Fourth Sunday of Lent
LECTIONARY
32
FIRST READING
2 CHRONICLES 36:14-16, 19-23
In those days, all 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
which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers,
send his messengers to them,
for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God,
despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets,
until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed
that there was no remedy.
Their enemies burnt the house of God,
tore down the walls of Jerusalem,
set all its palaces afire,
and destroyed all its precious objects.
Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon,
where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons
until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.
All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah:
“Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths,
during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest
while seventy years are fulfilled.”
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia,
in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah,
the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia
to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom,
both by word of mouth and in writing:
“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house
in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!”
PSALM
PSALM 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
Response: Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
For there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
SECOND READING
EPHESIANS 2:4-10
Brothers and sisters:
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,
that in the ages to come
He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.
Verse Before the Gospel
JOHN 3:16
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
GOSPEL
JOHN 3:14-21
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
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.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
Seeking the Full Truth
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:14–15
The line quoted above concludes a dialogue that Jesus had with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. This is the first of three times Nicodemus is mentioned in the Gospel of John. The second time he appears is when he reminds the other members of the Sanhedrin that a man must be first heard before he is condemned. The third time was when Jesus was killed and Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus’ body for burial.
Jesus was not accepted by most of the Pharisees and within the Sanhedrin. For that reason, Nicodemus was taking a risk by going to him at night to talk. But Jesus clearly senses faith in the heart of Nicodemus, which is why when Nicodemus asks Jesus about His teaching, Jesus answers him. Unlike the other Pharisees, Nicodemus was not trying to trap our Lord; he sincerely wanted to understand.
At the beginning of this dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, Nicodemus professes the beginning of faith in Jesus when he says, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Interestingly, Jesus then speaks to Nicodemus in figures of speech, saying that one can only enter the Kingdom of God when they are “born from above” and “born from water and the Spirit.” Nicodemus tries to understand but fails. Jesus then gently rebukes him by saying, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?” (John 3:10). Jesus then goes on to speak further in symbolic language and figures of speech, concluding with the beginning of today’s Gospel quoted above when He speaks in a veiled way about His coming crucifixion.
One thing that is important to understand from this dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus is that Jesus’ language is veiled in symbolic language because, even though Nicodemus was on the right path, he was not yet ready for the full revelation of the Gospel. He could not yet fully comprehend all that our Lord came to reveal. Thus, Jesus spoke in veiled language and invited Nicodemus to keep seeking its hidden meaning.
In our own lives, we can come to God and want Him to speak clearly and definitively to us, revealing His perfect will for our lives. But often He doesn’t. Why? Because God knows we are not yet ready for the full truth. When He speaks to us and when we gain insight in one way or another, this is good and reveals we are on the right path. But the Gospel, in its fullness, is so radical and so demanding that most people are not yet ready for the full truth. Therefore, in His compassion, God gives us only what we can handle at the moment. But this humble truth should encourage us, as it did Nicodemus, to not give up and to continue opening ourselves to the fullness of the Word of God.
Reflect, today, upon how open you are to the fullness of God’s Word. What would happen if God were to reveal to you, by an immediate personal revelation of divine knowledge, all that was in His sacred mind? Would it be too much for you to handle? Yes, it would be. But that humble admission is an important step toward that very goal. Humble yourself, today, more fully before the mysterious Word of God and pray that you will continue to be changed and open so that the clarity of God’s truth will more fully penetrate your soul.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
GOD IS RICH
“God is rich in mercy; because of His great love for us He brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin. By this favor you were saved.” —Ephesians 2:4-5
Today is traditionally called “Laetare Sunday.” “Laetare” means “rejoice,” for Lent is half over and Easter is only three weeks away. We rejoice not because we don’t have to fast for much longer but because God has already done marvelous works this Lent, and this is only the beginning.
What are you expecting for Holy Week and the Easter season? Do you expect a fifty-day Sunday for the Easter season? No matter how high your hopes, the Lord will do more than you could ever ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). “Is it possible that He Who did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides?” (Rm 8:32)
After God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son (Jn 3:16), we can only underestimate the love, grace, and glory God has in store for us (1 Cor 2:9). He “gave us a place in the heavens, that in the ages to come He might display the great wealth of His favor” (Eph 2:6-7). We are so small and closed in on ourselves. God is so great and lavish in His love. How can the ocean of God’s love be poured into the thimble of our selfishness? “Open wide your hearts!” (2 Cor 6:13)
Prayer: Father, I’m sorry I’ve been too self-centered to receive Your love. I repent. Do anything You want to open wide my heart.
Promise: “Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of His people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!” —2 Chr 36:23
Praise: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His kindness endures forever” (Ps 106:1).
Reflection 3
Shared from God's Word
The fourth Sunday in Lent is known as Laetare Sunday as the Church invites us to rejoice with her (Laetare in Latin means to “rejoice”) reminding us that the Lenten season is not a time of grief. The Readings present to us the most important truth in the Bible, expressed through the most celebrated verse in the entire Bible: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). God’s definition in the Old Testament is “Tender Love” and “Mercy” (Ex 34:6-7). Even despite the sin and rebellion of Israel, graphically explained in the book of Chronicles, God does not withdraw His love at all. We should not read calamities in our life as a sign that God has abandoned us. Instead, the calamities could serve as a temporary time of cleansing before God could reinstate us.
Prayers
My teaching Lord, Your sacred Truth is so deep, so profound and so transforming that it remains too much for me to fully comprehend and embrace. For that reason, I thank You for the mercy of speaking to me in veiled ways so as to continually draw me deeper in my faith and knowledge of You. Please continue to open my mind and heart to You so that, one day, I will understand Your Truth most fully. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus Christ, your death brought life for us. May your love consume and transform my life that I may desire you above all else. Help me to love what you love, to desire what you desire, and to reject what you reject.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 70: Identifying with the Suffering Christ
Which image of Christ are you more comfortable with? Which image do you more easily identify with? The image of Christ glorified as King of all? Or the image of the beaten and suffering Christ? In the end, we will fix our eyes on the Lord in glory and majesty and this will be our delight for eternity. However, while we are pilgrims in this earthly life, the suffering Christ should dominate our mind and our affection. Why? Because it reveals the closeness of Jesus to us in our own weakness and pain. Seeing His wounds disposes us to reveal our own wounds with confidence. And seeing our own brokenness in truth and clarity helps us love our Lord more deeply. He entered into suffering through His Cross. He wants to personally enter your suffering as you gaze upon His wounds (See Diary #252).
Look at the wounds of Jesus this day. Try to call His suffering to mind throughout the day. His suffering becomes a bridge to us. A bridge that allows us to enter His divine Heart which loved to the last drop of blood.
Lord, I gaze upon You this day. I gaze upon every wound and ever scourge that You bore. Help me to draw close to You in Your pain and help me to allow You to transform my own sufferings into an instrument of divine union. Jesus, I trust in You.
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