". . . the Son of Man must be lifted up . . . for God so loved the world . . ."
John 3: 14-21
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031024-YearB.cfm
A simple way to explain the love of God to
children is to ask: “How much does God love us?” The answer is to say with arms
stretched out: “This much!” + That gesture forms a cross and we are
reminded that the cross of Christ is forever the indelible sign of God’s love
for humanity. At the heart of the Christian Gospel, is love born of servant
leadership and self-sacrifice in the name of Christ.
Though it may sound a bit simplistic its truth is far
more transforming. Our readings on this Laetare
(joy) Sunday) before the drama of Holy Week and the glory of Easter, are
saturated with the overwhelming truth of God’s love for us. In fact, the mistake we consistently make is
to think that God’s love and our human expression of love are the same. That
God falls in and out of love and is as fickle and inconsistent as we humans can
be. We often have an almost parental view of God who rewards good behavior and
punishes the bad. Yet the truth is, that we did nothing to earn what Jesus did
for us, it is pure gift of God’s love that we might be saved from the darkness
of sin that we brought upon ourselves.
Our first reading from Chronicles relates the story of
the destruction of Jerusalem, its sacred Temple, the center of both civic and
religious life, and the capture of the Jewish people off to Babylon where they
were enslaved for seventy years. Now,
that may not exactly sound like a Divine love story but it is an indication of
God’s desire to save his people and to purify his people in order to offer them
a new beginning.
The reading is strong in its imagery. “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 . . .” It certainly is not a rosy
picture. We hear how far they had strayed away from the Lord’s original
Covenant. Yet, despite this, God
desperately sends “his messengers,” the prophets, to warn them and call them
back to Covenant faithfulness. Yet, they mocked and killed the prophets!
Looking back on history, the writer of Chronicles sees
this moment as a profound turning point as Babylon’s invasion and destruction
of Jerusalem and its Temple is seen as a moment not of eternal punishment but
rather as chastisement, purification, which in the end, when after seventy
years “sitting in the corner to think about it,” he inspires Cyrus, King of the
Persians to lead them back, to rebuild the Temple and restore the Nation. “Let’s give it another go,” as our British
friends might say. God’s love never
ceases as time and time again he longs for our salvation. If we come away from
Lent learning nothing else other than God does not give up on us, that would be
powerful.
How might we humans deal with the same situation? I think most of us would have given up long
before and moved on to someone who might appreciate our efforts. Whatever love may have been there initially
would have long gone sour through such hurt and disappointment. You sadly hear some
married couples state they fell out of love. Not God and so we see in our other
readings as well. The farther we stray from him, the more he desires to call us
back. Remember the Prodigal Son parable
(Luke 15: 11-32), for example.
Paul in his writing to the Christians of Ephesus speaks
of God as “rich in mercy.” He states
that even when we were “dead in our transgressions” God “brought us to life
with Christ – by grace . . .”
The Gospel reflection from John contains the often quoted
and inspiring quote that some sums up the entire Gospel: “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.” Jesus finds himself in a secret conversation with Nicodemus, a well meaning and curious but influential Pharisee, is where the Gospel passage takes place. Nicodemus wants to understand more fully the meaning of Jesus preaching and his use of analogies. He wonders who Jesus is, not unlike any of us.
If anyone ever experiences judgment and critical comments
about Christianity or why we believers do not walk away considering the state
of evil in the world today, this foundational quote, John 3: 16, is the reason
why we should never abandon God or walk away.
Jesus coming among us was not an opportunity for God to inflict his
final revenge on humanity but rather the ultimate turning point in our
relationship with him. God enfleshed in Jesus his Son, and the sign of the
Cross, is the forever testimony to how far God’s unrestrained love has gone for
our sake.
Yes, the pain of suffering we see and hear about
throughout the world these days, the strong diatribes coming from world
leaders, and the power we have to destroy ourselves is frightening. We all
question “why” God tolerates such things and more personal struggles in our
lives.
Yet, even in such dark conditions the Christian message
is consistent and both the Sacred Scriptures and history itself prove to us
that although God is mysterious and distant he is very much in our lives and
personally involved. As he walked among
us in Jesus he brought hope and promise and made even those moments of struggle
for us meaningful in the Cross. The best
answer to “why?” is always the cross of Christ, which was followed not by the
end but the new beginning of the Resurrection.
This Sunday we rejoice in God’s overwhelming love for
us. The Eucharist is essentially about
thanksgiving for that Divine love unleashed upon us. We are reminded that God indeed does love us
“this much!" -----+-------
O God, who through your Word
reconciles the human race to yourself
in a wonderful way, grant, we pray,
that with prompt devotion and eager faith
the Christian people may hasten
toward the solemn celebrations to come.
(from the Collect of Mass)
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