Cycle B - Fifth Sunday of Lent– March 18, 2018
(Three Readings)
“…unless a grain of wheat”
OPENING PRAYER (Psalm 51)
Leader:Create in me a clean heart, O God.
All:Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Leader:Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
All:Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
SHARING The WORD
First Reading- Jeremiah 31:31-34
At this time in history, polytheism (the belief in multiple gods) was rampant. In contrast, God creates a new covenant based on relationship: “I will be their God and they shall be my people.“Furthermore, the law will now be known by all as it will be written on each human heart.
- What does it mean that God’s law is “written on each of our hearts”?
- How does God’s law written on our hearts contrast the notion of “to each their own”?
Second Reading-Hebrews 5:7-9
Echoing the prayer of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus assures us that God does hear and understand our most intimate prayers and that answers to these prayers can be found in our obedience to the Gospel.
- When was a time in your life where you did not know where God was?
- Recall a dry time in your prayer life that was overcome through remaining disciplined to prayer?
Gospel Reading – John 12: 20-33
This week the readings invite reflection on the deep andheartfelt relationship between Jesus and his Father that made possible the sacrifice of the cross. Because of his troubled time of anticipated trial Jesus prayed. In answer, the Father promised to glorify Jesus from the cross where all people will be drawninto him.
- Which statement struck us most forcefully, and why?
- What needs to die in you to be fully Christian?
- What cost are you willing to pay to follow Jesus?
- When you look for Jesus, what is it you want to see?
LIVING THE WORD
What aspect of God’s Word is challenging me/us this coming week?
PRAYING THE WORD
Leader: Help us to move throughout times of trial in that surrender to the Father that transforms us into your image, we pray to the Lord.
(Invite personal intentions, ending with the “Our Father …”)
Closing Prayer:
Leader:God alone is my tenderness.
God alone is my support.
God alone is my every good, my life and all my wealth.
All:Oh, yes! I say in my heart.
And in the next heartbeat: Oh, no! My way not yours.
Leader: A chorus of voices emerge from within me…
I’ll craft my own life
I’ll do it my way
It’s my life, it’s up to me.
All: God’s deeper voice calls to me and says…
You can surrender.
Be faithful.
I am worthy of trust.(St. Louis de Montfort, Cantique 52)
Leader:Let us share with one another the peace of Christ.
ALL YEARS with RCIA’s 3rd Scrutiny
5th Sunday of Lent, March 18, 2018
Third Scrutiny in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
“Unbind him …”
OPENING PRAYER (Psalm 130)
Leader:Out of the depth I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
All:Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
Leader:For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him there is great power to redeem.
All:It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
Amen
First Reading – Ezekiel 37:12-14
Ezekiel’s dramatic vision of a whole people being reborn, brought out of graves, gathered and placed on their own soil corresponds vividly to today’s gospel account of the raising of Lazarus. Even if this vision will not be realized until the end of time, it will happen in some way, because the Lord God does not break a promise!
- How does Ezekiel’s vision speak to the situation in our world today?
- In what ways has God raised you up from hopeless situations?
Second Reading – Romans 8:8-11
Much confusion has filled our churches on the understanding of Paul’s use of the word “flesh.” Paul uses this word, not to pit the material against the spiritual, but to refer to a person whose only goal in life is total self-sufficiency and self-reliance without turning to divine help. In this definition, even religious observance can be motivated by an attitude of the “flesh.” Living in the “spirit” refers to fostering humility and acknowledging dependency on God for ongoing direction and support. Living in the spirit comes with openness to life and an acceptance of life as gift.
- How have you or others traditionally understood Paul’s distinctions between “flesh” and “spirit?”
- How do you distinguish between the “flesh” and the “spirit” ?
Gospel – John 11:1-45
Approaching the end of his own journey, Jesus, in raising Lazarus, dramatically establishes his power over death, leading to a radical reinterpretation of what life and death are really about. As on the previous two Sundays, this Gospel accompanies a “Scrutiny” for the candidates for baptism, the last of three. Each Gospel connected to the three Scrutinies (The Woman at the Well, The Man Born Blind, and this week The Raising of Lazarus) is full of paradox and drama. The characters in each of these Gospel stories undergoes significant changes. These are not simply changes that have happened to people in the past – the stories also capture the changes that are happening in those being prepared to receive the sacraments at the Easter Vigil.
- What part of the story of Lazarus speaks to you most strongly today?
- Have you ever experienced dramatic changes in your faith, as if moving from death to life?
- What part of our own vision for life or for the Church needs to be revived?
- Who do you identify with in this story at this moment in your life: the disciples, Mary, Martha, Jesus, Lazarus, the crowd?
LIVING THE WORD
What is God’s challenge for me this week? Perhaps it is to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation, visit the grave of a loved one, seek out the dying in our parish, or examine the vitality of your life vision?
PRAYING THE WORD
Intercession:For women, children, and men buried in the tombs of their own despair; for rescue workers, fire fighters and emergency relief teams; and for times when lack of vision buries us in hopelessness. We pray to the Lord.
Invite other intentions, end with “Our Father …”
CLOSING PRAYER
Leader: Lord of the living and the dead,
you who called Lazarus to step forth alive
and who by your own resurrection freed us from death.
All:We seek your deliverance from the tombs of our own making.
Do not let the power of death hold sway over this world
and, by our faith, make us heirs to your resurrection
for you live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.
Leader: Let us share with one another the sign of Christ’s peace.