Have you noticed them? The crocuses and daffodils that are beginning to break through the soil and some are even blooming, the rhododendron buds that are starting to bulge, the hint of green in the weeping willows – all of nature is getting ready to delight us, once again, with a glorious spring. As I mentioned at the beginning of our celebration this morning, on this, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, we are invited to rejoice. This Sunday has been traditionally known as Laetare Sunday, taken from the entrance antiphon which calls us to rejoice. We’re halfway through our days of Lenten penitence. Rose-colored vestments – a lighter shade of the purple we priests have been wearing during Lent – and even colorful flowers are meant to set a joyful tone, encouraging us to review and continue our Lenten discipline of prayer, fasting and almsgiving with a spirit of rejoicing.
But, the mood of the first reading doesn’t, at first glance, seem to speak of rejoicing. We’ve just heard from the last chapter of 2 Chronicles which contains a recap of God’s action in the history of Israel, a summary of the kingdom of Judah from the ninth to the sixth centuries before the coming of Jesus. Although God had compassion on his people and his dwelling place – his sacred temple – over and over again, the people had been unfaithful to God and ridiculed the prophets he had sent to them. The chronicler sums up their behavior with rather stark language. Let’s listen to it again: “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.” The reading goes on to relate the siege by the Babylonians: “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.” The people of Israel saw all of this – the destruction of their beloved Temple and their capital city, Jerusalem, as well as their 70-year captivity – as punishment for their infidelity to God and his covenant.
But, the reading doesn’t end there. Today’s first reading goes on to tell how the Lord inspired King Cyrus of Persia – who had conquered the Babylonians – to invite the ancient Israelites to return to Jerusalem and rebuild his temple. This pagan king would even help them to do this, giving them all the money and supplies they needed. Despite their infidelity, God, in his mercy, is calling them back to the land that he had promised them long ago through Abraham. This is great cause for rejoicing!
In our second reading today – from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians – we hear St. Paul give us even more reason to rejoice. God is rich in mercy. Because of our Creator’s great love for us, God brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin.
We were dead — dead in sin — and now we have been brought to life again in Christ Jesus, who is the ultimate sign of the kindness of our God. We have been saved by a favor, a grace, a mercy beyond telling or understanding. God’s great work of salvation is offered as gift. We have reason to rejoice. We are reminded that we are truly God’s handiwork, God’s work of art, a work of masterful creativity.
As God’s handiwork, all of us are created in Christ to lead the life of good deeds which God prepared for us in advance. We are brought to life in Christ, no longer dead in sin. This is truly a reason to rejoice! As receivers of God’s free gift of salvation through faith, it is now time to get on with the good deeds, working to bring about the reign of God right here in our midst.
In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus tell Nicodemus – and us – that this is the time for decision, a time to come out of the shadows, to leave the dark, and come into the light. The Christ, whom God sent to bring us back from the death of sin to new life, calls us to decide between darkness and light, death and life. Are we going to live according to the light that came into the world or stay in the darkness and shadows of evil and infidelity? Can we look with open eyes at the reality of our personal sin and the evil of the world around us? Can we challenge evil and darkness we see within us and around us and choose to live in the light of Christ? We can do this, for we are God’s handiwork “created in Christ Jesus for the good works God has prepared in advance.”
At this halfway point in Lent, we pray for the grace to see more clearly, understand more deeply, and live more joyfully and faithfully in the light. Together, we come before God, hands outstretched, asking to have our hungers satisfied, our yearnings fulfilled. We ask God to give us what we need to be a true reflection of his divine handiwork. Becoming God’s works of art requires handing ourselves over to be recreated in Christ, shaped by the Father’s love and given a new life in the Holy Spirit. This happens most profoundly when we give up on our own efforts: when we admit to ourselves that we are lost, at the dead end of our own plans and weaknesses, just like the ancient Israelites and the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time.
It is good for us to think about this as we continue our Lenten journey. We have been called to observe Lent through deepened prayer, fasting and a generous sharing of what we have. On this, the fourth Sunday of Lent, let’s rejoice as we continue our Lenten journey, grateful to God who loved us so much that he lifted his Son on the cross to save us. Let us return to the light of Christ so that, as we hear in today’s Gospel, our “works may be clearly seen as done in God!”