, a grain of wheat produces nothing. Only when it dies and has been buried does it bring forth life, and in great abundance.
Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.
Jesus’ disciples must also be willing to die in order to live. Just as the grain of wheat must relinquish its current state to fulfill its potential, they must be prepared to let go of their own desires and attachments in order to experience the fullness of life that he offers.
The concept of “hating” one’s life may seem stark to modern sensibilities, but in its Semitic context, it conveys the idea of loving something else more. It underscores the necessity of prioritizing spiritual values over earthly pursuits and comforts.
Selfishness, man’s false self-love that will not permit self-sacrifice, ultimately ends in destruction.
This teaching challenges any notion of minimalism in Christian discipleship; authentic commitment to the Gospel demands nothing less than total surrender. Just as the grain of wheat gives everything when it falls to the ground, so too did Jesus empty himself completely, even to the point of death on the cross. For Christians, this serves as a powerful reminder that our faith calls us to radical self-giving and obedience, mirroring the sacrificial love of our Lord.
Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.
Every type of suffering is an opportunity to share in Christ’s cross, which redeems and exalts us.
To gain the honor of God, we must follow Jesus faithfully, dying to ourselves, forgetting our comfort, and shedding our selfishness.
“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Jesus acknowledges the emotional turmoil he is experiencing as he faces his impending death. Despite his distress, he reaffirms his commitment to fulfilling his mission.
Knowing Jesus was troubled can be consoling, as it resonates with our own feelings of weakness in times of adversity. Like Jesus, we should seek comfort and strength from God; after all, he is our rock and fortress (Psalm 31:3).
Father, glorify your name.”
Jesus prays that God’s name, the essence of God’s very being, might be glorified through the events that are about to unfold.
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
All four gospels describe an affirming voice from heaven, but the timing in John’s gospel is different. In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the voice from heaven is heard at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22) and transfiguration (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35). In John’s Gospel, it only occurs here, in response to Jesus’ prayer for God’s name to be glorified.
The name of God had been glorified in the life of Christ, in his doctrine and miracles, and in all the examples he gave of holiness and goodness. God’s name will be further glorified in his suffering, death, and resurrection.
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
The people hear something, but they are not sure what it is. Like the Israelites at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:19), those who were not attuned to the Word of God couldn’t understand it.
This reaction underscores the theme of spiritual blindness and misunderstanding that runs throughout John’s Gospel, as many fail to grasp the true meaning of Jesus’ ministry, despite witnessing miraculous signs.
Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
It’s unclear whether the voice was intended to encourage belief in Jesus as the Christ, or to comfort his disciples, who will follow him in his sufferings.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
Jesus announces that his impending death will mark a decisive moment in the spiritual history of the world. Through his sacrifice, the power of evil will be defeated, and judgment will be passed on the world.
According to this judgment, those who recognize him as Son of God will be saved (Luke 23:39-43); those who reject him will be condemned.
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
A reference to Satan. The merit of Christ’s sacrifice broke the power of death, casting out Satan as a destroyer. As promised in Genesis 3:15, the bruising of Christ’s heel on the cross resulted in the breaking of the serpent’s head.
And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”
Jesus speaks of his crucifixion as a moment of exaltation, where he will draw all people to himself. Note the universalism: Christ will draw everyone, not just the Jews. (This note supports the interpretation of the Greeks in the opening verses as being Gentiles.)
Christ crucified is the ultimate expression of the Father’s love for us (John 3:14-16, Romans 8:32), the sign raised on high which was prefigured in the bronze serpent raised up by Moses in the wilderness (John 3:14, Numbers 21:9).
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.
John clarifies, making sure his audience knows Jesus’ words about being “lifted up” refer to his crucifixion, which indicates the manner in which he will fulfill his mission and bring salvation to the world.
Connections and Themes
On previous Sundays, we have been offered several images of Christ for our meditation. He has been presented to us as the new temple, the wisdom of God, and the power of God. Like the serpent in the wilderness, he was lifted up and became the source of life to all who look upon him in faith. Today we see him as the grain of wheat that dies in order to bring forth much fruit.
All of the readings together offer us three other themes for our consideration: the tension of time, the fruits of this hour, and the judgment that follows refusal to live in the hour of fulfillment.
The tension of time. The moment of eschatological fulfillment gathers together the sense of the past (“the days when Christ was in the flesh”), the future (“the days are coming”), and the present (“the hour has come”). We live in the time when the past and the future are made present; we live in the already-but-not-yet time of anticipation/fulfillment. This is a moment of great ambiguity — of fear and trepidation, but of electric excitement. It is a moment of decision. We hover at the edge of dawn, weighing whether to step forward into the new day or to return to the darkness of night.
It is always difficult to leave behind what we know so well, even when we are trapped in the grip of some demon. We say that we want a new life, and we probably mean this, but taking the first step into that life is both frightening and demanding. So much is being asked of us.
The fruits of this hour. What does this hour bring? A new covenant, a deep interior relationship with God that is not based on law but that overflows from a commitment of the heart. It brings an abundant harvest that springs from a simple grain of wheat. It brings a promise from God’s own Son that those who serve him will be honored by God and those who obey him will enjoy eternal life. Who would not want such favors? Who would not run to accept them from the willing hands of a gracious God?
Although the hour brings all of these blessings, it does not do so without a price. The new covenant could only be written on new hearts; the abundant harvest sprang from the dying grain of wheat; eternal salvation was won at the price of Christ’s blood. The moment of eschatological fulfillment is also a moment of decision. Will we step into the new day, or will we return to the darkness of night?
Judgment. The refusal to live in this eschatological hour means that we choose to live in unredeemed time, in an unredeemed world, a world that belongs to the prince of darkness. It means that we are satisfied to sit amidst the ruins of our broken covenants, to remain covered with the guilt of our sins, to continue to be enslaved by the addictions that cripple us. As challenging as the message of these readings may be, the last note is one of hope. Jesus has driven out the prince of darkness and has drawn everyone to himself. The strength to step into the new life is offered to us. It can overcome the demons that control us because it is the power of the almighty God.
Sunday Readings 