Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 5:7-9; Jn. 12:20-33
In
the First Reading taken from the Book of Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31- 34) we learn of
God's promise of a New Covenant. That the New Covenant of grace was instituted
by Jesus at the Last Supper.
Central
to the New Covenant is the call to sacrificial living. Just as Jesus gave his
life as a ransom for many, so too are we called to lay down our lives for the
sake of others. In John 15:13, Jesus declares, "Greater love has no one
than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." This sacrificial
love is the hallmark of discipleship and the essence of Christian living.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Here, Jesus uses agricultural imagery to convey a spiritual truth. Just as a seed must be buried and die