V LENTEN SUNDAY – V DIMANCHE DE CAREME

LENT 2015

ICCG Europe / ICCS EuroMed Regions
 
Gospel from Jn 12:20-33
 
“20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.”
 
 
 

FLOOR TO THE WITNESSES
Jesus showed the kind of death he was going to die… How saw this situation two witnesses: one of his “best friends” and his mother? How they can feel when they hear that the person so close to them is going to die? What is the feeling like when mother is going to “loose” her loving child? And the friend who is going to miss somebody very close?

 
PETER
 

 
Loving life means losing it and hating it means gaining the eternal one? A Reign that is about serving and servants that are not servants but are called friends? Jesus as a King who comes to serve and not to be served? WHAAAT? Jesus, are you kidding? You totally lost your mind, what is really important is power, money, prominence in society… but let us look at those who have those things on Earth: are they really happy? Is their life filled with love, joy, fullness? Or do they rather really look like empty and shining masks, behind which there is a person lost in the darkness of his/her soul? Do I really want to become like this or am I looking for something else? When is my heart singing, when am I really happy? Maybe when I start not to not consider myself as the center of the world, when I choose to “die” to myself, when I look around and start doing something good for the others… that tastes really good!  

 
MARY
 

 
 For a woman, dying every day is quite common. This happens all over the world and still does, especially in some countries. As a woman, even when you are little, you are expected to “die” to your desires to take care of your younger brothers and sisters. When you grow, you are expected to “die” to your will and marry the man your parents chose for you. When you are old, you are expected to die to leave your heritage to your children, if you are lucky to have one, or to die as soon as possible if you are sick and you are not useful anymore… I was used to “die” like this, every day, but with Jesus I discovered the beauty of it. From Him I learnt to do it not as a sacrifice because He taught me to do it out of love of others. This was why I could accept to “die” to myself as His mother, under the cross, when He asked me to become the Mother of all of you, even of His murderers: the only way to kill death is love! 

 
 
 
FOOD FOR THE MIND
 The gospel today places us at a turning point in the scriptures – as Jesus confronts the looming reality of his own death.
          
If you have ever been close to someone facing that reality, it can be harrowing — and heartbreaking. Different people face death in different ways, sometimes with anger, sometimes with denial or despair.
In this reading from John, Jesus confronts the painful truth — and that all of us face: the certainty of death. In the gospel, Christ’s earthly life is ending. His hour is at hand. He looks toward his future, the coming days, and sees before him Calvary. The cross has “come into clear view.”
For Jesus, this is a moment of anticipation – and anxiety. In a profound and deeply personal way, the gospel shows us the human dimension of our savior. The man who walked on water and gave sight to the blind shows an unexpected vulnerability. “I am troubled now,” he says. He’s not only troubled about what he would experience – the pain, the humiliation, and struggle he would endure – but also troubled for his followers. His friends, his family. He’s troubled for all those who will find themselves – after he’s gone — suddenly alone.
 
Later in John’s gospel, Jesus would reassure them, “I will not leave you orphans.” Here, too, he offers reassurance. “Where I am, there also will my servant be,” he says. “The Father will honor whoever serves me.”
 
Again and again, he tells us: this will be hard, but take comfort. You are not alone.
And then beautifully, in the middle of confronting the closeness of his own death, Jesus sees life. A grain of wheat, he says, has to die before it can bear fruit.
If you want to know what sort of fruit it bears, just look around you. We are part of it. The church throughout the world is a part of it. From that grain of wheat, there has been an astounding harvest.
And it is because of the cross on Calvary. “For this purpose,” he explains, “have I come.”
Put bluntly, Jesus understood that he was born so that he could die.
And he died so that you and I could live.
“For this purpose have I come.”
And now, in these last days of Lent, as the cross comes into view, as the climb to Calvary becomes clear — as the wood and the nails and the thorns become real — take one last look at the road we have traveled the last five weeks. Maybe there have been detours and backtracks.

 
But it’s worth asking ourselves: what have we left undone? Is there unfinished business – hurts that we have left unattended, or amends that we need to make?

Have we opened our hearts to those in need? Have we worked to see in those we meet the face of Christ?
Have we reconciled ourselves with one another and with God?
Have we been instruments in the hand of the Lord?
(www.patheos.com, picture: Simon András)
 
 

FOOD FOR HANDS – ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES
Introduction
Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Movement and first Chief Scout of The Boy Scouts Association said: “Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. ‘Be Prepared’ in this way, to live happy and to die happy — stick to your Scout Promise always and God help you to do it.” In this way of life the activities of our everyday should comprises the best of us – so we can make this world little bit better. “Every relationship is an opportunity to leave others better than we found them. Every conversation at the market, library, or street corner is an opportunity to brighten somebody’s day. Every meeting or assigned project at work is an opportunity to move progress forward. Even every posting on Facebook or social media carries the same potential.
Ultimately, in the end, may our families be better because we were a part of them. May our neighborhoods and schools be better because of our involvement. And may our world be left in a better condition for future generations because we were a part of this one.”(See: http://www.becomingminimalist.com/leaving-the-world-a-little-better/)
 
FOR ALL AGE RANGES
Create a small scut coin (as seen on the picture, or similar).
On one side of the coin, there should be the logo of the scout movement, on the other side number one. The logo symbolise that we are scouts and we made our scout promise. The number one represents one good act, which should every scout do the every day.
Put this coin into the left pocket of your trousers and after you have done one good act during the day, you can put this “coin” into the right pocket. In the next morning, put again the coin into the left pocket and let´s wait for the opportunity to do something good for the others and put the coin into the right pocket again.
***(The original coin is called Skamp´s coin of a good manner, which is named after it´s founder under the nickname Skamp – Ing.arch Žalud, member of Junak – Association of Scouts and Guides of the Czech Republic).