20260328 THE DEATH OF JESUS AS THE CAUSE OF UNITY
28 March 2026, Saturday, 5th Week of Lent
First reading |
Ezekiel 37:21-28 |
I will bring them home and make them one nation
The Lord says this: ‘I am going to take the sons of Israel from the nations where they have gone. I shall gather them together from everywhere and bring them home to their own soil. I shall make them into one nation in my own land and on the mountains of Israel, and one king is to be king of them all; they will no longer form two nations, nor be two separate kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and their filthy practices and all their sins. I shall rescue them from all the betrayals they have been guilty of; I shall cleanse them; they shall be my people and I will be their God. My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for all; they will follow my observances, respect my laws and practise them. They will live in the land that I gave my servant Jacob, the land in which your ancestors lived. They will live in it, they, their children, their children’s children, for ever. David my servant is to be their prince for ever. I shall make a covenant of peace with them, an eternal covenant with them. I shall resettle them and increase them; I shall settle my sanctuary among them for ever. I shall make my home above them; I will be their God, they shall be my people. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord, the sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary is with them for ever.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Jeremiah 31:10-13 |
The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
O nations, hear the word of the Lord,
proclaim it to the far-off coasts.
Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him
and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’
The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
has saved him from an overpowering hand.
They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion,
they will stream to the blessings of the Lord.
The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the young girls will rejoice and dance,
the men, young and old, will be glad.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console them, give gladness for grief.
The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Gospel Acclamation | Ezk18:31 |
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Shake off all your sins – it is the Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Or: | Jn3:16 |
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal life.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Gospel | John 11:45-56 |
Jesus was to die to gather together the scattered children of God
Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him, but some of them went to tell the Pharisees what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting. ‘Here is this man working all these signs’ they said ‘and what action are we taking? If we let him go on in this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy the Holy Place and our nation.’ One of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said, ‘You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all; you fail to see that it is better for one man to die for the people, than for the whole nation to be destroyed.’ He did not speak in his own person, it was as high priest that he made this prophecy that Jesus was to die for the nation – and not for the nation only, but to gather together in unity the scattered children of God. From that day they were determined to kill him. So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephraim, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples.
The Jewish Passover drew near, and many of the country people who had gone up to Jerusalem to purify themselves looked out for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple, ‘What do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?’
THE DEATH OF JESUS AS THE CAUSE OF UNITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZEKIEL 37:21-28; JEREMIAH 31:10-13; JOHN 11:45-56]
The world seeks unity. Unfortunately, this unity is often pursued without the willingness to sacrifice oneself for others. So long as we place ourselves above and before others, wanting to be first and the best, there will never be true unity. When we preserve our lives at the expense of others, put our personal interests above those of others, and compete so as to become the most powerful, the greatest, the richest, or the most famous, there will only be jealousy, envy, suspicion, and insecurity. This is what is happening in the world today, both domestically and internationally. Nations distrust one another because each places its own interests above those of others. While this may be tolerable, though imperfect, when self-interest is exaggerated, it only causes division, leading people to see one another as threats rather than friends.
This was the case with the Jewish priests. They sought to protect their own interests in the name of unity. There had already been attempts to kill Jesus, but the urgency intensified when He raised Lazarus from the dead. More people were turning to Him and believing in Him. As a result, Caiaphas called a meeting of the Sanhedrin to officially plot Jesus’ death. The chief priests and Pharisees were concerned not only that Jesus was gaining followers because of the signs He performed, but also that the Romans might “come and destroy the Holy Place and our nation,” fearing a rebellion. The Roman Emperor, who ruled over a vast empire, was always highly sensitive to any signs of rebellion or disorder. The Romans would mercilessly suppress such threats. In truth, the leaders were concerned not only about the nation being taken over by the Romans, but also about their own political and religious power being compromised. At that time, they still enjoyed a degree of autonomy in the administration of the Temple and Jerusalem. They possessed power, wealth, and prestige. However, if the Romans were to intervene to quell a potential rebellion, they would be stripped of their authority and privileges.
The decision they made was based not on truth or justice, but on convenience. The question they asked was not whether Jesus was speaking the truth, whether He had truly raised Lazarus from the dead, or what the implications of His signs and wonders were. These issues were neither raised nor discussed. Instead, they were primarily concerned that their positions might be threatened if Rome were to take action because of Jesus. Their self-interest was foremost in their minds, rather than a desire to do the will of God.
And so, the High Priest, Caiaphas, made a prophecy that came true, though not in the way he had envisaged. What he said was true, but it carried a different meaning in God’s plan. As High Priest, he was regarded as one who spoke in the name of God, as taught by Moses (Num. 27:18-21). The High Priest was to be the bridge between God and His people, the transmitter of God’s word to the leader and to the nation. That was what Caiaphas did on that day. It is significant that God can make use of even evil people for a greater good without their awareness of it.
Caiaphas said, “You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all; you fail to see that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” The evangelist adds a note: “He did not speak on his own authority; rather, as high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was to die for the nation–and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the scattered children of God. From that day on they resolved to kill him.” Ironically, it was His death that brought together all the scattered children of God.
Indeed, Jesus eventually brought unity, not only to Israel but to all people. By His death on the cross, He brought about the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep, as He said: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again” (Jn 10:16f). Seeing the Lord suffer unjustly and innocently, many were moved to conversion and repentance. Above all, after His death and resurrection, they came to understand that He is the One destined by God for the salvation of all.
As the Lord told the disciples on the road to Emmaus: “Everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Lk 24:44-47). Jesus truly fulfilled the prophecy of Ezekiel, for by His death He brought the nation together.
The beginning of this unity was anticipated at Pentecost, when three thousand people from many nations heard Peter’s first sermon and were converted to the faith. “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and through our baptism, we are born again in Christ, fulfilling what the Lord said to Nicodemus, and become members of His body, the Church. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:5).
The Holy Spirit dwelling in us makes us one body and one spirit in Christ. As St Paul wrote, “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:27f). Baptism incorporates us into the Body of Christ, as St Paul also wrote: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:16f).
This is why we are proud to be called Catholics and not just Christians. Christians are disciples of Christ, and all Catholics are Christians. However, to call ourselves Catholic is to underscore that the Church of Christ is universal, belonging to all men and women, regardless of nation, language, or culture. Catholicism is neither Chinese, Indian, nor European; rather, we are all one in Christ, expressing our common faith in Him according to our respective cultures and languages.
Although we are so diverse, like the early Christians at Pentecost, we can also say, “each one heard them speaking in his own language” (Acts 2:6). The Church, therefore, is more than just a gathering of the People of God; it is called to be the Sacrament of unity for the whole human race. The Church is the visible sign of God’s plan of love for humanity, for God desires “that the whole human race might form one people of God and be built up into one temple of the Holy Spirit which, being the expression of brotherly harmony, corresponds with the inmost wishes of all people” (AG 7).
It is also true that in A.D. 70, the Romans, after laying siege to Jerusalem for several years, overthrew the city, reduced the Temple to ruins, and killed many because of the people’s resistance and stubbornness against Rome. John’s Gospel, written around A.D. 100, would have reminded its readers how the words of Caiaphas, the High Priest, were fulfilled–but not because of Jesus. On the contrary, if they had listened to Jesus and accepted His message of nonviolence, the city might have been saved, had they placed the interests of the nation above their own.
In the final analysis, it is death that gives life. St John brings this out clearly: when Jesus raised Lazarus, this act ultimately led to His own death. Yet by His death, many more would be raised to life. Jesus gave His life for us all and faced His enemies with courage because He loved.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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