The “Hour” of Jesus is mentioned 17 times in the Gospel of John. Throughout the first 11 chapters Jesus again and again says, “My hour has not yet come” or “The hour is coming…” (see Jn 2:4; 4:23; 5:25; 7:30; 8:20). Then suddenly in Chapter 12 we hear Jesus say, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” What is the meaning of this hour? And why now, in the 12th Chapter?  

The “hour” of Jesus signifies two interrelated things: one rooted in the historical life of Christ and the other in the liturgical life of the Church. They cannot be separated. The sacrificial gift of Christ to the Father on the Cross and the sacramental gift of Christ to us in the liturgy are one and the same reality: the one Paschal mystery. 

The Historical Hour of his Passion  

In today’s Gospel, Jesus announces that “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” This is the Historical Hour of his Passion. He says, “It was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father glorify your name.” This is what Jesus came for: to redeem us through his death and resurrection. 

God the Father speaks only three times in the Gospels: at Jesus’ Baptism, at Jesus’ Transfiguration, and in today's Gospel. Jesus prays, “Father glorify your name,” to which the Father responds, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” What does He mean? 

“I have glorified it” refers to the Incarnation. John’s Gospel begins by saying that “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, … [and] we have beheld his glory” (Jn 1:14).  God has revealed His glory in Jesus Christ, by becoming man, by sharing in our humanity. 

“I will glorify it again” refers to the Crucifixion. The whole reason for the Incarnation was for Jesus to bring humanity back into communion with God. Though humanity originally rejected God through Adam’s disobedience, it will be Jesus’ obedience to his mission that glorifies the Father (Jn 13:31; 14:13), and in return, the Father glorifies the Son (Jn 8:54; 11:4).  As we heard in our second reading from the letter to the Hebrews, “Son though he was, he learned obediencefrom what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”(Hebrews 5:8-9).  In Jesus we see that obedience does not mean merely following rules. It is intimacy in action. He and the Father are one, and so his actions reveal the love of the Father and his desire to bring all into the loving communion of the Trinity. 

The Liturgical Hour

Now let’s turn to the Liturgical Hour. The sacrificialgiftof Christ to the Father on the Cross is made present to us in the sacramentalgiftof Christ to us in the liturgy, through which we participate in Jesus’ death and resurrection, as well asits spiritual fruitfulness. Every Sunday is meant to be a little Easter, through which we glorify God through uniting with Jesus in his death through offering of ourselves, so that we can also be united with Jesus in his Resurrection, as He gives us new life through the Eucharist. 

In order to better appreciate this, let’s examine a few passages from John’s Gospel, in which Jesus speaks of his hour. 

The first is from John Chapter 2, at the Wedding at Cana. Jesus’ Mother tells him they have no wine. Jesus responds, “How does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4). When his hour does come for his death and resurrection, then he will do more than transform water into an abundance of good wine, he will transform ordinary wine into his own Precious Blood at Mass. Just as at the Wedding at Cana they gave Jesus what they had – water – and Jesus gave it back to them transformed into wine, so also at Mass we give to Jesus what we have – Bread and Wine – and he gives it back to us transformed into his body and blood in the Eucharist. 

The second comes from John Chapter 4, when Jesus encounters the Samaritan Woman at the Well. Jesus tells her that “The hour is coming when the true worshippers will worship of the Father in spirit and truth,” (Jn 4:23) which will take place “neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” (Jn 4:21). The hour comes with Jesus’ Passion, which marks the end of Temple sacrifices. No longer is worship confined to one Temple or one mountain. Now we can worship the Father “in spirit and truth” wherever Jesus’ Passion is celebrated through the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice. As Jesus says, “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” Jesus is lifted up on the Cross, which is made present through the elevation of the Eucharist at Mass, so that “through him, and with him, and in him,” we can give “all Glory and Honor” to God by offering ourselves to him with Jesus in a sacrifice of love. 

The third passage is from John chapter 5, in which Jesus says that “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God” (Jn 5:25). They will “come forth [from their tombs], those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment” (Jn 5:29). At Mass, we hear “the voice of the Son of God” speaking to us through the proclamation of Scripture. His voice speaks to all of us who are spiritually dead because of sin, awakening us to new life in Christ. We also pray for the dead. “To our departed brothers and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom. There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of your glory” (Eucharistic Prayer III).  

The fourth passage comes from John Chapter 7, when “they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come” (Jn 7:30). When his hour comes, he allows himself to be arrested because he is offering himself as a free and fruitful sacrifice. As Jesus says, “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (Jn 12:24). Jesus is the “grain of wheat,” who by being buried is resurrected in order to become for us the “Bread of Life” (Jn 6:48) in the Eucharist. This is the fulfillment of our first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, in which God said: “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer 31:33). The “new covenant” that God promised is the Eucharist, in which God’s own life – the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus – is “placed within” us. This new and eternal covenant is not something that we possess, but to which we belong.   

All of these instances of Jesus speaking of his hour help us better appreciate his words in today’s Gospel: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Why now? Because some Greeks came to Jesus’ disciples saying, “we would like to see Jesus.” Why is this significant? Because it is signaling the fulfillment of the prophecies from Isaiah 2 and Micah 4: the hour will come when All nations come to Jerusalem to worship the one true God. As we heard in our first reading, “The days are coming…when I will make a new covenant,” (Jer 31:31) when “All, from the least to the greatest, shall know me … For I will forgive their evil doing andremember their sins no more” (31:34). The Greeks coming to see Jesus signals that all people are invited to see Jesus, and they will “know” God through His mercy. 

It’s interesting to note that in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke) Jesus performs many exorcisms. But in John’s Gospel there is only one exorcism: the Cross. As Jesus says, “now the ruler of the world will be driven out” (Jn 12:31). Jesus drives out the devil by taking on our sins and death on the Cross. We are no longer separated from God due to sin. Jesus says, “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” (Jn 12:32). Jesus is lifted up on the Cross and through his Resurrection, so that all people will be drawn to him in order to “life up our hearts” with Him to the Father. 

The Desire to See Jesus

This Sunday we are invited to reawaken our desire “to see Jesus,” just as the Greeks desired in today’s Gospel. Starting today all of the Crucifixes and holy images in the church are covered until Good Friday, reminding us of this desire to see Jesus. We need look no further than the Mass, through which the sacrificialgift of Christ to the Father on the Cross is made visible and present to us in the sacramental gift of Christ to us in the Eucharist. As we look to Jesus in the Eucharist at Mass, the priest says: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” Do not look elsewhere, but turn your eyes to Jesus, through whom you will experience true freedom and new life.