Laetare/4^th Sunday of Lent (B); March 10, 2024

2 Chr 36:14-16,19-23.  Ps 137.  Eph 2:4-10.  Jn 3:14-21

Deacon Jim McFadden

            Today is the 4^th Sunday of Lent, a.k.a. as “Laetare,” that is, “rejoice,” because the opening antiphon of the Eucharistic liturgy invites us to that joy: “Rejoice, Jerusalem—“Be joyful, all who were in mourning.”  This is how Holy Mass begins.  The question is: how does one become joyful?  More to it, what is the source of joy?

            Quarterback Tim Tebow got it?  The Heisman winner (2009) wrote John 3:16 in his eye  black before  the NCAA championship football  game. He understood  that quote—”God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son”—is the key; indeed, it is heart of the Gospel.  The Gospel message is not a slogan, a brand label that distinguishes Christianity from other religions; it’s not an idea or a doctrine.  Rather, it is about a person, Jesus himself, whom the Father has given to us that we might have life.  That’s it: Jesus is the source of our joy, not some self-help theory to attain happiness but the actual experience of being accompanied and loved every moment of our journey towards our eternal destiny.  “God so loved” and “he gave”—let’s unpack these two thoughts because they are the interpretive key to probably the most famous passage  in the entire New Testament.

            First, “God so loved…” was told to Nicodemus—a Jewish elder of the religious establishment —was trying to figure out just who Jesus is; he sensed that Jesus of Nazareth would help him see the true face of God.  God the Father has always looked upon us with love; it’s as though he can’t help himself because as the evangelist proclaims in his 1^st Letter that “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8).  And, for the sake of love, he came among us in the flesh of his only begotten Son.  In Jesus, he went in search of us when we were lost following our rebellion against God in the Garden (cf. Genesis 3). In Jesus, he came to raise us when we fell.  In Jesus, he wept with us when we experience crushing loss and heals us our wounds.  In Jesus, he never stops loving us and he blesses us now and forever through his mercy and grace. John reassures us that whoever believes in Jesus will never perish (Jn 3:18a).  In Jesus, God the Father spoke the definitive Word into our life.  How so?  Jesus is God’s perfect self-reflective thought (Logos) of himself, which means that everything Jesus said in his teaching and did in his healing action is a perfect reflection of God’s purposes.  So, in Jesus, we are never lost; we are always loved.  Right here; right now: forever.

            If hearing today’s Gospel does not expand your heart and make you appreciate the immensity of God’s love for you, one may ask: what is going on?! Maybe we prefer a glum, dour Christianity about rules and regulations with its attendant rewards and punishments.  Maybe we’re just sad because, to put it bluntly, we’re just self-absorbed even though we profess to be disciples of Jesus.  If that’s the case, we then need to hit the pause button and really listen to the Good News…on a daily basis.  God loves you so much that he gave his entire life for you.  If that doesn’t make you joyful, what more could God do to convince you?

            We now come to the second part: God “gave” his Son.  God loves us so much that he gave us his only begotten Son for our ultimate good: salvation.  God gives himself; he offers his very life.  Those who love always go outside of themselves; the self-gifting energy is always towards others, the beloved.  That is the power of love: that’s what love does.  It shatters the shell of our egoic self-reference; it breaks down our carefully constructed comfort and security systems; it tears down the walls that hide our fears.  When we gaze upon the crucified Christ we see the ultimate expression of God’s love, who preferred to risk self-giving over self-preservation. 

            Now, since we are made in the image of God, who is Love, that means we are most human the more we love, the more capable of giving we become.  That is the key of understanding your life, which is no longer about you, but about God, who is self-giving generosity.  It is awesome to see elderly couples who  loved each other so much that they gave their lives to each other “until death do them part.”  They got it! In the end, it’s not how productive we were or how much wealth we generated or how successful we were;  rather, the only thing that really matters is the love that we were able to give.  That is God’s stuff!

            This is the source of our joy.  God so loved the world that he gave his Son.  That’s it.  Now, we can see the meaning of the Church’s invitation this Sunday:

“Rejoice…Rejoice and be glad, you who mourn: find contentment and consolation”(Entrance Antiphon; cf. Is 66:10-11). 

            May Mary Most Holy help us not to be afraid to let ourselves be loved and to love others just as our Father has done with us.  Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you experience God’s love for you?  How is your heart open to that reality?
2. What gets in the way of knowing that you are beloved?
3. Have you embraced the Law of the Gift: namely, the Way of self-gifting generosity.  What does that look like?