Scripture Study for

The first readings for Lent have focused on God’s covenant  relationships, with all “mortal creatures,” with Abraham, and then  with Israel. In the case of Israel, this relationship has often been  marked by human infidelity and divine patience (not endless, but  renewable). Now, as Israel enters into a period of judgment, God  promises that the relationship has not come to an end. The covenant  will be renewed, but this time things will be different: Israel will  be transformed so as to be able to know, understand, and live  according to God’s expectations. The judgment is not punishment  for wrongdoing but is intended to prepare Israel for a new phase  in its relationship with God, one that is the fruit of repentance,  forgiveness, and transformation. 

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews moves us toward Palm  Sunday by focusing on the obedience of Christ to the mission given  by the Father to save God’s children from their sins. The passage is  part of a larger discourse on the role of Christ as God’s great high  priest (5:5–6). Just as the high priests of Aaron’s line offered sacrifice  for Israel, so Christ offers himself in obedience to his mission. Besides  the fact that Christ is God’s Son, his perfect obedience qualifies him  as high priest, whose intercession on our behalf merits God’s hearing.  In the same way, those who are obedient to Christ receive from him  the salvation he has merited for all.

In response to the request of the Greeks (that is, Gentiles) to “see”  him, Jesus makes the enigmatic statement that it is now the hour for  the Son of Man to be glorified. He immediately identifies this “hour”  with his approaching death, which itself will give life. In other words,  the Gentiles along with everyone else will truly “see” Jesus when he  undergoes his passion, death, and resurrection; they will know who  he is. But Jesus does not speak only of his own death; he frames his  saying about dying and giving life, or preserving eternal life, in terms  of “whoever” is willing to undergo death. This death, like Jesus’  own, is a form (or consequence) of service to Christ.