The Hour Has Come

The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) were written closer to the time of the Passion of Christ and give essential details about the life-saving event to its readers. In those accounts, we become familiar with the journey to Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the agony in the garden, the torture, and the crucifixion. The fourth Gospel, written much later, takes the historical facts for granted. John’s depiction comes from someone spending his life meditating on the Passion and coming to a theologically developed interpretation. His interest is more about “what does the suffering and death of Jesus mean?”

John’s inspiration came from the Holy Spirit, and his prayer and reflection were united with the sacramental celebrations of the early Christian communities he was a part of. The early community’s worship of Jesus as having risen from the dead after his death deepened their understanding of the meaning of the Paschal Mystery (passion, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven).

St. John reflecting on the death of Jesus begins while he is still on his journey to Jerusalem with the haunting words of Jesus, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be Glorified.”   For St. John, the hour refers to the time in human history when the plan of salvation will be made known through death. In human thought, set apart from God’s wisdom, the experience of death does not lead to glorification but ends in annihilation. St. Paul teaches the Corinthians that human wisdom is not God’s wisdom, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”

“The hour” is when all human thought is turned upside down. But more than correcting human thought, the hour transforms and changes death from utter destruction into the means of life. Jesus explains the phenomenon by using the analogy of a grain of wheat that must die to produce much fruit. God’s plan is established; the fallen world must die for it to live. Through Jesus, the new reality is now conformed to the pattern of his death and glorification if life is to continue. The hour is when all united with Christ die to themselves just as willingly as Jesus did, both literally and figuratively.  

The whole sacramental life of the Church follows Christ’s “hour” pattern. The first hour comes when a person is in darkness because of original and personal sin, doomed to nonexistence if not rectified. Through the sacrament of baptism, which unites us with the Body of Christ, we are plunged three times into the waters of death, followed by rising to the new life of a Christian.  

Another hour comes when we willfully separate ourselves from the Body of Christ by sinning. The Sacrament of Reconciliation depends upon our willingness to change, in other words, on killing the evil desires and acts in us to achieve a new life of spiritual purity.

The Eucharist we celebrate each Sunday is yet another hour when we participate in the bloodless sacrifice of Jesus’ death and his glorification. By receiving the Blessed Sacrament, we incorporate in our own life the Paschal Mystery by which Jesus saved the world. We are united with Jesus, who his heavenly Father glorified now given to his faithful people. During the Mass, we experience Calvary ever anew by reliving Jesus’ death and resurrection. The hour of death and glorification happens each time we receive his body and blood.

Then there is the last hour we all will experience, our death. The last hour can be a fearful moment for those who have not incorporated “the ultimate hour” into their lives by not conforming to the cross. For those who have conformed through the sacraments and proper living, the final hour of our life should be filled with the certain hope of a glorified life in Christ.

Certain hope can only come about by how we choose to live. When our life is predicated upon the new reality of death being the means of new life, then our earthly death is less jarring. Every day, we must be reminded of the plan of salvation and how we participate. Typically, our daily frustrations, lack of patience, and challenges are our little deaths, and how we navigate them tells us a lot about how serious we are about the Christian paradox of death leading to life.

The season of Lent is meant for believers to focus on the dynamic of eternal life by praying, denial, and almsgiving. Each activity focuses on the participant moving away from self or dying to self, hoping for new spiritual growth. If your Lent has not gone the way you first envisioned on Ash Wednesday, do not despair; there is still time to get there.