4th Sunday of Lent 10 March 2024 Turning the tide
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3,16). Words from today’s Gospel.
We are approaching Easter, when each year we are reminded of the fickleness of human nature as when the crowd turned against Jesus (not to mention Judas’ treachery or that of the Pharisees). How did we get it so wrong?
Sometimes footballers miss a goal from very close range, and we wonder how they can do it. Well, humanity has been missing shots for goal for thousands of years.
But unlike in football, we still get another shot, even if we have missed a lot of times already.
The reminders of human frailty are not meant to depress us, but to encourage us to do better, as we know we can.
God makes it easier for us by Himself taking on human nature, and showing us how it is done. He does not miss from close range.
If we lived before the Incarnation and we were told that God would become Man, we would probably disbelieve that.
If we were convinced He would come we would probably think it was next to impossible that anyone would reject Him. But lots of people did reject Him.
And if they did reject Him then they would repent later. Not necessarily.
And they would kill Him again if they could. And they certainly still reject, by ignoring or insulting or preventing the Gospel from getting out.
Fortunately, at every point there are those who do believe and go against the tide. We hope we are among that number, and grow stronger in our reliability as disciples.
God has not given up on us. He could have turned the power off a long time ago!
Let us turn towards Him: Father forgive them they know not what they do.(Lk 23,34)
Many of them repented in the sober light of day. We could say the same for our own sins.
When people neglect to pray they will make bad decisions, driven by passions. If we maintain our own prayer life we will not add our sins to His burden.
Now we stand with those faithful disciples around the Cross, and are ready to be identified with Him
We do not mock, or laugh at Him; we do not wish Him dead but very much alive.
We want to grasp the full extent of what He has done for us; so that at some point either past or future we will come to the motivation to go further in His service.
Once forgiven we move on to the next stage like a St Paul who transferred his zeal to the right side of the argument.
The tide can be turned. We want to help others to have that Pentecost experience: Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Ac 2,36-37).
What can I do to atone for such a sin, but give him equal and better affirmation.
Be good, do good, according to one’s life station. It does not have to be a dramatic change on the surface, but simply take the Gospel more seriously and make it centralto your life.
The story is still happening - we have not reached the last page yet. We can make it a happy ending.
On the last page? The people did turn around most of them, all of them, some of them, What will it be?
Laetare Sunday? What is there to be joyful about? That we get more than one chance, and this is one of them.
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