Word on Fire is brought to you by Catholic Cemetery's, serving the Chicago area since 1837, and FSP dedicated to food service excellence.

This is Cardinal Francis George, and I invite you to join me for the next few minutes to reflect with Father Robert Barron on the Word of God, which is the Word on Fire.

Father Barron will challenge us to open our hearts to the Word on Fire, which is God's Word of Love for each of us.

If our hearts are open, the Lord can change and transform us, who will we might speak with love about the One who is Love.

The Archdiocese of Chicago through the generosity of Sacred Heart Parish and Winetka now presents the Word on Fire.

Peace be with you. Friends, for this fifth Sunday of Lent, we have an extraordinary gospel.

It's taken from the 12th chapter of the Gospel of John, and it's one of the most succinct and most terrible summations of the Christian message.

Let me read to you from the beginning of this gospel passage, because getting the setting for, I think, is very important.

Among those who had come up to worship at the feast of Passover were some Greeks.

They approached Philip, who was from Bethesda in Galilee, and put this request to him.

Sir, we should like to see Jesus.

Philip went to tell Andrew. Philip and Andrew, in turn, came to inform Jesus.

As is fitting for our liturgical season, this takes place just a few days before Jesus' passion and death.

It's the feast of the Passover, and all the tribes are going up to the Holy City of Jerusalem.

You know, I've told you often before that for 1st century Jews, there were no strong distinctions between the religious, the cultural, and the political.

All was of a peace. The temple, I mentioned last week, the temple was the place where all of these elements came together.

Something similar now in this feast of the Passover.

Think of some combination of Thanksgiving Day, parade, the county fair, a political campaign, and Holy Week, all rolled into one.

That's what it was like as all these tribes. Yes, from Palestine itself, but as this gospel suggests, even some Jews who were from Greek-speaking countries were coming up to Jerusalem for the Passover.

Now, whenever large groups of people get together in this festive atmosphere, what will they be talking about?

Are we talking about the latest gossip, the latest political intrigues? And in this case, undoubtedly, they will be talking about this extraordinary figure, Jesus from Nazareth, who has been performing great deeds,

who's been speaking in a way that is compelling as Isaiah and Jeremiah, and who just prior to this passage, raised Lazarus from the dead.

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