Fourth Sunday of Lent

We are taught by the authority of Holy Scripture, under which the Church lives, that such was God’s love for us that he gave us his only-begotten Son. This is an utterly astonishing truth, and one which the human mind can only imperfectly grasp. That the eternal, all-powerful God should so concern himself with humanity out of love, that his Son became one of us, shared our common lot to the extent of suffering and dying on a cross is the message which the Church must consistently proclaim from one age to the next. That proclamation of God’s love is central to our liturgy on this Lenten Sunday. We are invited to ponder the mystery and to respond in faith.

In his dialogue with the Jewish teacher, Nicodemus, Jesus outlines 4_20_nicodemus.jpgmagnificently the mystery of our faith. He, the Son of Man, must be raised on high as a saving sign to all the nations. The elevated bronze serpent of Moses brought healing and hope to the Israelites in the wilderness. Now the figure of Christ on the cross will be the source of God’s salvation to the whole world. Nicodemus had difficulty grasping the significance of Jesus’ words; faith alone can permit the necessary insight. The apostle Paul in our second reading is at pains to stress just how free and unmerited on our part is this gift of God’s love in Christ. With good reason Paul names it grace, a favourite word in the Apostle’s vocabulary, for God has given it to us freely. We are all debtors before God but, as St. Augustine notes, what a One to be indebted to!

The passage from the second book of Chronicles contrasts God’s faithfulness with the wilful and wayward behaviour of his chosen people. Despite humanity’s sinful lapses, God never gives up and will ensure that this plan of salvation triumphs in the end. Out of the ashes of exile and destruction a new future opened up for his people Israel, thanks to his divine providence. From the desolation and victory of evil and death in the crucifixion of Jesus new life and a new creation would emerge. God has indeed so loved the world that no power would thwart the full realization of that divine love. The trials and tribulations of history, notwithstanding, the Church will always be an Easter Church, for the Lord of life has indeed risen. Even in these Lenten days we remain an Easter people. Let us embrace in faith the wonder of God’s love.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster