4TH SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

Jn 3:14-21

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I shall take up four topics from the Gospel of this 4th Sunday of Lent: 1. The Cross, 2. The Gospel, 3. Hell and 4. Light and Darkness. 

THE CROSS

What is the symbol of Christianity? The cross. Why? Because Jesus died on the cross for us. Why is the death of Jesus on the cross so important to Christianity? Because the death of Jesus on the cross brought us eternal life. What is eternal life? Life that has no end. Is that all? No. More important than life without end, eternal life means the life that is given to a human being at Baptism. What is this life? Baptism gives us a new kind of life, the life of a child of God. God becomes our Father. We become his children. Does this mean that we don’t have to die first in order to gain eternal life? Yes, we don’t have to die to gain eternal life. We can already possess eternal life even while alive on earth. But is there any difference between eternal life on earth and eternal life in heaven? Yes, there is. We will use a mango as a comparison. The mango begins as a small flower. Then it develops into a small mango. As weeks pass, it grows bigger and bigger. Then it slowly turns from green to yellow. And then one day, the mango ripens and is ready to be eaten. Eternal life on earth is like the mango that is developing from a flower to fruit that is turning from green to yellow. Eternal life in heaven is like the mango that has already ripened and is ready to be eaten.

THE GOSPEL

Gospel is the modern English word for the Old English word, Godspell. Godspell and Gospel are the English translation for the Greek ‘euangelion’ which means good news or glad tidings. Someone suggested a more dynamic translation for euangelion, ‘gladdening news’, that is, a news that makes people glad. What is the gospel message that can gladden people? We have it in today’s gospel passage: “God so loved the world that in the fullness of time he sent his only Son so that those who believe in him may not perish but have eternal life.”

Remember the words for the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday? “Turn away from your sins and believe in the gospel.” To believe in the gospel means to accept as true the message that God loves us and wants to save us. And it was for this reason that he sent Jesus, his only Son, to be our Savior.

Have we allowed Jesus to save us? What does it mean to allow Jesus to save us?

Imagine yourself swimming in a pool or at the beach. Supposed you had cramps. You are unable to swim. You begin to sink. You are in danger of drowning. Now Jesus is the lifeguard. He comes to you and offers you his hand. “Take my hand,” he tells you. You grasp his hand and he brings you to safety. You have allowed him to save you.

We allow Jesus to save us when we go to him and surrender to him ALL our sins, big and small. It is in confession that we perform the ritual of surrendering to him our sins.

HELL

Does God send people to hell?

The Gospel this Sunday seems to say that God is not the one who sends people to hell. “Those who do not believe are condemned already.” In other words, our evil deeds which come from unbelief condemn us to hell already.

LIGHT AND DARKNESS

Light and darkness are symbols of good and evil. Now Jesus Christ is the light of the world. We can choose to live in his light. We can also choose to live away from his light and to live in the shadows. That is, we can choose to good or to be bad; to live in the state of grace or to live in sin. The Lenten season is a call to leave the shadows and come into the light. On Ash Wednesday we heard the words, “Turn away from your sins.” To turn away from sin is in fact the same as to leave the shadows and come into the light.

Yesterday, Fr. B came and invited me to join him to exorcise evil spirits from a house. The evil spirits were disturbing a family that was living there. The day before, Fr. B had already exorcised the evil spirit that had possessed a 17-yr. old girl who lived in that house. At first I refused to go because I was afraid that the evil spirit might jump from the house into me. But he assured me that that only happens in the movies. In real life, the evil spirit can not possess a priest because he is protected by the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Priesthood. I asked him why he needed me. He said that he needed the presence of another priest as support against the evil spirits occupying the house. He used blessed oil, holy water and blessed salt and prayers of exorcism to drive away the evil spirits. He told me that evil spirits are fond of occupying bodegas and storerooms that are dirty, in disorder and dark. That was why he instructed the owners to clean up the storeroom and install a bulb.

Take note of what the gospel says: “The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light.”

This Lenten season let us clean up the house of our soul, let us put in order our consciences and approach Jesus the light of the world in the sacrament of confession.