Fifth Sunday of Lent Jer 31:31-34 Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15 Heb 5:7-9 Jn 12:20-33

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer Praying Lent The Daily Reflections

"I will be their God, and they shall be my people." -Jeremiah 31:33

I will be your God. You shall be my people. What powerful words we hear today in the first reading. God, time and time again, forgives our shortcomings and truly accepts us as his own, even offering himself in return. Let’s take just a second to consider that. The God of the universe offers to be our Father, giving us- flawed, sinful humans- the chance to accept his invitation.

So what do we do in return? How do we hold up our end of this covenant established with God?

I can only speak for myself, and to be honest, most days I don’t. I can easily go about my day without giving a thought to who I belong to; I can wake up and go to sleep without it crossing my mind. Even when I am conscious of my desire to better my relationship with the Father, I almost always slip up, letting my human nature take hold. I don’t deserve the offer he’s made; I don’t deserve to be called his own.

This is an offer we can’t deserve- and yet it is one we have been given.

On those days when we forget to praise God, those days when we are so much more focused on what is wrong in our lives than on what is right; even on those days when we remember our Creator and still choose not to live a life for him, he is still there. He never leaves; never revokes his offer. He is our God; we are his people. Like a child who throws tantrums or rebels will never be abandoned by his parents, even more so are we unable to ever lose the love of God.

Also like a child who throws tantrums, however, there comes a time when we need to grow up. We must try, daily, to better our relationship with the Lord; to live in a way that pleases him. We must try to live up to the promise we’ve made; to uphold our end of the covenant as best we can. After all, we are children of God. Don’t we want to make our Father proud?