…when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. – John 12:32
All people belong to Jesus. Everyone. Not just Christians, all of mankind. He is King of the Universe, after all! In our Gospel passage for this Sunday (John 12:20-33), notice Jesus’s curious reaction after Andrew and Philip told Him that some Greeks wanted to speak with Him: “Jesus answered them: ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’” (John 12:23). It doesn’t seem to make any sense. Why did these Greeks wanting to speak with Jesus mean that Jesus’ foretold hour, the hour of His passion and death, had arrived? Because the Gentiles wanted to speak to Jesus, this indicated that it was time for His kingdom to truly extend to all the nations. All people, represented by these Greek people, are now seeking to be accepted into His kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ. It is now time for Jesus to be lifted on the cross and draw all men to Himself (John 12:32) through His saving Passion, death, and Resurrection. That’s what Jesus is saying. Now is the time for us to become one family of God.
The Catechism teaches that it is by gathering around Jesus that we become part of this family: “Christ stands at the heart of this gathering of men into the ‘family of God.’ By his word, through signs that manifest the reign of God, and by sending out his disciples, Jesus calls all people to come together around him. But above all in the great Paschal mystery – his death on the cross and his Resurrection – he would accomplish the coming of his kingdom. ‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ Into this union with Christ all men are called” (CCC 542).
Everyone is called to union with the Lord. This is why Jesus’s command to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19) is so important. Through baptism, we become children of the Father, one true family united in Christ (see CCC 1265-67). As Jesus’ Passion, His hour, draws near, this calls me to consider the power and meaning behind it in a new way. Jesus didn’t just come to save a few chosen people. He came to draw all people to Himself. I can ask myself, God, how are You asking me to help you in Your mission? How are you calling me to draw my family and friends to You?
Jesus, draw me close to Your Sacred Heart. Bring me close to You so I can bring Your presence to all who I meet.