Year B
Concepts
New life
No wheat unless the grain dies
Points to note
We have returned to using the Gospel reading. This reading though does not contain the full
reading in the Missal (vs 20-30) as I have left out those verses that have
nothing to do with this week’s theme.
The imagery this Sunday is that of a grain of wheat that ‘dies’ but
re-emerges as wheat. You may wish to
refer to the leaflet for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A for further
reference.
Much of the symbolism of Lent is lost on those who
live in the tropics. Spring, the meaning
of the word ‘Lent’, is the season when seemingly dead trees that have shed its
leaves in winter come back to life and flowers blossom. Spring is also the time when many animals
like sheep and rabbits have their young (it gives them a longer time to grow
strong before the onset of a cold winter), which is the idea behind Easter
Bunnies. If this is explained to the
children, care must be taken to ensure that the children do not get confused or
lose their orientation.
Liturgy
Gospel Acclamation
The Alleluia
is not sung during the season of Lent.
Glory to you O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
If a man serves
me, says the Lord, he must follow me;
wherever I am, my
servant will be there too.
Glory to you O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
Gospel
The
Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
A
Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John
All: Glory to you O Lord
(Jn 12: 20-30)
Among those who
went up to worship at the festival were some pilgrims. They approached Philip, who came from
Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, “Sir, we would like to see
Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew, and
Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus.
Jesus replied to them:
“Now the time has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified.
I tell you, most solemnly,
unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it;
anyone who hates his life in this world
will keep it for eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Dialogue
When you look at an egg, does it look
alive? Helps if you have an egg
handy. What happens if the mother
hen sits on it for three weeks? Discuss
how things that look dead can come to life.
Any other examples?
In this reading, Jesus talked about a
grain of wheat. What do farmers do with
a wheat grain? Plant it. What do we get out of it? Wheat to make flour for bread. If the farmer never planted it though, what
would it be? It would remain a grain
of wheat. Explain that is how Jesus
tried to explain why he had to die on the cross. Unless he dies, like the grain of wheat,
nothing good will ever come out of it.
Jesus once called himself the resurrection and the
life. What did he mean by that? Discuss how Jesus said that those who
believe in him will never die but will live forever. Explain that Jesus has promised us eternal
life in Paradise. For children less
easily satisfied, you may need to use images of misery for death and images of
happiness for life.
Discuss the significance of new life in baptism. During baptism by immersion, the person to be
baptised is immersed under water and re-emerges as a new person with a new
life, a Christian. After being baptised
at the Easter midnight mass, the newly baptised neophyte lights his candle from
the Paschal candle.
For symbolism of new life, you may wish to refer to
previous weeks’ leaflets, especially those of the Lenten readings in year
A. Also we all get Easter eggs, eggs to
symbolise new life; and Easter bunnies, rabbits having their young in spring.
You may wish to link this up with real life. Like Jesus having to go through death on the
cross to give us new life, we often have to go through something difficult or
even nasty, in order to achieve something we want. For instance: exams; working hard to prepare
a party; any other ideas?
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