Fourth Sunday of Lent [GUADETE SUNDAY]
–
March 14, 2021
In recent weeks daylight is
increasing. We are half way through the month of March, and already it is
brighter earlier and later. We have even brighter days to look forward to,
especially as
the clock goes forward next weekend. I am sure the darker days
were not a psychological help
in continuing the pandemic restrictions. Now, with vaccines available and days with
longer
daylight, the promise of joy
feels possible. With the increase in light, there is also an
increase in
growth. The first blossoms of spring have already come out. Nature is coming to
life after a time of hibernation and brings us more joy!
The gospel reading next Sunday is in
keeping with what is happening in nature. It declares that “light has come into the world.” The light is a reference to the light
of God that has come
into the world through Jesus. Both the second and the
gospel readings make clear the light of
God is the light of love. The second
reading declares that God loved us with so much love that God was also generous
with mercy. The gospel reading declares that God loved the world so much that
he gave his only Son. In the light that Jesus brings from God, we find mercy,
compassion, great love, kindness and grace.
At times we might not like too much
light. There is a certain kind of light that can expose us
harshly, like the
light of the interrogator’s
flashlight shining in our eyes. However, Jesus
brings a light that need hold no
fear for us; it is a divine light that lifts us up, just as
the Son of Man was
lifted up. Here is a light that assures us of our worth and helps us see
the
goodness within us and the good that we are capable of doing. It is a light
that allows us
to recognize that “we
are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus
to live a good life.” It
is the light of a love that shines
upon us regardless of what we have done or failed to do.
As the first reading
reminds us, God’s grace, God’s
love, comes to us not on the basis of
anything we
have done. It is not
something we earn by our efforts; it comes to us as a pure gift. When God
gave
his Son to the world, God did not ask whether the world was worthy of his Son
or whether
the world was ready for his Son. Even when the world crucified God’s Son, God did not take back his Son
from the world. Rather, God continued to give his Son to the world, raising him
from
the dead and sending him back into the world through the Holy Spirit,
through the Eucharist
and
sacraments, through the church and our faith community.
In the words of the gospel of John,
here is a light that shines in the darkness
and that darkness cannot overcome it.
We long for that kind of light, a
light that is strong and enduring, a light that is stronger
than darkness. We
have experienced darkness in one shape or form. It may be the darkness of
sickness, the death of a loved one or the darkness of failure; we may struggle
from time to
time with the darkness of depression, with those dark demons that
tell us that we are worthless and that life is not worth living. The
responsorial psalm points to that darkness that can
surround us. It was the
darkness of exile in Babylon. “By
the rivers of Babylon, there we sat
and wept, remembering Zion.” We may have known our own experiences
of exile, times when we felt cut off from what gives meaning and purpose to our
lives. Perhaps, the feeling of being separated from our faith community during
this time dampens our spirit. The readings assure us that
in
all those forms of
darkness, a light shines – the light of God’s
enduring love, constantly at
work in our lives. “God
gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him…may
have
eternal life.”
Even though this wonderful light wants
to shine upon us all, we can be reluctant to allow it
to shine upon us. “Though the light has come into the
world, people have shown that they prefer darkness to the light.” This is the mysterious capacity of
human freedom to reject the light.
The Lord is always prepared to wait for our
free response. We are not used to a love that is
as generous, as merciful, as
rich in goodness as God’s
love. It takes time to receive it, to
believe it, to embrace it. Receiving God’s love and then living out of that gift
is the calling and task of a life time.
Fr. Don, cp