We are in the Fourth Sunday
of Lent. As we are in the middle of lent, just 20 days more to celebrate our
redemption, the church invites us to keep this day as Laetare Sunday which means to ‘rejoice’. On this day little
relaxation from penances and little decorations are allowed in the liturgy to
express our hope and joy of Easter in the midst of Lenten fast and penances.
It’s a day to refresh, renew and relaunch. The first and second reading give us
a joyful message of redemption. The gospel gives us an option to renew our
lives and relaunch in the way we want to walk forward.
In the first reading we hear
about the history of Israelites, the reason for what there were exiled into
Babylon. The opening verse of the readings states that all the leaders (the officers
and priests) and the people were becoming unfaithful day by day. They allowed
the reign of Satan in the holy city of Jerusalem. The reign of Satan is a reign
of lies and human pride. They constantly and consistently rejected God’s
message, warnings and maltreated the messengers. This rejection removed truth
and God’s wisdom from chosen people. Every generation preferred lies and
darkness more than the previous generation. Thus, the exile was inevitable. But
God did not stop with this. God who out of compassion persistently sent
prophets to warn His people, now after 70 years of exile announces liberation
through Cyrus, the pagan king. This refreshes and renews the faith of chosen
people. Again, this liberation is not based on the merit of the people but out
of compassion from God. The end of every story is not doom but a rise from a
fall. The sorrow of lent is not an end in itself but a journey towards
resurrection to eternal life.
St. Paul in the second
reading speaks about grace and mercy. He presents God as rich in mercy (Eph
2:4). A thing which God possess in great quantity is mercy – compassion. Again
in line with the first reading St. Paul projects the liberation offered to us
through Jesus Christ as God’s sheer gift. We are given this grace not to succumb
to rest but to work. Our protestant brethren speak of justification through
faith. Yes, through faith we are given a grace of salvation, but that gift is
given so that we become co-workers of God in bring liberation to others. The
sense of being forgiven and received mercy should lead us to uplift the other.
Charity and almsgiving are not means to salvation but an expression of being
forgiven, just as a mother-in-law of Simon Peter got into service after
receiving healing from Jesus, our baptismal grace should lead us to the service
of others.
In the Gospel, we have
Nicodemus, a Jewish leader and good Pharisee who seeks truth and wisdom. He
comes to Jesus at night because he is afraid of being exposed to others as a
follower of Jesus. His conversation with Jesus at night brings light into his
spiritual darkness. Although Nicodemus is not fully convinced by what Jesus has
said, his presence at the burial of Jesus shows that the night encounter with
Jesus has not gone in vain. Jesus speaks about the lifting up of Himself as
snake was lifted up by Moses in the wilderness. Just as people who looked at
the lifted up bronze serpent and lived (Num 21:9), people who look at the
lifted up Christ on the Cross, in the resurrection and in ascension will gain
eternal life. The central message of today’ s gospel, even the core of whole of
John’s gospel is that; For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16).
God who prevented Abraham from sacrificing his only and beloved son did not do
the same with His own Son; God gave His only Son for the salvation of the world
(Jn 3:16-18). The love of God is such that God could not withhold anything for
Himself. The love of God gives away everything without counting the cost just
to makes us inherit eternal life. But the choice is ours. God has love, shows
mercy and compassion but it is we who has freedom of choice. The end of the
Gospel shows that most people have preferred darkness over light (Jn 3:19).
They fear that coming to Jesus, the light would expose the dark side of their
lives. Many prefer to be like Nicodemus who comes to Jesus at night. The truth
is that our sins will be exposed only to God. When our dark life gets exposed
to others it would no more be a sin but a witness. It is the voice of Satan
that prevent us from going near the light. The voice of God invites us to get
immersed in the light to show way for others.
As we are in the middle of
Lenten season, let us renew our Lenten commitment and relaunch our holy
observances which we have failed in keeping. With the awareness that this
penitential season is a journey towards a joyful celebration of Easter, let us
refresh, renew and relaunch our penances. May the light of Christ guide us on
this way.
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