IV SUNDAY OF LENT
THE LOVE AND MERCY OF GOD
By Our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
The fourth Sunday of Lent like the third Sunday of Advent is called: Sunday of Joy. And the readings of both Sundays speak of the love and mercy of God for humanity.
In the second book of Chronicles, the first reading for today, we find how evil reigned in Israel and the children of God, with whom God had made a covenant, did not want to be part of God’s people: “But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the LORD’s anger against his people blazed up beyond remedy” (2 Chron. 36, 16).
Despite their many sins and many betrayals to God: “But 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” (Eph 2: 4-6). And the gospel that we hear on Sunday gives us a proof of God’s love: “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” (Jn 3: 16). How great is God’s love for us. I have repeated a thousand times: no matter how big your sins are and how ugly your sins are, if you open your heart to God’s love, he forgives you. His love is so great that He gave his only begotten Son to die, which was the best and most valuable thing he had, how much more so will He forgive your sins, if you repent, confess and turn to God.
Speaking with Nicodemus, Jesus points to a key prophetic sign which Moses performed in the wilderness right after the people of Israel were afflicted with poisonous snakebites. Scripture tells us that many people died in the wilderness because of their sin of rebellion towards Moses and God. Through Moses’ intervention, God showed mercy and forgiveness to the people and instructed Moses: “to make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover” (Numbers 21:8). This miraculous sign was meant to foreshadow and point to the saving work which Jesus would perform to bring healing and salvation to the world.
The bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness was the sign of the cross of Christ which defeats sin and death and obtains everlasting life for those who believe in Jesus Christ. The result of Jesus being lifted up on the cross and his rising from the dead, and his exaltation and ascension to the Father’s right hand in heaven, is our new birth in the Spirit and adoption as sons and daughters of God. God not only frees us from our sins and pardons us, he also fills us with his own divine life through the gift and working of his Spirit who dwells in us.
This fourth Sunday of Lent proclaims the love of God, the mercy of God who forgives us, heals us and gives us new life; this is the reason why it is called the Sunday of Joy. What greater joy can a Christian have if it’s not the hope of salvation? Let us ask God our Father to give us this Lent, the fruit of the Holy Spirit: joy. The joy of knowing I am loved by God, and He has forgiven all my sins and given me inner healing, and if He so wishes, physical healing as well. Amen.