The Mystery of God's Love ~ Fourth Sunday of Lent (B)

Fourth Sunday of Lent

2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23
Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
Eph 2:4-10
Jn 3:14-21

"By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion..." These words of the psalmist expresses so well the sorrow and repentance of the people whose beloved Jerusalem had been destroyed and their land laid waste by the Chaldeans who took them into captivity to Babylon.

The prophet Jeremiah had prophesied this disaster as he preached about the sins against the Lord, not only by the people, but by the priests and princes of Judah also. The Lord had sent many messengers among the people to warn them to repent but it was all in vain.

But even so, the Lord could not abandon his people. We see in 2 Chronicles, that his love for them was too great... his compassion enduring forever. In his mercy, the Lord inspired Cyrus, King of Persia, to send the captives home to rebuild their temple and their city.

We can scarcely imagine the joy of these repentant people, who had endured much for their sinfulness and were now being given an opportunity once more to live the covenant with their God.

This is just one instance of the mystery of God's love for us. Through the centuries, there arose many prophets who spoke of the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One, who would save us from our sins even though "we were dead in our transgressions", as Paul writes to the people of Ephesus. Paul reminds them that God's love and mercy brings us to life with Christ. That we have been saved by the gift of God's grace, our faith in Jesus Christ.

And in this week's Gospel of John, we read these beautiful and comforting words:

"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."

In this fourth week of Lent, let us be comforted by these words and strive to continue our Lenten journey of prayer, fasting and almsgiving... and to dwell even more fervently on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. His becoming a human being like us, his life, his suffering, his death for our sins, and finally, his resurrection... all so that we might live...

Now IS the acceptable time!


~ Image: God so loved the World