Homilies

Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 26, 2006

(For the Homilies Archive, click here.)

What is God Saying in the Readings?

Today’s readings for the Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Lent give us a profound insight into the mercy of God.

The first reading recounts the captivity of the Jews into Babylon. God’s chosen ones had fallen into such state of sin and darkness that they would only despise God’s prophets. The Almighty God, by sending one messenger after another, begs (and even warns) the Jews to turn from their evil ways, and time and again the messengers are either mocked or murdered. But God did not give up on his children. In his tender love for them, he arranges that they be overrun by the Babylonians and taken into captivity. Seventy years later, after much spiritual growth on the part of the Jews, there is a rebirth. The Jews are set free by King Cyrus for the very purpose of rebuilding the Temple of God and giving right worship to the Alimighty.

In the second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that it is only by the tender mercy of God that we have received the miracle of a spiritual rebirth. Because of sin, we were spiritually dead. Now, because of Christ, we live. He has paid the price to bring us this new life, and with it, we are to participate in his work of redemption.

In the Gospel of John we hear the familiar teaching of Christ: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16) But we also hear the disturbing truth that not all men want eternal life. Many are in fact scurrying from the light of eternal life. And this scurrying is called their judgement, for the Gospel says: “And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” (Jn. 3:19)

The Light simply shines the light of truth. Men judge themselves by how they respond to this light. For when men see the light, they are forced to make a decision: to run from it or to walk in it. Sadly, many respond poorly to God’s invitation to live a life of truth and love. The invitation, in fact, only makes many scurry deeper and deeper into darkness. This love of darkness rather than light manifests the reality of sin. As Saint John says: “For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, so that his deeds may not be exposed.” (Jn. 3:20)

The teaching is clear: only a man who is willing to face reality will happily walk in the light. For the light manifests to each man his own ugliness, indeed his own condemnation. But if we are humble (and brave) enough to trust in Jesus, we will allow ourselves to be carried beyond condemnation and come into the light. Again, as Saint John says: “He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (Jn. 3:20)

This Gospel demands that we ask ourselves: “What is our relationship to the light?” Do we trust in the mercy of God enough to have our ugliness exposed by his loving light of truth? Saint John continues this theme in his first letter. (1 Jn. 1:5–7, 2:8–10) He says that we must work to maintain our fellowship with God. We are being called to direct our journey toward God, to walk in the light and not in darkness. And as we walk in the light, we will become more and more purified, less and less inclined toward sin. As Saint John says: “But if we walk in the light… the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1:7) To scurry from the light is to try to hide from God and from who we really are. To walk in the light is to be cleansed by God’s loving mercy and to become who we really are. (1:9)

What is the Message in the Readings?

The message is clear: if you want to become righteous, if you want to become true, accept God’s invitation to walk in the light.

But it is difficult to discern if we have fully responded to the invitation. Have we shown up to the wedding feast without the proper garment? Are we only going through the motions? We see so many who are kidding themselves, thinking they are righteous Christians but acting like snakes in the grass. Their ugly pride is manifest to everyone but themselves. The question then comes to mind: How do we know that we ourselves are not in the same predicament?

The answer is hidden in the message of today’s readings.

God says through Saint John: “If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.” (1 Jn. 1:7) And later he says, “If any one says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” (1 Jn. 4:20)

The litmus test—if we are walking in the light or not—is whether we have true fellowship with our fellow Christians. Saint John makes it clear that any believer who hates other believers is actually walking in darkness. We can, therefore, test our fellowship with Christ by observing our fellowship with other believers. As Saint John says: “He who loves his brother lives in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 Jn. 2:10–11; cf. Ro. 13:8–10)

An example of true fellowship can be found in the Book of the Apocalypse where Saint John gives us a glimpse of what heaven is like—a community of angels and saints joyfully singing “Holy, Holy, Holy”. The closest we ever come to the life of heaven here on earth is at the liturgy where we are supposed to be a community, uniting our voices with the voices in heaven singing: “Holy, Holy, Holy”.

Today’s readings are demanding that I ask myself a few questions: Do I work to build up my own community of prayer, in my home, in my parish? Do I participate at Mass? Where are my thoughts and sentiments during Mass? Do I tend to gossip after Mass, at home, or on the internet? Do I find myself being a source of division or unity in the Church? Do good people only tolerate me, or am I a source of consolation for them? Am I growing in true Christian fellowship or am I becoming an isolated man, liking nothing and no one, and liked by no one?

What is my Response to the Readings?

O Lord, I am a sinner, whose pride keeps me from the light. Without your mercy, the dark and ridiculous make–believe world which I have created for myself will only draw me further and further from the light. I beg you to give me the courage to walk in the light and strive for true Christian fellowship.

With the Psalmist I pray:

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
One thing I have asked of the Lord,
this will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life.
That I may see the delight of the Lord,
and may visit his temple. (Ps, 27:1, 4)
Gloria Patri, et Filii, et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
Et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Contribution by Brother Anthony Myers
© SACROS 2006 {www.sacros.com}
To read homilies from other Sundays, click here.