Sunday, March 15th, The Fourth
Sunday Of Lent
By: Judy Morss
By: Judy Morss
Second Book
of Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23
Psalm 137
Letter of
Saint Paul to the Ephesians 2:4-10
Gospel
according to John 3:14-21
This Sunday
is Laetare Sunday; Laetare meaning rejoice.
Today is just past the halfway point of Lent. As part of our rejoicing, the priest and
deacon may be wearing rose colored vestments and flowers may adorn the altar in
some parishes.
We rejoice
because we are reminded of all the ways that God reaches out to us in mercy.
Chronicles tells us that the people of Judah rejected God and " added infidelity to
infidelity." God became so angry with them that he withdrew His
protection. Jerusalem was destroyed and those who lived were made captives in
Babylonia. Jeremiah foretold there would
be seventy years of torment before there would be relief. Then God had
compassion for His chosen people; they were offered a second chance through the
mercy of the foreign king, Cyrus. He
allowed the people to return home and rebuild the temple.
St. Paul
describes God as "rich in mercy, because of the great love He had for
us." Even when we were dead in all our sins, God "brought us to life
with Christ" -- by grace we have been saved, yet again.
John tells
us that "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that
everyone who believed in him might not perish but might have eternal
life." God is so forgiving and
compassionate, we rejoice in His love for us. But we must do more than rejoice.
We must remember that Christ died on the cross for love of us.
As I kneel
before the Lord in adoration and as I look upon the cross, contemplating the
face of Christ, I know and understand more deeply what Christ has done for me
and for all of us. The question for me
then becomes: What have I done for Christ, what am I doing for Christ and what
should I be doing for Christ? As I continue my Lenten journey, I will search
for answers to these questions and act upon those answers.
Peace and
Blessings -- Judy
