March 21, 2021, 5th Sunday of Lent
Theme: “Living in Christ: Devoted to the Father”
Homily by Fr. Andy Ilustre
Old Testament Proclamation: Jeremiah 31 : 31 – 34
Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 51 : 5 – 13
New Testament Proclamation: Hebrews 5 : 5 – 10
Gospel Proclamation: John 12 : 20 – 28
To be devoted means to have strong love or loyalty for someone. Being devoted is what God seeking from us, His people.
Jesus is devoted to the calling and purpose of the Father in His life even to the point of death. He portrays His devotion to the Father, for us to imitate and follow Him. The Celebration of The Feast of the Passover shows worship of the people that are willing to perceive Jesus.
As they continue to keep coming to Jesus they see miracle upon miracle of healing, casting out demons, and multiplying supplies for the need of the people. Our continual coming to Christ is also the perceiving in our heart to know and understand Him. More than just seeking with the eye but knowing and following Him. His willingness to die to self becomes a pattern for His followers to imitate.
This work of dying to self is difficult and painful. The one who follow Jesus becomes a “servant”. The one who serves is the one who gives up his claim to life in the present world out of love for and allegiance to Jesus.To serve Jesus is in effect to “hate” one’s own life.
The road of glory is servanthood. When we imitate Jesus, we bear much fruit, we keep an eternal life, we join Jesus in His glory and the Father honors us. For God honors the servant rather than the ruler.
What we give to the Lord Jesus Christ is not a loss on our part but we gain what is the best. Temporal things in this world, what we are willing to surrender in this life for the sake of love, obedience and our devotion to God, cannot be compared to what God has prepared for us.
If the change that God is bringing about in this world is important to us, then we have to take definite steps in order to align ourselves for God’s purposes. For our time, for our generation especially the youth, we will not allow this time to pass without us participating to the fulfilling of God’s plan and purposes. To be devoted is service, humility, and sacrifice.
Homily recap Sis. Grace M. Pinos
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