Laetare Sunday

Listening to the Spirit

Lord our God, you have quenched our thirst for life with the water of baptism.
Keep turning the desert of our arid lives into a paradise of joy and peace,
that we may bear fruits of holiness, justice, and love.
Lord, hear our prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

Listening to the Word

Jn 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

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday, which means “Rejoice Sunday”. Day of joy in the middle of our Lenten journey. There are many reasons to rejoice, for sure the most explicit motive is for the fact that: “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.”

Words so familiar for all of us. So often we can see in cars, walls, mugs souvenirs, etc. On some occasions there is no need even of the words, only the indication of the verse – Jn 3:16 – is enough to bring to our minds these wonderful words that make us rejoice.

Among the many things one can say about this verse, we can consider three that display the summary of all Scripture and Christianity: God’s love, God’s Son, and our belief.

Everything begins with the love of God. His love is toward the world not ideal, where all live in harmony, justice, and peace. On the contrary, it is a place with which all sorts of crimes and violence. Realities that make it impossible to experience the joy that everyone deserves. Indeed, this broken world is so loved by God that He wanted to bring healing and new life to it.

Secondly, through God`s Son comes the healing, comes the true joy. He is the one who makes visible the love of the Father. In Him, we see, like the Israelites in ancient times the possibility of healing from the poison of sin that brings to death.

Finally, there is our belief. This is the doorway for all to experience joy. As we come halfway through our Lenten Season we must remember that the element of faith accompanies us since the first day of the holy season – Repent and believe in the Gospel. This Sunday gospel presents us at least three essential motivations to believe in the Son... “who believes in him may have eternal life... who believes in him might not perish... whoever believes in him will not be condemned.” These words in the course of Lent must make all believers aware of the fact that this sacred time is not a period to sympathize with the cross of Jesus but time to embrace it. To believe is to enter in His path, to follow Him. It’s not the gazing at the cross that will make things happen but the faithfulness to the Son as the manifestation of the love of the Father. Rejoice Sunday. Rejoice because; the Father loved us, the Son came to us and through our belief in Him continues to bring us healing, life, and joy.