The Saving Power of the Cross (Sunday, Lent 4, Year B)

The fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally called the LAETARE SUNDAY. "Laetare" is a Latin word for “rejoice”. Through the readings, the Church invites us to REJOICE because  “…God sent His Son to us not to judge or condemn us but that we might be saved through him; and that we might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16.17).

This may be a very appropriate time for us to talk about how the word “Lent” came about. The word “Lent” is derived from an Old English term, "Lencten" which means "spring." In certain parts of the world, spring is a season between winter and summer during which many plants produce leaves and flowers. It is a time of renewal, growth and regeneration. What a spring is to plants is what Lent is to our spiritual life. Therefore, we may say that Lent is a period of spiritual renewal, a renewal which happens as we relive the events of the passion and death of Christ which will eventually lead to resurrection, newness of life and glorious existence in Christ. Today’s readings invite us to reflect a bit more on the cross, the most visible symbol of God’s love for humanity. 

The image of God which we find in the readings is that of a father whose love knows no limit. The first reading (cf. 2 Chr. 36:14-16.19-23) recounts an aspect of Israel’s history: how they were carried off into Babylon as exiles on account of their infidelity to God and how they were later saved on account of God’s compassion. They were afflicted in their land of exile; but God did not withdraw His love from them. In His loving-kindness, He raised a pagan King Cyrus who liberated them from their bondage and helped them rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem.

A larger proportion of humanity (of which we are part) may be free from physical exile but all of humanity is still in the grip of the worst form of exile: the exile of sin. When we sin, we distance ourselves from God; we go into exile; we choose to live on an alien soil, and then painfully discover, like the psalmist, that on that alien soil we cannot sing the Lord’s song (cf. Psa. 137). To live in sin is to live in a foreign country where we don't really belong.

Instead of condemning us for our choice, God rather chose to show us mercy by sending Jesus to us. And that is why St Paul writes that: “God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love which He has for us, even when we were dead through our sins, He brought us to life with Christ" (cf. Eph 2:4-5). Jesus was not sent to condemn anyone. He came that we might be saved through Him.

We can be saved through Jesus if we continue to gaze at the cross. In Numbers 21:4-9, the people of Israel became impatient on their way to the Promised Land: they murmured against God and wished to be taken back to Egypt. For this, many were beaten to death by serpents. They cried to God for mercy; and God instructed Moses to mould a bronze serpent so that anyone who looks at it would be saved. Gazing upon the bronze serpent became an antidote, a source of healing for them. In a similar manner, the antidote of our common sickness of sin and disobedience is the cross. For us to have life, we must look upon the One who died on the cross. We have been bitten by the serpents of sin. But for us to be saved, we must gaze upon Christ who hangs on the cross.

The Cross has the power to dissipate the sinful demands of the flesh and the world. We may be lured to indulge in unjust practices in order to make it in life but the Cross invites us to crucify our desire for power, wealth and fame. We may be lured to take the path of sinful pleasure and gratification. But the Cross invites us to crucify the flesh and its demands. We may be lured to defame others in order to get to the top. But the cross invites us to crucify the self and consider others first in everything. This is what it means to focus on the Cross.

If we do not focus on the cross and live according to its demands, eternal life becomes a mirage. From the Cross, the light of salvation shines. And we must follow that light if we really want to be saved. Let us not prefer darkness to light! Let us not prefer Babylon to Jerusalem! Let us not think of going back to Egypt as we journey to the Promised Land!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, may we come to a better appreciation of the saving power of the Cross and begin to live according to its demands, Amen!

Have a fruitful Lenten journey!