March 14, 2021

Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year B)

There is a saying that goes, “All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten.” This may be useful to consider as we delve into the readings for this Fourth Sunday for Lent.

 In these readings, we see Jesus continuing to complete the creation first begun by God way back in the book of Genesis. This is where we find the creation narrative which states, “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters. Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.” (Gen. 1:1-4).

On the first day God said, “Let there be light…”and the light was good. Thus, the process began. As Genesis proceeds, however, we find that the goodness of creation becomes distorted by human sinfulness. In John’s Gospel for today (Jn. 3:14-21) Jesus gives us an explanation for this. He says, “The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.” (Jn. 14:19).

Jesus also makes a specific reference to some of the people in the Old Testament who preferred darkness when he speaks of Moses’ lifting up the serpent in the desert. Here he is talking about the first Israelites who were delivered from slavery by God at the time of the Exodus. Although they had been set free from cruelty and bondage in Egypt, time and again they complained against God, grumbling, and murmuring about the harsh conditions in the wilderness.

In this particular story about the serpent, God grew angry over their incessant complaining and lack of faith, so he sent serpents who bit the people, causing many of them to die. But in His mercy, God relented and instructed Moses to lift up a serpent on a pole so that whoever looked upon it would be healed (Num. 21:9).

In the First Reading from the book of Chronicles (Chron. 36:14-16, 19-23), we see the way in which the sin of rebellion persisted in Israel for several centuries. The people continually committed idolatry, the worship of foreign gods, as well as injustice and oppression against the most vulnerable members of society. They ignored repeated warnings issued by prophets sent from God and continued their apostasy and blasphemous worship in the Temple.

For this they suffered the fate described by the Chronicler. The enemy Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the city, and burned the Temple. And the royalty and elite were sent into captivity far from their homeland for decades, until Cyrus the Persian finally released them. Yet, despite this warning, God’s people continued to reproach God’s prophets and continued their sinful ways, it seems even until today.

But this is not the end of a hopeless story for humanity. Just as on the first day of creation, the light once again came into the world. The author of John’s Gospel tells us, “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. His life was the light of the human race; the light that shines in the darkness.” (Jn. 3:16-17; 1:4-5). 

Unlike the serpent that God sent to afflict the world, God sent his only Son to redeem the world. When he was lifted high on the pole like the serpent, the cross of his death and resurrection, he brought salvation. And the light of the dawn of a new creation once again shone on God’s people.

As Christians we are called to attest to this light that is the gospel message of Christ. For individuals this may seem like a daunting task; there is so much darkness in the world, so much sadness, despair, and cruelty. But we must remember that we do not face the world’s situation alone. We are all members of the Body of Christ, the Church, each with our own unique contribution to make. It is a cumulative effort where we are all called to shine.

This is where the kindergarten lesson comes in – a song we all learned: “This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine.” If we all let our individual lights shine, then just like the candle lighting ceremony of the Easter Vigil, the light of Christ will overcome the darkness of the world and pervade it like the glory of the Resurrection.