Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, March 14, 2021, as the Fourth Sunday of Lent – Year B. In the Entrance Antiphon we pray: “Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her breasts. Amen.”
This entrance prayer surprises us by asking us to rejoice even though we are in the heart of Lent. This Sunday is usually called the Laetare Sunday because of these words of joy that interrupt the strictness of Lent. It is the Church’s way of telling us that joy is not incompatible with pain and sorrow because the approaching passion also means the moment of our redemption – the exhilarating joy of Easter -- is coming ever closer.
In the First Reading, the sacred writer of the Book of Chronicles describes a nation that has not followed God’s law given through the prophets. As a result, their temple has been destroyed and worship there has ceased. Their land has become desolate and God has punished them by years of exile for profaning the Sabbath. However, God inspires a pagan king, the Persian Cyrus, to restore the temple so that God will once more be with his people as they go up to the Holy City to worship.
In the Second Reading from Ephesians, Saint Paul proclaims Christ’s salvation of all men and women. Christ has broken down the dividing line between Jew and Gentile and all mankind has received the gifts of resurrection and redemption.
John’s Gospel passage is on the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, in which Jesus reveals himself to a senior Jewish official, Nicodemus, a man who believes in the signs Jesus works but who still needs a new birth in water and the Holy Spirit that comes from faith. The Psalmist, in the Responsorial Psalm, sings of the memory of Jerusalem among the exiles, and curses those who forget her.
All the readings of this day’s Holy Mass speak of God who so loves sinful man that he does not hesitate to send his only begotten Son to die for him. During this Holy Mass, let us pray for the grace to receive God’s mercy that cleanses us from all our sins and prepares us for the exhilarating joy of Easter.
First Reading: 2 Chronicles 36: 14-16. 19-23.
In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. Early and often did the Lord, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the Lord against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy. Their enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects. Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons until the kingdom of the Persians came to power. All this was to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has retrieved its lost Sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.” In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!”
Comments
The two books of Chronicles recount the history of God’s people from Adam down to the restoration of Judah in the era of King Cyrus of Persia. The books focus on the identity of God’s people and on their worship in the Temple of Jerusalem and their observances of the Law of Moses. The people pay particular attention to the two most significant points in the temple’s history, that is, its construction under Solomon, and its restoration in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.
The temple stands at the heart of the holy city of Jerusalem and is the political, economic, cultural, and religious center of the nation. The splendour of its rites reflects the unity and identity of the Jewish people. The first part of Chronicles gives an account of that unity which was at its height during the reign of King David. However, after the death of King Solomon, that unity was shattered and the very identity of the people was endangered, ultimately leading to the destruction of the temple and the exile of the Jewish people to Babylon.
The passage selected for our meditation comes at a time when the whole nation of Israel has been scornfully disobedient to God’s warnings sent through the prophets. In anger, God destroys their temple, renders their land uninhabitable and punishes the profanation of his Sabbath by the deportation to exile. The evil ways of kings and their immediate servants brings great retribution from God. Foreigners invade the land, lay waste the temple and deport the kings and the nobles to Babylon. In Babylon, as the Psalmist laments, their captors mock them and even ask them to sing for them some of the songs of Zion. With much sorrow in their hearts they can only hang their harps on the trees and weep for Zion for, they wonder, how they can ever sing the Lord’s song in a strange land (Ps 137).
They have become a despondent people who think that God has totally abandoned them to their enemies. However, our God, being a compassionate God, does not abandon his people in exile forever. That is why he shows that the exile is not the end because those who belong to him will return to take possession of their land and their temple. Hence, he inspires the great Persian king Cyrus to restore the temple. God will from now on dwell among his people and bless them as they go up to the Holy City and into the temple for worship. God will be present among them again.
We thank God who never abandons us, his people, because of our sins. As we prepare for the joy of Easter, let us know that our God is a merciful God, a compassionate God, who is slow to anger and quick to forgive. As we make a good confession during this Lenten season, let us thank our God for sending Christ to take away our sins; he who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Second Reading: Ephesians 2: 4-10.
Brothers and sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved —, raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
Comment
Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians is one of what is generally referred to as the four “Captivity Epistles” of Saint Paul; so called because they were written when he was in one prison or another. The other three are his letters to the Colossians, Philemon and Philippians. He wrote the Letter to the Ephesians during the two years he was in prison in Rome sometime between 61 and 62 AD (Acts 28: 16-30).
The Letter to the Ephesians is the 10th book of the New Testament. Paul wrote it to the church he had founded in Ephesus and which he held very much to his heart (Acts 18: 19-21). It is most noted for its description of Christ and the Church, particularly the most famous passage where he compares the relationship of Christ and the Church to a marriage relationship of husband and wife (5: 21-33). Paul also speaks of the Father’s plan for salvation and of the church as the Body of Christ. He also calls for Christian unity around the Body of Christ. He urges his members to live exemplary lives in their daily conduct, always keeping in mind that they are the children of the light and that Christ came to die for them on the cross so as to rescue them from eternal damnation.
In the passage selected for our meditation this day, Saint Paul outlines the pagan way of life and contrasts it with the new life in Christ. If the Church is to fulfill its purpose of growing to maturity in Christ, whose body it is, and of proclaiming to the world God’s plan for humanity, its members must no longer live according to the standards of a godless world. They must steadfastly live the new life in Christ, which has been freely given to them, a life whose goal is sharing the divine glory of their Risen Lord.
Saint Paul shows Christ as the redeemer, he who has died that we might be saved. Through his death on the cross, the cross the Jews see as a mere stumbling block and the Gentiles as sheer folly (1 Cor 1: 22-25), Christ has broken down the barriers between and among people. The wall separating Jew from Gentile has been broken and both Jew and Gentile have already been given the gifts of resurrection and redemption. We are already saved by the free gifts of God’s love, which love comes to us in abundance. To believe in Christ is to share in his life and work, to belong to the redeemed.
What message does this passage have for us as Christians living in the city of Douala today? Saint Paul’s letter is about the universal church as God’s family with Christ as its head. It is a family characterized by the self-sacrificing love of Christ, who comes to unite all God’s people in himself so that they may be united in themselves. This should be a model for our families where husband, wife and children should also be united in love and mutual respect. God so loved us, though we were sinners that he sent his own Son to die for our salvation. His mercy reaches us to give us fresh life through the resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ.
In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to merit God’s love, which he pours down in abundance on all of us, saints and sinners alike. Let us bring that love into our immediate families and also extend it beyond our families to embrace our neighbours as well. Lord, remember and bless our families today. Help us to love one another unselfishly, as Christ loves his Church, so that we may together in joy and peace spread your love all around us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel acclamation: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.”
Gospel: John 3: 14-21.
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
Comment
In today’s Gospel, Jesus receives a Pharisee, Nicodemus, whom he calls “a teacher of Israel”, who has come to him under cover of darkness. He is a member of the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem, a well-educated man, an intellectual for whom the search for the truth is a basic part of life. He is, naturally, much influenced by the Jewish intellectual climate of his time. His encounter with our Lord shows him that if divine things are to be understood, reason is not enough, a person must be humble.
Our Lord begins by highlighting the need for the virtue of humility to Nicodemus, who needs to recognize that despite all his studies, he is still ignorant of the things of God. From the way the conversation develops, Nicodemus does indeed take this step of humility by sitting before Jesus as a disciple does before his master. It is then that our Lord reveals to him the mysteries of faith. Throughout this intimate dialogue, Nicodemus shows great respect to Jesus, addressing him as Rabbi, Master. He has probably been impressed by Christ’s miracles and preaching and wants to know more.
His visit to our Lord at night is understandable since he, as a member of the Sanhedrin, is afraid of his peers. He is therefore taking a great risk to see Jesus. Later when the Pharisees want to arrest Jesus (Jn 7:32), Nicodemus will energetically oppose the injustice of condemning a man without giving him a hearing. He will also show no fear, at the most difficult moment of all, when he would honour the dead body of our Lord by bringing a good quantity of a mixture of myrrh and aloe with which Christ’s body is embalmed for burial (Jn 19:39).
In his encounter with Christ in the gospel reading of this day, Nicodemus misunderstands what our Lord is telling him. This gives Christ the opportunity for a good catechesis. He reveals himself to a man who believes in the signs he works, but signs alone are not enough. A new birth is needed in water and the Holy Spirit that comes through faith. Jesus tells Nicodemus that God takes the initiative in the salvation event by sending his only beloved Son to die for us.
What lessons do we draw from this day’s Gospel? First of all, we hear from this Gospel that our God is a God of Light, not of darkness. Our God is the embodiment of 1ove. That is the central theme of John’s Gospel. God loves the whole world, not a particular race, tribe, ethnic group or nation. Nobody is excluded from God’s love. As Saint Augustine says, “God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love”. So, let us, in turn, spread love around us, not only to those of our tribe or race or religion; but to everyone since we are all born in God’s image.
Christ tells Nicodemus, and all of us, that he (Jesus) is the revelation of God’s love, the perfect expression of the Father. His love is manifested in sacrificing himself for us. He says: “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Yes, Christ died on the cross because he loved us. He forgave sins and reconciled us with his Father. Through his death he brought us to life when we were dead through sin. We know for sure that God loves us because he sent Jesus to us, who died on the cross for our salvation. This day’s Gospel enkindles hope in us, and urges us to love and forgive in the manner of Christ, who loved and forgave even those who killed him. He lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
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