4th Sunday of Lent, Year B (LAETARE SUNDAY): Reflection by Fr Julian Ekeh
Theme: REJOICE, THERE’S LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
(John 3:14–21)
The message of today is a message of hope to all those who have been doing the Lenten observances with all their hearts. Your effort is not in vain. Your sacrifices are not wasted. Your fasting is not a meaningless hunger strike. Your charity is not taken for granted. The war you are waging against the devil, the world, and your flesh is not a lost battle. Victory is on the way. Don’t be tired. Be sustained by the hope of what is coming. Rejoice, it is well.
On the fourth Sunday of Lent, the Holy Mother Church calls her children through the entrance antiphon from Isaiah 66:10–11 to rejoice. The Psalm reads: Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.
If we remember very well, since the Ash Wednesday, the whole Church was invited to put on sackcloth, to come and mourn, to contemplate the sorrows of Christ. Since that day, the musical instruments have been kept out and highly moderated in the Catholic Church. Every festive aura left the Church or got minimized. Flowers were put away, and violet became the only colour on the altar. All these remind us constantly of the need to remain in the mood of mourning. But today, Rose colour is allowed. Some decorations are permitted. Musical instruments may be played. Is it Easter yet? Oh no! The Church is a Church of hope. The Church wants us to imagine what lies ahead. The Church wants us to savour the joy of what is to come. The Church invites us not to see the sufferings we are passing through as ordinary but to see the salvific character in them. Yes, the Church encourages us to move on. God wants us to make the joy of the Lord our strength as we strive for perfection this Holy season. Thus, today’s joy is for all who look up for the glory that follows sorrows
WHY YOU MUST REJOICE
The Gospel of today presents us with reasons why we must not give up on our struggle. We may seem to be losing hope. It may look like we are not making any headways. But we really want to be better. We sincerely desire to grow spiritually and otherwise. We truly wish to succeed and to be saved. The word of God in today’s gospel reading has the answer.
GOD LOVES YOU
God so loved the world that He gave us His only-begotten Son. If God loves you, who can be against you? What is that force making you believe it is over? Who is discouraging you with the false message that you will not reach your destiny? You may have made efforts and failed. The love of God beckons you to keep going.
The temptations you wish to overcome may have knocked you down once or twice, and you feel like crying, you feel like dying, you’re in the big shit of your life, you look at yourself as messed, you imagine the devil smiling and rejoicing over you. Beloved in Christ, Jesus loves you. He puts on you the new turban of grace to go on. Confess and continue. Rejoice in the Lord. The enemy will not laugh last unless you give him permission to. He can’t take away the love of God for you. Be focused and ride on to your victory. Your loving Father awaits to embrace you and kiss you too.
YOU WILL NOT PERISH
We are called to rejoice, keeping in mind that the crosses of our lives will not overwhelm us. We are encouraged to pick our broken selves up and follow Christ. Don’t despair. The load and weight of the problems you bear will not crush you. You’re following a saviour who wins at the end. Many trials may come your way, but victory is yours in Christ who strengthens you. So, do not allow these to be an excuse for you not to rejoice in heaven. Just smile and tell yourself that these too will pass away. I will survive, I will conquer, I will overcome! I will never perish!
YOU BEAR THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
Love the light and walk in the light of God’s ways. Christ, the light has come into the world. Unfortunately, men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
Evil is the only thing that destroys the joy of the Lord in us. There is no joy in darkness. There’s no reason to rejoice in the dark. Darkness symbolises everything fearful, atrocious, corrupt, and depraved.
Are you still living in the dark? Why not purify your soul with the word of God, with constant confession, with the Holy Communion and other spiritual provisions of the Church.
What are those things you are still hiding from Christ? Why are you hiding from the Lord? Open yourself to Christ. Open your weak points to Him. Show Him the areas that have not received His illumination in your life.
Receive the joy that comes from His glory. Shun the false joy that comes from dirty wealth, impure relationships, extortions, marginalisation, bad governance, diabolism, ritualism, fraud, drug addiction, manipulations, and malpractices These do not give lasting joy. You can only rejoice when you see light in the light of Christ.
May God bless His word in our hearts.
LET US PRAY
Thank You, Jesus, for giving us reasons to rejoice in the midst of the turbulences and roaring of the seas. Thank You for cheering us up amidst the temptations and trials we face. Let your light shine steadily in our lives to dispel the darkness of sin, sorrows, and all evils. Bless your word of hope in our lives and feel us with the Easter joy that is on the way through Christ our Lord. Amen
Happy Laetare Sunday
(4th Sunday of Lent, Yr B).
Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh