The Fifth Sunday in Lent – Judica
The Fifth Sunday in Lent – Judica
March 22, 2026
John 8:42-59
Today isn’t one of the Gospel readings that gets you excited to say, “This is the Gospel of the Lord.”
“Praise to you, O Christ!”
But in some ways, Judica Sunday, appears like a downer all the way around.
Judica means “Judge me.” But who wants to be judged?
This Sunday marks another wave of changes in the Divine Service. We begin with the Litany, emphasizing the next two weeks as a time for special devotion and prayer. We remove the Gloria Patri from the end of the introit, Nunc Dimittis, and any other part of the Divine Service, removing the little praise that remains in this difficult season of Lent. Still, now we have covered and veiled the cross of Jesus, so we cannot even see our Savior.
What’s up with that?
Today marks the start of Passiontide, a short season within Lent. It is characterized by the veiling of crosses in the church, symbolizing anticipation for Good Friday. The crosses are neither removed nor forgotten; instead, they are veiled during the final weeks of Lent as a humble sign of reverence for the cross and the Passion of Christ Jesus. Often, a gauzy black material, similar to a widow’s mourning veil, is used rather than a solid woven cloth. This allows the outlines of the crosses to remain visible while hiding the finer artistic details of the body of Christ.
Have you ever considered that when a widow veils herself, it might be for mourning, as a tradition or a way of dress, but it could also be done unconsciously to hide oneself from the world?
Interestingly, the Church is the bride of Christ, so it might be appropriate for us to grieve and mourn at this time. But maybe not in the way you expect.
No, our mourning and sadness must be over our sin, the hidden transgressions that led Jesus to go to the cross and die for us.
Now, the practice of veiling the cross or crucifix comes from the closing verse of today’s Gospel reading, which is why we veiled the crucifix at that time. It said, “they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.” (John 8:59)
The idea of hiding oneself is easy to understand if you’ve ever played hide and seek. When Jesus hid Himself, it simply means that He was avoiding being seen. It wasn’t quite the time for His Passion.
Do you know who else hid themselves in Scripture?
Adam and Eve, that’s who.
After they had fallen into sin, realized they were naked, made loincloths for themselves, it says,
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)
It’s fascinating, really. First, they try to hide their physical bodies from one another through the use of clothing, but then they attempt to physically hide from God, their Creator.
So, the text goes on with Adam and Eve,
But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)
Now, don’t interpret this as a literal calling by God, implying that He doesn’t know where Adam and Eve are at the moment. Instead, God is using a rhetorical question here as a figure of speech to make a point.
“You are the stewards of my creation, and you believe you can hide from me? What have you done?”
We read in the book of Jeremiah,
Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:24)
Adam and Eve could not hide themselves from their Lord, and neither can you.
This is what the entire season of Lent leads us to understand: we cannot hide our sins from God, our Father and Creator.
But we try, don’t we? We try to hide from God just as we try to hide from our family, friends, and neighbors.
We silence our phones so we don’t have to talk with a friend or relative we’ve been arguing with. We hide our eating disorders in the drawer of our desk. We bury our anxiety and depression behind the smiles on our faces. We disguise our anger towards others with a handshake and a smirk. We use apps, or Apple's new option for public and private web browsing on their computers, phones, and tablets, so you can hide web activity that isn’t suitable for public viewing, such as porn or gambling addictions.
A challenge in all of this is that, by hiding from each other, you’ve become so disconnected from God’s Word and the severity of your sin that you don’t even realize how serious your secret sins are.
But just as Your Father in heaven knew the faults of Adam and Eve, He knows your faults and failures. You cannot hide from your Creator or the one who is your Judge.
When you try to hide yourself, you no longer see Jesus or hear His Word. This causes you to join the Jews in the Gospel today, blind to your Savior and the reason He came—to redeem you on the cross.
Sadly, in this way, Jesus remains hidden from you.
But as Jesus said in the Gospel, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.”
Faith steps out of the shadows, out of hiding, and hears the Words of Jesus, confessing their faith with eyes wide open, seeing Jesus as their Savior.
And this is an important aspect not only of the season of Lent but also of these final two weeks—being attentive to hearing God’s Word. Because when you listen to the Words of Jesus, as they dwell and take root within you, the image of Jesus and His cross is never far, but firmly planted within your minds and hearts.
Martin Luther made a wonderful comment about this image and the use of the crucifix; he says,
For whether I will or not, when I hear of Christ, an image of a man hanging on a cross takes form in my heart, just as the reflection of my face naturally appears in the water when I look into it. If it is not a sin but good to have the image of Christ in my heart, why should it be a sin to have it in my eyes?[1]
Although the crosses and crucifixes in the church are now veiled and hidden from view, listen carefully to the words of Jesus and allow the image of your Savior to appear within your mind, for He is never truly hidden from you or far from your heart.
And then, do not forget, like Adam and Eve, that you cannot hide from your heavenly Father. He knows the secrets of your heart and does not desire the death of the sinner, but instead wants you to turn away from your evil ways and live.
As Good Friday approaches, prepare by confessing not only the sins known to others but also the hidden sins that are damaging your relationships, your faith, and your soul.
Confess them so that when the veil is lifted on this life, your heart will be filled with joy, knowing that your Savior loved you and was willing to die for you on the cross, so He could forgive you and you would receive eternal life with Him.
And for this, you will say with all the company of heaven, “Praise to you, O Christ!” +INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Website: www.goodsheptomah.org
The Shepherd’s Voice Podcast: https://goodsheptomah.podbean.com/
[1] Luther, M. (1999). Luther’s works, vol. 40: Church and Ministry II. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 40, pp. 99–100). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
